Harrell wins MLB debut as White Sox extend home win streak
Baseball Betting Lines
07/30/2010 - Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Gordon Beckham had two hits and drove in two runs to support six solid innings from Lucas Harrell in his major league debut as Chicago downed Oakland, 6-1, in the opener of a three-game set.
Harrell (1-0), promoted from Triple-A Charlotte earlier in the day, yielded a lone run on four hits while working around five walks for the White Sox, who have won five in a row.
Paul Konerko chipped in with two hits, a run scored and a run batted in and Dayan Viciedo collected three hits and scored once for Chicago, which extended its winning streak at US Cellular Field to 12 in a row.
Brett Anderson (2-2) was tagged with the loss after giving up five runs on 10 hits over 5 1/3 innings in his first start since June 3 for the Athletics, who have dropped three out of four.
Juan Pierre opened the home first with a single, stole second base with one out and scored the game's first run when Alex Rios followed with a base hit.
Oakland tied the game in the fourth after Mark Ellis led off with a single, moved to third base on two groundouts and scored on an infield hit by Cliff Pennington off the glove of Harrell.
The White Sox regained the lead for good in the home half with a trio of runs. Konerko doubled and scored the go-ahead run on an A.J. Pierzynski base hit. Viciedo followed with a double and a ground out by Andruw Jones brought home Pierzynski to make it 3-1. Beckham then came through with a base hit to deliver Viciedo to complete the rally.
Pierzynski and Viciedo put together back-to-back singles with one out in the sixth to chase Anderson from the game.
Brad Ziegler took over and walked Jones to load the bases for Beckham, who singled to right to drive in Pierzynski to push the lead to four. Pierre then lined into an inning-ending double play.
Konerko's sacrifice fly off Henry Rodriguez in the seventh made it a 6-1 game.
Game Notes
The last time the White Sox claimed 12 straight games at home was July 1- August 5, 1989 when they won 13 in a row...Chicago has won 19 of its last 20 games on home soil...Harrell went 9-9 with 4.24 ERA in 22 starts at Charlotte. He became the first White Sox pitcher to win his first big league start since Kip Wells did it on August 2, 1999 at Detroit...Anderson was removed from his last outing against Boston due to left eblbow soreness and was placed on the disabled list the next day...He made four rehabilitation starts in the minor leagues before being activated to start Friday's game...Oakland also reinstated outfielder Travis Buck from the 60-day disabled list and transferred him to Triple-A Sacramento; placed pitcher Andrew Bailey on the 15-day DL and transferred outfielder Ryan Sweeney to the 60-day DL...The A's have used the disabled list 84 times since the start of the 2007 season, second only to Texas, which has used it 87 times, over that time span.
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Flushing, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kelly Johnson hit a go-ahead two-run homer in
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Montero
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The Eagles will receive a conditional draft pick in 2012 if Arrington does no
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Happ (2-0) and minor leaguers Jonatha
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Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jhonny Peralta hit a pair of homers and drove in three in his Tigers debut, as Detroit held on against Boston's furious ninth- inning rally for a 6-5 decision in the first of three between the clubs at Fenway
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J.J. Hardy had two hits and score
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Cincinnati, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Atlanta Braves second baseman Martin Prado
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Prado slid somewhat awkwardly headfirst into home plate on Jayson Heyward's
game-winning two-
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Kansas City, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Alex Gordon hit a game-winning three-run
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at Kauf
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the ope
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.