Rangers continue slide, fall to Blue Jays

Baseball Betting Lines

09/07/2010 - Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Vernon Wells went 3-for-3 with a pair of solo homers and Adam Lind clubbed a two-run shot, as the Toronto Blue Jays defeated the American League West-leading Texas Rangers, 8-5, in the second of a four- game set at Rogers Centre.

John Buck added a solo homer, while Jose Bautista chipped in with a two-run double for Toronto, which has won three straight after dropping five of its previous six.

Shaun Marcum (12-7) threw seven solid innings, yielding three runs on six hits with a pair of walks and striking out eight in taking the win. Kevin Gregg retired the final two batters in the ninth to record his 31st save.

Vladimir Guerrero hit a two-run homer and Andres Blanco went 2-for-4 with three RBI for the Rangers, who have lost eight of their last 10, but still lead the division by 6 1/2 games ahead of second-place Oakland. The Athletics host Seattle on Tuesday.

Scott Feldman (6-10), replacing left-hander Cliff Lee, who was scratched with a back ailment, allowed four runs on seven hits and one walk over 4 2/3 innings. The right-hander fanned four.

The Rangers, who have lost five in a row overall, have lost seven straight contests to the Blue Jays.

Buck opened the scoring with a two-out homer that just cleared the right-field wall. It was originally ruled a double, but after the umpires briefly reviewed the call, it was overturned.

Texas went ahead in the fourth when David Murphy led off with a ground-rule double and Guerrero followed by crushing a first-pitch fastball into the second deck in left for a 2-1 Rangers lead. However, Wells' long homer leading off the bottom portion evened things.

With runners on second and third, and two outs in the fifth, Bautista chased both in with a double into the right-center field gap.

DeWayne Wise's two-out double just inside the third base bag in the home sixth brought in Buck, who reached on a base hit. Blanco got a run back in the seventh on a broken bat RBI single to cut the Rangers' deficit to 5-3.

However, in the bottom half, Wells belted his second solo shot of the game and Hill drew a walk two batters later. Darren Oliver took over for Darren O'Day and Lind's two-run shot made it 8-3.

Jason Frasor tossed a scoreless eighth in relief of Marcum and Shawn Camp was summoned from the Jays' bullpen for the ninth. The right-hander gave up a two- run single to Blanco and Julio Borbon reached with a base hit. Gregg replaced Camp and got Ian Kinsler to ground into a fielder's choice for the second out before Michael Young lined out to center that ended the game.

Game Notes

Texas continued to play without the AL's best hitter in Josh Hamilton, who missed his third straight game with a rib cage injury...The Blue Jays have won seven of their eight matchups with the Rangers this season...Feldman dropped to 0-4 in nine career games -- six starts -- against Toronto.

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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.

Marlins could start season without No. 2 starter Johnson

JUPITER, Fla. -- The Foorida Marlins are preparing for the likelihood that right-hander
Josh Johnson won't be ready when the season starts April 2.

Grapefruit League action starts Wednesday, but Johnson, penciled in as the No. 2 starter, hasn't even thrown off a mound at full speed since September. He's experienced some soreness in his right forearm.

MySportsbook.com have the Marlins listed with baseball betting lines at +800 to win the NL East this season .

''You guys know the math. If he's not on the hill then he becomes an opening day roster issue,'' manager Fredi Gonzalez said Saturday. ''We're borderline now.''

Johnson, who finished 12-7 with a 3.10 ERA in 2007, was supposed to throw on flat ground Saturday. That was canceled when he woke up with pain.

He played catch on Wednesday with no pain but felt discomfort in a throwing session on Thursday. He's expected to try again Sunday.

''Like we always said from the very beginning, we're going to take it easy on him,'' Gonzalez said. ''He didn't feel right, so we shut him down. We're going to take it back to step one and see where we're at.''

Among the candidates to take Johnson's spot in the rotation are left-hander Chris George and right-handers Yusmeiro Petit and Jose Garcia.

Right-hander Sergio Mitre, who missed most of last season with arm and shoulder problems, also is behind.

With Johnson's status doubtful, Gonzalez said right-hander Ricky Nolasco will stay in the rotation and no longer will be considered a candidate for closer.

Additional basbeall odds can be found at: www.MySportsbook.com

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