Football Betting

Suzuki propels Mariners past Padres

Baseball Betting Lines

06/25/2009 - Seattle, WA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ichiro Suzuki finished a triple shy of the cycle, going 4-for-5 with a pair of runs scored as Seattle downed San Diego, 9-3, in the rubber match of a three-game interleague set from Safeco Field.

Mike Sweeney added a 4-for-4 day at the plate with two RBI for the Mariners, who took two of three in the series and seven of 10 overall. Rob Johnson knocked in three runs, Adrian Beltre contributed three hits and scored twice, while Wladimir Balentien also homered for Seattle.

Jarrod Washburn (4-5) earned his first win since April 21, a span of 10 starts, by allowing just six hits and two runs over six full frames. He fanned six with just one walk and lowered his ERA to 3.22 in the effort.

Chase Headley's two-run homer and a solo shot from Edgar Gonzalez accounted for the offense for the Padres, losers in seven of their last 10 games.

In his second career start, Wade LeBlanc (0-1) lasted only 1 1/3 innings in the loss, charged with five hits and four runs.

The Mariners struck for four runs in the first inning, starting with Suzuki's leadoff blast, his sixth home run of the season. Beltre singled two batters later, and Sweeney followed with a double. Franklin Gutierrez drew an intentional walk with two down, then Johnson laced a double down the line in left which cleared the bases.

Suzuki led off the second with a double but was picked off trying to steal third. Russell Branyan walked and LeBlanc's game was done in favor of Josh Banks, who held the M's at bay.

In the fifth, Seattle picked up two more runs on Ronny Cedeno's successful squeeze bunt which plated Gutierrez, then Balentien's solo shot.

Headley's two-run homer in the sixth put the Padres on the board, and Gonzalez added a solo shot in the seventh to make it 6-3.

Seattle responded in the eighth to put its opponent away for good, tacking on three runs courtesy of a two-run single from Sweeney and a run-scoring double-play from Jose Lopez.

Game Notes

Suzuki's leadoff homer was his second of the year and 29th in his career...LeBlanc's ERA swelled to 14.54, as he allowed three hits and three runs in three innings in his first start, on June 19 against Oakland...Prior to the game, the Mariners placed infielder Yuniesky Betancourt on the 15-day disabled list with a strained right hamstring and reinstated Lopez from the bereavement list.

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Betting Football

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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.