07/05/2008 - (Baseball Betting) - Kyle Lohse takes aim at win No. 11 this afternoon when the St. Louis Cardinals continue their key three-game series with the Chicago Cubs at Busch Stadium.
Lohse, signed by the Cardinals right near the end of spring training, has been sensational for St. Louis this season, having gone 10-2 with a 3.67 earned run average. He extended his unbeaten streak to 10 games on Monday with a victory over the New York Mets, as he allowed an unearned run and five hits in seven innings.
One of the 29-year-old right-hander's two losses came at the hands of the Cubs back on May 3 when he was tagged for eight runs and nine hits in six innings. He is 1-2 in his career against the Cubs with a 5.92 ERA in five starts.
Chicago will counter with left-hander Ted Lilly, who is 9-5 with a 4.56 ERA. Lilly won his fourth straight decision on Monday in San Francisco, holding the Giants to a pair of runs and seven hits in eight innings.
Lilly defeated Lohse and the Cardinals earlier in the year and is 4-2 lifetime against them with a 3.06 ERA in seven starts.
In the opener of this set on Friday, Carlos Zambrano was impressive in his first game back from the disabled list, shutting down St. Louis in a 2-1 win.
Zambrano (9-3) pitched for the first time since losing to the Tampa Bay Rays on June 18. The big right-hander left that start with shoulder discomfort and was placed on the DL four days later. He gave up just four hits in six shutout frames. Kerry Wood earned his 22nd save of the year with a scoreless ninth.
Kosuke Fukudome and Geovany Soto both hit solo home runs for the Cubs, who have won three of their last five games overall.
Albert Pujols became the fifth fastest player in major league history to hit 300 home runs with a solo shot in the eighth inning for the Cardinals, who have lost two in a row and three of four.
Yadier Molina extended his hit streak to 11 games with a single in the second inning.
Braden Looper (9-6) took the loss as he was touched for two runs on six hits in seven innings.
St. Louis took two of three from the Cubs earlier in the season, but Chicago has won nine of its last 13 at Busch.
<< Following wild opener, Rockies shoot for five in a row against Fish
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ryan Tucker and Jorge De La Rosa can only hope for the same
kind of run support their teams provided in the opener of this set on Friday,
as the Florida Marlins and Colorado Rockies resume their three-game series at
Coors Fie
<< Reyes hopes to get off schneid against Astros
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Southpaw Jo-Jo Reyes tries again to snap a month-long skid
tonight, when the Atlanta Braves host the Houston Astros in the middle test of
a three-game series at Turner Field.
Reyes, a second-round draft pick in 2003, was
<< Report: Former Charger Kiel dies in car crash
San Diego, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Former Chargers safety Terrence Kiel
reportedly died late Friday in a car crash. He was 27 years old.
The San Diego Union-Tribune reported the crash on Saturday. According to
police, a witness
<< Baek, Gonzalez lead Padres over D-Backs
Phoenix, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Cha Seung Baek allowed just two hits over six
shutout innings, as the San Diego Padres dispatched the Arizona Diamondbacks,
5-1, in the opener of a three-game set.
Baek (2-3) carried a no-hitter into the
Aces Wild: Halladay, Lackey face off in Anaheim >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The American League West-leading Los Angeles Angels of
Anaheim will play the middle contest of a three-game weekend set against the
Toronto Blue Jays this evening at Angel Stadium.
Although John Lackey has only pitched in
Mets, Phillies resume key weekend set >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jamie Moyer hopes for some run support this evening when
the Philadelphia Phillies continue their four-game series with the New York
Mets at Citizens Bank Park.
Moyer lost his third straight start on Sunday against Texas,
Zito tries to find way against Dodgers >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Barry Zito tries to avoid his 13th loss of the season this
evening when the San Francisco Giants and Los Angeles Dodgers resume their
three-game series at AT&T Park.
Zito failed to put back-to-back wins together the l
Nats, Reds continue four-game set in Cincy >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Right-hander Josh Fogg returns from a month-long stint on
the disabled list to start for the Cincinnati Reds in game three of their
four-game weekend series with the visiting Washington Nationals at Great
American Ball Park.
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.
Since the late 1990's, MySportsbook.com has been an online sportsbook / poker room / casino that focuses on quality.. MySportsbook caters to the experienced sports fan who values reliability and accuracy, with great attention to detail. MySportsbook's success over the past 3 years has made them the envy of the sports gambling industry. There are hundreds of sites appearing all over the Internet claiming to be the next best sportsbook online, each one is trying to use the same marketing techniques as MySportsbook originated.
If you want to try the most stylish and reliable type of online sportsbook, go with MySportsbook. Most online sportsbooks give you live odds and plenty of games and events to bet on, at MySportsbook they'll give you that and more. While perfection may be a lofty goal, MySportsbook attempts to achieve that goal. All sorts of ways to bet on football, football betting, Super Bowl betting lines.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your football sportsbook needs.
Sports Betting News: Football Betting | Baseball Betting | Basketball Betting | Hockey Betting | Golf Betting | Tennis Betting | Auto Racing Betting | Horse Racing Betting | Soccer Betting