Nationals seek third straight win in opener with Brewers

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07/23/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Washington Nationals hope to build off a very encouraging showing in their most recent series when the club travels to Miller Park tonight to start up a three-game set with the Milwaukee Brewers.

Washington enters this evening's tilt off back-to-back victories on the road over National League Central contender Cincinnati. After posting an 8-5 victory behind rookie Stephen Strasburg on Wednesday, the Nationals received an even better performance out of veteran Livan Hernandez to hand the Reds a 7-1 defeat in yesterday's finale of a four-game series.

Hernandez (7-6) went the distance on a seven hitter and did not walk a batter while striking out five to stop a two-start losing streak. The 35-year-old notched his first victory since June 21.

Adam Dunn helped Hernandez's cause by belting a two-run homer and Roger Bernadina added a solo shot for the Nationals, who had lost four of the first five tests of their current 10-game road trip before Wednesday's verdict. Nyjer Morgan and Adam Kennedy each contributed two hits and an RBI to yesterday's result.

"We needed to put a couple together, and especially against a ballclub as good as Cincinnati," said Nationals manager Jim Riggleman. "We needed to win a couple. Not win a game and take a step back. We needed to show ourselves that yeah, you know, we can play with these other teams and put a few together and not win sporadically, but win more consistently."

Craig Stammen will try to give the Nationals another strong start when he takes the ball for tonight's opener. The right-hander has gone 0-2 over his last two mound trips, but did pitch very well in a hard-luck loss at Florida this past Sunday.

Stammen held the Marlins to a run on six hits and struck out six batters over six innings that day, but didn't get any support in a 1-0 setback. He's had trouble breaking into the win column all throughout this season, having notched just two victories in 16 starts in 2010.

The 26-year-old is 1-0 in two previous meetings with the Brewers, both of which took place last season, but was tagged for five runs and nine hits in just 4 2/3 innings in a no-decision at Miller Park on July 27, 2009.

Milwaukee returns home after going 4-4 on an eight-game road trip through Atlanta and Pittsburgh and ended the trek on a good note, coming up with a 3-2 triumph over the Pirates. Yovani Gallardo, making his first start since July 4, tossed six scoreless innings to lead the way.

Gallardo yielded five hits and walked just one while striking out five in improving his season record to 9-4. The All-Star right-hander had been sidelined for the past few weeks with a right oblique strain.

"[Thursday] I threw the ball pretty well," Gallardo said. "I just tried to stay in that rhythm. It's been a couple of weeks."

Rickie Weeks went 2-for-4 with a two-run homer and Prince Fielder added a solo blast, his 24th of the season, to help the Brewers avenge two straight losses to the Pirates on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Chris Narveson will try to make it two in a row for Milwaukee this evening, and the left-hander also seeks to follow up a solid last start when he toes the rubber in the opener. The 28-year-old held Atlanta to a pair of runs on six hits over six innings this past Saturday to gain the win in the Brewers' 6-3 verdict.

Narveson, who had been tagged for 10 runs (nine earned) and served up three homers in only 3 1/3 innings in his final first-half start, a home setback to San Francisco on July 7, is now 8-6 with a 5.83 ERA in 15 starts and nine relief appearances this year. He's had trouble pitching at Miller Park, though, having compiled a 6.12 ERA in 11 appearances (seven starts).

This will be Narveson's first career encounter with the Nationals in a starting role, but he did earn a win over Washington with 2 2/3 scoreless innings of relief last August at Nationals Park.

The Nationals took two of three from the Brewers at home from April 16-18, but have lost in nine of their last 11 visits to Miller Park.

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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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