Cardinals try to even up Giants in series finale
Baseball Betting Lines
07/02/2009 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Barry Zito tries to slow down Albert Pujols this evening when the San Francisco Giants and St. Louis Cardinals conclude a four-game set at Busch Stadium.
St. Louis won in dramatic fashion on Wednesday, as Colby Rasmus belted a home run in the 10th inning to lift the Cardinals to a 2-1 victory. San Francisco's Pablo Sandoval had dropped a pop fly foul ball previously in the at-bat before Rasmus won the game with his eighth home run of the season.
"There was no excuse," Sandoval said. "I have to catch that ball, 100 percent."
Pujols, who was in the on-deck circle at the time of Rasmus' game-winning blast, had two hits and was on base four times. He leads the majors with 30 homers and 77 RBI and is hitting an incredible .632 (12-for-19) in six games against the Giants this season.
The home run made a loser of Bob Howry (0-4) and a winner of Ryan Franklin (2-0), who pitched one flawless frame for St. Louis.
"We needed a win," manager Tony La Russa said. "When you haven't been winning, boy, it's hard to win games. And then when you're winning, it's hard to lose. It was really a struggle. Probably for one game that could be some of the worst at-bats that we've had. Guys are pressing so much. We just have to find a way to relax."
Rasmus' walk-off homer was the first by a Cardinals rookie since Andy Van Slyke ended a game on August 18, 1983 against Houston.
Aaron Rowand and Randy Winn each had two hits for San Francisco and Bengie Molina drove in the only Giants run. Starter Matt Cain didn't factor in the decision, but allowed just one run on six hits with three walks and three strikeouts over seven frames.
Zito gets the call tonight for the Giants as he tries to improve upon a 4-7 season ledger with a 4.55 ERA. Zito has won three of his last four decisions, but did not get one on Saturday in Milwaukee despite a decent effort. He surrendered three runs and three hits in 5 2/3 innings of his team's 7-6 loss that night.
The 31-year-old left-hander lost to the Cards back on May 30 and is 0-3 with a 4.57 ERA lifetime against them.
St. Louis will counter with righty Todd Wellemeyer, who is 6-7 with a 5.68 ERA. He did not get a decision on Saturday against Minnesota, but did not make it out of the third inning after allowing three runs and four hits in just 2 1/3 frames.
Wellemeyer has faced the Giants three times and is 2-0 with a 3.00 ERA.
The Giants won two of three games from the Cardinals at AT&T Park back in May and have taken six of the past eight meetings in this series.
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Cincinnati Reds hope that Aaron Harang can have the same type of outing Johnny Cueto had last night, as they wrap up a three-game series Thursday afternoon from Great American Ball Park. Cueto tossed six shutout inning
<< Yankees hope A-Rod stays hot in finale vs. Seattle
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Alex Rodriguez is starting to heat up. Not coincidentally,
so are the New York Yankees.
The Bronx Bombers will be shooting for an eighth consecutive victory and a
series sweep of Rodriguez's original team, the Seattl
<< Braves hope to break out the brooms against Phils
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Atlanta Braves are gradually working their way up the
NL East standings and will try to extend their winning streak to a season-high
four straight games tonight in the finale of a three-game series versus the
Philadelphia
<< Cubs, Brewers to begin key NL Central series
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - If the Chicago Cubs are going to win a third straight
National League Central title, they are going to have to pick it up
offensively. This weekend would be a good time to get it going, as they return
home for the start of a
<< Astros go for series win at Petco
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Houston Astros shoot for a series win this afternoon
over the San Diego Padres at Petco Park, where the two ballclubs will wrap up
a four-game set.
Houston has won five of its last seven games, including two of the fir
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago White Sox will be putting a season-high win streak on the line when the resurgent club heads to Kansas City's Kauffman Stadium tonight for the opener of a four-game series with the Royals. Chicago comes
Angels return home to host Orioles >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Los Angeles Angels return home from a six-day road
trip in first place in the American League West. The two-time defending
division champions will try to stay on top when they start up a four-game
series
Thrashers re-sign Thorburn >>
Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Atlanta Thrashers have re-signed forward
Chris Thorburn to a multi-year contract.
Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Thorburn appeared in all 82 games for the Thrashers last season and r
Some rebuild, USC reloads >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Within the world of college basketball,
there is a general consensus that the North Carolina Tar Heels have a huge
recruiting advantage that helps bring a never ending supply of blue-chippers
to Chapel Hill.
Creamer withdraws from title defense >>
Sylvania, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Paula Creamer withdrew from her title defense
at the Jamie Farr Owens Corning Classic before teeing off Thursday.
Creamer injured her left thumb last week and had received treatment on the
injury since wi
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.