07/24/2008 - Baltimore, MD (Baseball Betting) - Roy Halladay was his usual efficient self on the hill, allowing just one run through seven innings in Toronto's 7-1 triumph over the Baltimore Orioles in the finale of their four-game series.
Before Halladay shut down the O's, Toronto needed to finish off Wednesday's rain-suspended game that was halted with the Jays leading 2-1 in the sixth inning. The Jays bullpen backed up A.J. Burnett's strong start on Wednesday to come away with the 5-1 win.
After the first conquest, Halladay (12-7) scattered seven hits and a walk, while striking out six to improve to 18-4 in 28 lifetime appearances -- 24 starts -- against the Orioles.
Gregg Zaun and Lyle Overbay each knocked in a pair of runs for Toronto, which recorded 13 hits in its fourth win in five games. Adam Lind was 3-for-4 with a double and two runs scored for the victors.
Daniel Cabrera (6-6) was saddled with the loss after allowing seven runs on 11 hits and a pair of walks in five-plus innings of work. Aubrey Huff and Melvin Mora each had two hits for the Orioles, who have lost four of their last five.
Baltimore right fielder Nick Markakis threw out Matt Stairs at home to prevent a run from scoring in the second, but that was close to the only highlight for the home team.
In the third, Joe Inglett scored on a Daniel Cabrera wild pitch, and Overbay singled in a run to give the Jays a 2-0 lead.
Lind opened the away fourth with a double and crossed home when Brad Wilkerson singled past the hole between the first and second basemen.
Overbay came through with a sacrifice fly in the fifth and Toronto blew it open with a three-spot an inning later. Daniel Cabrera loaded the bases with the first three hitters of the inning, and Zaun lined a single into the right- field gap to force in two and chase the starter from the game.
Marco Scutaro knocked in a run later in the inning with a sac fly off reliever Fernando Cabrera, and that was more than enough insurance for Halladay and the bullpen.
Luke Scott accounted for the O's lone run with a sacrifice fly following a pair of one-out singles in the sixth.
Game Notes
Daniel Cabrera has won just once in his last 11 outings since a 5-1 start...O's relievers allowed just two hits and no walks while fanning five in four scoreless innings of relief...Toronto is 8-4 against the Orioles this season...On Friday, the O's host the Angels for a three-game series, while Toronto hosts Seattle in a three-game set.
<< Romero, Vaughan share lead at Senior British Open
Ayrshire, Scotland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Eduardo Romero and Bruce Vaughan opened
with rounds of three-under 68 on Thursday to share the lead after the first
round of the Senior British Open Championship.
Andy Bean, John Cook, Kirk Hanefel
<< Mets move ahead of Phils in NL East behind Perez, Delgado
Flushing, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Carlos Delgado's two-run double in the eighth
inning provided the winning margin, and the New York Mets moved into first
place in the National League East with a 3-1 win over the Philadelphia
Phillie
<< Field of 11 set for Whitney Handicap
Saratoga Springs, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Salvator Mile winner Notional will go
after a second "Win and You're In" victory on Saturday in the $750,000 Whitney
Handicap at Saratoga. The winner of the 1 1/8 mile Whitney gains automatic
entry
<< Liverpool signs French teen Ngog
Liverpool, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - French striker David Ngog left Paris St.
German to sign with England's Liverpool on Thursday.
Ngog, 19, signed a four-year contract. He played in 18 games for PSG last year
and scored one goal. He is c
49ers sign first-rounder Balmer >>
Santa Clara, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The San Francisco 49ers signed their
first-round draft pick, defensive lineman Kentwan Balmer, on Thursday. Per
club policy, terms of the contract were not disclosed.
The Niners chose Balmer --
Kirilenko advances, second-seeded Srebotnik upset at Slovenia Open >>
Portoroz, Slovenia (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Top-seeded Russian Maria Kirilenko
needed little time to advance to the quarterfinals of the $145,000 Banka Koper
Slovenia Open, but second-seeded Katarina Srebotnik wasn't so fortunate on her
home tu
Sabres sign LW Darche >>
Buffalo, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Buffalo Sabres signed left wing Mathieu
Darche on Thursday. Terms of the contract were not disclosed.
Darche, 31, played in 73 games last season with the Tampa Bay Lightning,
posting career highs
Knicks sign free agent Roberson >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Knicks signed free agent guard
Anthony Roberson, the club announced Thursday.
Terms of the pact were not disclosed, although the New York Post reports it is
a two-year deal with the first year
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.
Sports Betting News: Football Betting | Baseball Betting | Basketball Betting | Hockey Betting | Golf Betting | Tennis Betting | Auto Racing Betting | Horse Racing Betting | Soccer Betting