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07/06/2009 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Houston Astros hope to stay on the winning path when they take on the National League Central-rival Pittsburgh Pirates tonight in the first of three straight games from Minute Maid Park.
Houston has won seven of its last 11 games and salvaged the finale of a three- game series at San Francisco with Sunday's 7-1 victory behind eight strong innings of one-run ball from starter Roy Oswalt. Oswalt allowed three hits, struck out six and walked just one batter.
"Another strong performance by Roy," Houston manager Cecil Cooper told the Astros' site. "He started the road trip and ended the road trip with two great performances. Last time out I thought he had good stuff, and this time his stuff was even better. Just a great outing by Roy, and hopefully this is something we'll see a lot of the second half. If it is, we're going to jump on his back and ride."
Oswalt helped himself by driving in a pair of runs, while Miguel Tejada, Hunter Pence and Jason Michaels all homered for Houston, who got three hits, an RBI and two runs scored from Jeff Keppinger. Tejada and Pence were named to the NL roster for next week's All-Star Game in St. Louis.
The Astros, who are four games behind the Cardinals for the NL Central lead, will hand the ball to Mike Hampton on Monday. Hampton has won all three of his starts against Pittsburgh this season with a 0.90 ERA and nine in a row overall. He is 13-3 with a 2.44 earned run average through 25 games (19 starts) in this series.
Hampton is 2-2 in his last four decisions overall, and is coming off a no- decision against San Diego on June 30. He held the Padres to a run on four hits and one walk with six K's over six innings of a 4-3 loss. The oft-injured lefty is 4-5 with a 4.44 ERA in 13 starts this season for the Astros, who will also host Washington for four games on the homestand.
Pittsburgh will resume a nine-game road trip Monday in Houston and opened the trek by losing two of three meetings at Florida. In Sunday's 5-0 loss in the series finale at Land Shark Stadium, starter Ross Ohlendorf allowed five runs on nine hits with three strikeouts and one walk over five innings to take the loss for the Pirates, who have dropped two in a row and six of their last eight contests.
"Nothing really worked for him and his stuff wasn't there. He has had a couple of these [bad starts] this year but he has always bounced back," Pirates manager John Russell said of his starter.
Andrew McCutchen had a pair of hits and Garrett Jones had the other hit for the Pirates, who will also visit Philadelphia for three games on the swing. In other team news, second baseman Freddy Sanchez was named as a reserve for the NL roster for next week's All-Star Game. Sanchez becomes the first Pirates player since Jason Kendall to be a three-time All-Star.
Virgil Vazquez gets the nod for the Pirates tonight and will make his third start of the season. He is 1-1 with a 3.75 ERA, and is coming off a loss to the Chicago Cubs on July 1, when he allowed three runs and seven hits in six innings of a 4-1 setback at PNC Park.
The righty will make his first road start of 2009 this evening and has never faced Houston in his career.
Houston is 6-3 against Pittsburgh this season and has won 12 of the past 16 matchups between the clubs.
<< Yanks out to cap holiday weekend with sweep of Jays
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Yankees shoot for their fourth straight win
this afternoon, when they try and complete a four-game sweep of the Toronto
Blue Jays at Yankee Stadium.
New York, which has beaten the Jays the last five times it h
<< Report: Kidd to return to Mavericks
Dallas, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mavericks point guard Jason Kidd has reportedly
decided to return to Dallas for the next three seasons.
According to the Dallas Morning News, team owner Mark Cuban said Kidd's deal
will be worth more than
<< Rangers' Hamilton to return Monday
Arlington, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Texas Rangers outfielder Josh Hamilton is
expected to return to the team Monday.
Hamilton, who was voted a starting outfielder for the American League All-Star
team, has been out since June 1, when he
<< Feldman, bullpen help Rangers complete sweep of Rays
Arlington, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - David Murphy went 3-for-3 with a run batted
in, as the Texas Rangers completed a three-game sweep of Tampa Bay with a 5-2
victory over the Rays.
The Rangers also extended their overall winning streak to f
Marquis goes after win No. 11 against Nats >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jason Marquis will try to become the first 11-game winner
in the majors tonight, when he leads the Colorado Rockies in the first of
three straight games versus the Washington Nationals at Coors Field.
Marquis posted his NL
Nets sign first round pick Williams >>
East Rutherford, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New Jersey Nets have signed
guard/forward Terrence Williams, whom they took with the 11th overall pick in
the 2009 NBA Draft.
Per team policy, details of the contract were not released.
Mariners return home to host Orioles >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - After acquitting themselves well on a very challenging road
trip, the Seattle Mariners return to Safeco Field tonight to play the first of
three straight meetings with the Baltimore Orioles.
Seattle is coming off a nine-
Padres, D-Backs resume NL West rivalry >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The San Diego Padres and Arizona Diamondbacks have combined
to win three of the last four National League West titles, but reaching the
postseason seems like a longshot for both teams this season.
The two foes will be a
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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