Cardinals blank Indians

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06/09/2012 - St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kyle Lohse and two others combined on a three-hitter to help the reeling Cardinals post a 2-0 victory over the Cleveland Indians.

Lohse (6-1), whom the Indians had beat in seven of his last eight starts against them, threw 7 2/3 shutout innings to earn his first win in a month. Carlos Beltran hit his league-leading 17th homer in the Cardinals' fourth win in six games following a five-game slide.

"He was just really locating everything," Cards manager Mike Matheny said of Lohse. "He's still taking that role that we gave him opening day. He leads the staff and tries to prove a point. He tries to take charge, and it becomes contagious."

Jason Motte earned his 11th save.

St. Louis looked to be doing just fine in the wake of Albert Pujols' departure and Chris Carpenter's injury, sitting at 20-11 after Lohse's last victory, a 7-2 win over the Diamondbacks on May 9. Since then, however, the team is 11-18 and has lost its grip on first place.

Now, the Cardinals will go for the franchise's first series win over Cleveland on Sunday. St. Louis is 6-13 all-time against the Indians, losing all six series the clubs have played.

The lone bright spot for the Indians was Michael Brantley's bunt single to extend his hitting streak to 17 games, the longest active streak in the majors. He had two of the team's three hits.

Justin Masterson (2-6) was a hard-luck loser after allowing one run in seven innings for Cleveland, which had yet to be shut out this season.

Both pitchers were cruising along early until Beltran blasted a homer off Masterson to left-center with two outs in the third. Masterson, who allowed only 11 home runs last season, has already allowed seven in 2012.

The Indians' righty has lost three consecutive starts, and the team hasn't offered him much support. For the seventh straight time with Masterson on the hill, Cleveland failed to score more than three runs.

Lohse, Marc Rzepczynski and Motte never allowed a baserunner to reach as far as third, and Rafael Furcal hit a sacrifice fly in the eighth off Jeremy Accardo to pad the Cardinals' lead heading into the ninth.

Game Notes

Detroit is the only other team that has yet to be shut out this season...Brantley is two games shy of his career-best hitting streak, a 19- game stretch in 2010...Beltran had three hits...Cardinals outfielder Matt Holliday was scratched from the game with back spasms.

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El Duque expected to throw Tuesday

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. -- New York Mets pitcher Orlando Hernandez, sidelined at spring training because of arthritis in his neck, is expected to resume throwing on Tuesday.

Hernandez received a cortisone shot Thursday after leaving camp and returning to New York to have his neck examined. The 41-year-old right-hander is penciled in as the team's No. 2 starter behind Tom Glavine.

El Duque's health is a major issue for the Mets, who won the NL East in 2007 and came within one victory of the World Series. Their aging and unsettled rotation is a big question mark this year.

MySportsbook.com has the Mets as -110 favorites to repeat as NL East champions odds. 

Hernandez went 11-11 with a 4.66 ERA last season, including 9-7 with a 4.09 ERA in 20 starts after the Mets acquired him from Arizona in late May. But he missed the playoffs because of a torn calf muscle.

New York already is without Pedro Martinez, out until at least midseason following rotator cuff surgery. Among those competing for starting jobs are prospects Mike Pelfrey, Philip Humber and Jason Vargas, plus veterans Chan Ho Park, Jorge Sosa and Aaron Sele.

Notes: Mets manager Willie Randolph is excited about two new utility players he could have on his bench: Damion Easley and David Newhan. ''Their value is really all over the place,'' Randolph said. Easley can play anywhere in the infield and could be used as an emergency outfielder, though Randolph said he would prefer to keep the veteran in the infield. Newhan, meanwhile, can play second base, third or any outfield position for the Mets. ''I love versatility,'' Randolph said. ''I love guys that can give me options when I need them to step in.''

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MySportsbook.com: New College Football Clock Rules Examined

Coaches and bettors alike are desperate to make sense of the new time-keeping rules on the NCAA gridiron. One of the big stories to come out of the Ohio State-Texas clash last weekend was Texas coach Mack Brown's criticism of the NCAA's new clock rules that are intended to shorten the duration of college football games, therefore affecting college football betting.

"They scored with six minutes left and the game was over before we had a chance to do anything," Brown told ESPN.com. "I really hope whoever made these changes will go back and look them over."

Sure, it might be sour grapes; the Buckeyes thoroughly trounced the defending national champion Longhorns 24-7. However, Brown isn't alone in giving the changes their due thought. Bettors are also wondering about them, albeit for a completely different reason. Most experts agree that the changes will result in games being shortened by anywhere from 10 to 20 plays. The obvious consequence is lower scores, with more time rolling off the clock during changes of possession. (The Ohio State-Texas game flew well under the total of 52.)

According to research at the online sportsbook MySportsbook.com, more than 18 plays a game disappeared last weekend into thin air. That's a 10-percent reduction. In 2005, a typical game had 168.58 plays. For 2007 already, it's down to 150.26.

As a result, teams combined to gain an average of about 100 fewer yards a game last weekend versus the 2005 openers. Scoring was also down by about 4.5 points (attention Las Vegas sports lines).

Of course, oddsmakers were able to adjust to the changes before the season started. Proof of that came as the over went a balanced 8-9 at My Sportsbook on Saturday.

Other angles to consider:A shorter game should theoretically result in shorter lines. Whereas Team A might have been a 14-point favorite in a 168-play game (last year), if there are 10 percent less snaps in 2007, the line should also be reduced by 10 percent (to 13 or 12.5). Of course, this is an over-simplification of the matter, but something to keep in mind.
Less possessions means a better chance the game will be decided by three or seven points. For example, what might have been a 20-10 final score in 2005 may end at

17-10 in 2007. Granted, a 24-17 game last year might end at 21-17 these days, but the former - a three- or seven-point advantage being preserved as opposed to created - is the most likely scenario.

*UPDATE* - Sept. 25, 2007

New Clock Rules Boon for online bookmakers

By adjusting the time-keeping rules to shorten the duration of college football games, the NCAA hoped to make its product more enjoyable for the fans. While the NCAA's success in this regard is still up for debate, bookmakers couldn't be happier with the results.

"We are seeing a massive jump in college football betting," noted the MySportsbook.com management team. "With all the early Saturday games (12 a.m. ET) ending before the second wave begins (3:30 p.m. ET) - something that didn't always happen before the changes - bettors are now able to re-invest their winnings from the morning session in the afternoon games."

While not all bettors will choose to roll over their winnings, it doesn't take much for an impact to be seen on the bottom line. "Not all of the millions of dollars in morning payouts get re-bet. In fact, it's probably only 10 to 20 percent," noted the sportsbook management team. "Still, the increased football betting lines window will create a ton of growth for us over the course of the season."

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