Braden, A's take series from Detroit
Baseball Betting Lines
07/01/2009 - Oakland, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Dallas Braden threw seven strong innings, and Jack Cust and Jason Giambi each hit a two-run homer, as the Oakland Athletics defeated Detroit, 5-1, in the rubber match of a three-game series.
Braden (6-7) allowed one run on five hits and a walk and struck out three in the win. Brad Ziegler and Andrew Bailey each tossed a scoreless inning to end the game.
Kurt Suzuki doubled and drove in a run for the A's, who won this series after losing five in a row.
"We've been facing good pitching all year," Cust said. "Today we went out and beat one of the best pitchers in the league. We've just got to take that mindset and remember that, and go into these next games against guys that are similar to him and try to have good at-bats."
Justin Verlander (8-4) allowed four runs on six hits and a walk in six innings and took the loss. He also struck out six.
"I went back and looked over some of the tape and the two pitches that hurt me weren't that bad of pitches," Verlander said. "Can't be too disappointed. Obviously I am in the results, but the way I threw the ball, I'm all right with it."
Gerald Laird doubled and had the lone RBI for Detroit, which has dropped its last two series.
The Tigers got on the scoreboard in the second inning, as Ryan Raburn hit a one-out single and Laird later doubled to drive him in.
But Cust hit a two-run shot in the fourth, his 14th homer of the season, to give Oakland the lead. Giambi then homered to right in the sixth after Matt Holliday had led off with a single.
In the eighth, Bobby Crosby had a one-out base hit and came around on Suzuki's double to make it 5-1. Bailey then struck out the side in the ninth, working around a one-out walk to Marcus Thames in the process, to finish the game.
Game Notes
Oakland finished its nine-game homestand with a 3-6 mark...Detroit fell to 2-4 on its current nine-game road trip...Both clubs play again Friday, with the A's opening a three-game set at Cleveland and the Tigers beginning a three- game series at Minnesota.
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Betting Football
NFL Football Betting OnlineIs 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.