Shutouts Boosts Matt Into Cubs

Baseball Betting Lines

Matt Thornton retired all six batters he faced to pick up his third save of the season.

 

The Cubs grounded into double plays in their opening three at-bats, providing little help offensively as Garza strolled through the first five frames.

 

Gavin Floyd toes the rubber today for the White Sox, aiming to stop a four- start winless stretch. The right-hander limited the Rockies to six hits and a pair of runs over seven innings in a no-decision. His last victory came June 1 at Boston.

 

Floyd, who has not walked more than three batters in 43 straight starts, the longest streak by a Sox starter since Mark Buehrle in 2008, is 0-2 in three career games vs. the Cubs.

 

The White Sox hold a 45-38 lead in this all-time interleague series.

 

(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Approaching a couple of team records, Cliff Lee aims to continue his shutout streak this afternoon when he takes the mound for the Phillies, hoping to help his team to a three-game sweep in Toronto. Already the first Phillie to throw three consecutive shutouts since Robin Roberts in 1950, the crafty lefty can tie the Phillies record today. Grover Alexander threw four consecutive shutouts during the 1911 season. Lee's 32 straight shutout innings are already fifth-best in club history.

 

All told, Lee has surrendered just one earned run over his last five outings a span of 42 innings, which has lowered his ERA to 2.66 this season. He hasn't lost since May 31 at Washington. Lee is 2-4 with a 3.81 ERA in nine lifetime starts against the Blue Jays.

 

Roy Halladay beat his former team on Saturday in Philadelphia's 5-3 win. Chase Utley hit the go-ahead two-run homer in the seventh inning.

 

When the welcoming ceased, Halladay (11-3) went to work, scattering three runs on eight hits and a walk while fanning eight en route to his second straight complete game and sixth of the season.

 

The Phillies have won five of their last six, while Toronto has dropped three in a row, including the opener of this three-game interleague set on Friday.

Wwnhl Baseball Betting Blog

<< Humber Warns Pirates Down Club

<< Hellickson Carries Era With Starts

<< Hits Into Britton Win

<< Hits Royals Name Sweep For A

<< Dodgers Angels Claim Target With Run

Hits Joins Bautista Against Home >>

Raburn Beats Correia On . Sox Outfielder Carlos Quentin >>

Runs Sunday Highlight Wrap Down Diego >>

Run Reyes Claim Target With Victory >>

Week Open Name Sweep For Tour >>

Betting Football

NFL Football Betting Online

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.

NFL Football Office Pool Printable Sheets

NFL Office Pool Sheets

MySportsbook.com is considered one of the finest online sportsbook according to several surveys performed by independent industry analysts considering such factors as payout accuracy and timeliness, overall quality of website, and bettor satisfaction.

MySportsbook is offering a free printable NFL football office pool sheets. Run your own NFL Football Office Pool. Create your own pool, invite your friends to join. Compete with your with co-workers, friends or family for bragging rights every week. Exchange some hard hits without risk of injury. Trash Talk with your fellow co-workers.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your nfl football pool sheets needs.