07/05/2008 - (Baseball Betting) - Pittsburgh native Dave Bush takes another crack at his hometown team tonight when the Milwaukee Brewers host the visiting Pirates in the second game of a three-game weekend series at Miller Park.
Bush, who was drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays in the second round in 2002, is just 1-4 in seven career games against the Pirates - six starts - including an 8-4 loss in Pittsburgh on May 22.
In that game, the 28-year-old allowed nine hits and six runs in five innings.
He's gone 3-3 in seven starts since, including a 6-3 loss at Arizona in his last start, on June 30.
The Pirates go with southpaw Paul Maholm, who hasn't lost in seven starts since dropping a 7-2 verdict to the Brewers on ay 20.
Milwaukee touched the former first-round draft pick for nine hits and four runs in 6 1/3 innings in that game, which dropped Maholm to 2-3 lifetime against the Brewers in six starts.
He's 3-0 since, however, including a 6-3 defeat of the Toronto Blue Jays on June 21, in which he gave up seven hits and three runs in seven innings.
In his last start, Maholm got a no-decision after allowing five hits and two runs in seven innings of the Pirates' 4-3 loss at Cincinnati.
He is 1-4 in seven road starts in 2008.
On Friday, J.J. Hardy hit a two-run homer as part of a five-run outburst in the fifth inning en route to a 9-1 Brewers victory over the Pirates.
Hardy hit the home run with one out to give the Brewers a 5-1 lead early in the inning. Two batters later after Ryan Braun was picked off, Prince Fielder blooped a double down the left field line, keeping the frame alive. Corey Hart followed with a two-out RBI single to account for the sixth run.
Milwaukee continued the barrage with two outs, scoring two more runs on Bill Hall's RBI single and Jason Bay's throwing error. Pittsburgh starter Tom Gorzelanny was finally pulled after walking the next batter, Jason Kendall, on four pitches after the score had ballooned to 8-1.
Fielder added an RBI double in the sixth to make it 9-1 for the Brewers, who have won three of four.
Hardy finished the game batting 4-for-5 while Hall contributed three hits and three RBIs, including his 11th home run of the year.
Ben Sheets (10-2) threw 120 pitches, which kept his outing relatively short, but in his 5 2/3 innings he only allowed a run on eight hits with six strikeouts and three walks. The win was Sheets' fourth in his last five starts.
Gorzelanny (6-7), on the other hand, was shelled in 4 2/3 innings, giving up eight runs - seven earned - on 11 hits while striking out four and walking four. His ERA now stands at 6.57, the worst in the National League among qualifying pitchers.
Bay, Xavier Nady and Jack Wilson each contributed two hits for the Pirates, losers of three of their last five.
Milwaukee took two of three from the Pirates earlier in the season after taking 10 of the 16 in the season-series a year ago.
<< 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
<< Lohse takes aim at win No. 11 against Cubs
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - 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 traini
<< Peavy goes for Padres at Chase Field
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jake Peavy tries for his first win in four starts this
evening when the San Diego Padres continue their three-game series with the
Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field.
Peavy was tagged with the loss on Sunday against Seatt
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.
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