07/06/2008 - (Baseball Betting) - The Los Angeles Dodgers will try to stay within striking distance of the top spot in the NL West division today, when they conclude a three-game series against the San Francisco Giants at AT&T Park.
Los Angeles had its four-game winning streak halted in Saturday's 5-2 loss to the Giants in the second test of this series. Andre Ethier and Andruw Jones each drove in a run for the Dodgers, who are just a half game behind the slumping Arizona Diamondbacks in the division standings.
Chan Ho Park started on the mound and was charged with just one run on four hits with three walks and seven strikeouts over six innings. Brian Falkenborg was saddled with the loss after he yielded three runs.
Eric Stults will take the ball for LA on Sunday, and is 2-1 with a 2.21 ERA in three trips to the mound this season. Stults lost his last start on June 30 at Houston, allowing four runs and five hits in 5 1/3 innings of a 4-1 loss.
The lefty is 0-1 with a 6.75 ERA in three career games (two starts) against the division-rival Giants.
San Francisco has alternated wins and losses over its last seven games. In Saturday's win over the Dodgers, starter Barry Zito worked seven strong innings and posted the win after giving up two runs on six hits with a walk and a season-high 10 strikeouts.
Bengie Molina drove in a pair of runs, while Ray Durham scored twice in the win for the Giants. San Francisco is four games behind the D'Backs in the weak NL West division.
Giants starter Matt Cain will try to build off his last performance when he takes the ball on Sunday. Cain, who has alternated wins and loss over his last 12 decisions, hurled eight shutout innings of two-hit ball on Tuesday in a 2-1 victory over the Chicago Cubs. Cain also fanned 10 batters.
In six career starts against the Dodgers, the right-handed Cain is 0-3 with a 4.88 earned run average.
The Dodgers took two of three from the Giants in LA from March 31 - April 2 this season, and have won 15 of their last 20 at San Francisco.
<< Volquez leads Reds vs. Nationals
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Cincinnati Reds and Washington Nationals will wrap up a
four-game series this afternoon at Great American Ball Park.
The Reds have won the first three tests of this series, including Saturday's
3-2 victory. Jerry Ha
<< Nadal takes opening set of Wimbledon final
London, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rafael Nadal has captured the opening set
of the men's final at Wimbledon, 6-4, over Roger Federer.
Nadal gained a quick break of serve in the third game when Federer managed to
put only one first serve
<< Wimbledon men's final under way
London, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Play has begun in the men's final at
Wimbledon after a rain delay of nearly 30 minutes.
Roger Federer will try for his sixth straight title at the All England Club
and will do so against Rafael
<< Rain delays start of Wimbledon final
London, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rain has delayed the start of the men's
final at Wimbledon.
Roger Federer will try for his sixth straight title at the All England Club
and will do so against Rafael Nadal. Federer has beaten Nadal
Phillies sign closer Lidge to three-year extension >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Philadelphia Phillies announced on
Sunday they have agreed to terms with closer Brad Lidge on a contract
extension through 2011.
Lidge will get $37.5 million over the next three years wit
Angels, Jays wrap up set in Anaheim >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The American League West-leading LA Angels of Anaheim are
set to play the rubber match of a three-game weekend set against the Toronto
Blue Jays.
On Saturday, Alex Rios went 3-for-5 and drove in two runs, and Vernon
Lee leads Tribe in finale at Minnesota >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Cleveland Indians have lost seven consecutive games,
and they will attempt to avoid a weekend sweep at the hands of the red-hot
Minnesota Twins today at the Metrodome.
At this point, it would be surprising i
A's wrap up set with White Sox in Windy City >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago White Sox and Oakland Athletics conclude a
four-game series this afternoon at U.S. Cellular Field.
In Saturday's game, Nick Swisher, Brian Anderson and Alexi Ramirez each
homered to back a terrific
Is there such a thing as a trap game in the NFL?
I once asked that question to Pete Korner, who at the time was office manager and a senior linesmaker for Las Vegas Sports Consultants.
Korner almost ripped my head off. There is no such thing as a trap game, he loudly berated me. It’s a myth. The numbers are made using power ratings, he said.
There are trap games, though. They just might not be what you think. The perception is of a good team, say Philadelphia, laying a small number against New Orleans.
Using the highly-respected power ranking from The Gold Sheet, you’d find the Eagles with a power rating of 4 and the Saints at 8. When you factor the game being played in New Orleans, you could see why the line opened so short at less than a field goal.
For some, this makes it enticing to take the Eagles. That’s not a real trap game, though.
A real trap game, says professional gambler Dave Malinsky, is thinking you’re getting value betting a bad team, which brings us to the Oakland Raiders-Denver Broncos matchup.
The Raiders are +15 in this long-standing division rivalry. Denver is on a short week having dispatched Baltimore Monday. However, the Raiders haven’t covered the spread their last 10 games.
Many bettors don’t trust the Raiders to give a full effort. Few think much of Art Shell and his Oakland’s coaching staff.
So oddsmakers have to do something to make Oakland attractive if they hope to get equal action.
Now Malinsky is a value shopper. But he won’t touch the Raiders even getting more than two touchdowns.
“I try to eliminate the undisciplined, unfocused teams because they’re the ones most likely to suffer the bad beats,” he said.
Near the top of Malinsky’s list of stay-away teams is the Miami Dolphins, who have yet to cover a spread this season.
“Whatever you think of Nick Saban, you have to look at the penalties and turnovers,” Malinsky said.
It’s easy to point out the Dolphins failed to get the money this past week against New England because Olindo Mare missed a field goal and had another field goal blocked. But even though the Dolphins outgained the Patriots, 283-213, they committed eight penalties.
Bad teams not only cost themselves victories, but pointspread covers as well. The Arizona Cardinals and Green Bay Packers are two more examples.
The Cardinals couldn’t have been in a better position this past Sunday, up 14-0 at home against a mediocre Kansas City Chiefs squad. But they couldn’t hold it. The Packers got a push against St. Louis, but also could have won losing by three when Brett Favre fumbled at the St. Louis 11-yard line with 44 seconds left.
“The Packers were in a position to beat Philadelphia, too,” Malinsky said. “But they couldn’t even cover double digits.
“These teams just make mistakes and it costs you … they always will look good from a value standpoint. They really will. But that’s the trap.”
Houston and Tennessee rank among the six-worst teams. Malinsky wouldn’t be afraid to take either of these teams, however, if the price were high enough.
The Texans are bad, Malinsky said, but they have some discipline. The Titans showed they could not only come up with an outstanding game plan, but execute it as well, losing by one to the Colts on the road as an 18 ?-point underdog this past Sunday.
“Jeff Fisher is a worker,” Malinsky said of the Titans coach. “I’m not sure how hard Art Shell wants to work when he gets out of bed.”
Fisher, though, could be out as Tennessee coach after this season. Is he still worth backing in the right spot, with the right price, as a lame duck coach?
“It’s in his nature to keep working hard and not worry about any possible lame duck status,” Malinsky said. “He’s coaching for his resume.”
Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting lines.
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