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08/29/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Giants rookie Buster Posey is a big reason for the club's success, but a forearm strain has been bothering the young catcher lately. He is expected to be back in today's lineup versus the Arizona Diamondbacks in the finale of a three-game series at AT&T Park.
Posey was handed the starting job this season when veteran Bengie Molina was dealt to the Texas Rangers, and he's batting .329 with 10 homers and 49 RBI in 78 games. The Giants could have used Posey's power in Saturday's 11-3 loss in which another starting pitcher was hammered. A day after Tim Lincecum gave up four runs over six innings in a series-opening loss, Barry Zito was touched for nine runs -- seven earned -- on six hits and five walks in 3 2/3 innings.
"I'm just not in a good rhythm. The pitches just aren't crisp right now," said Zito, who was in trouble after giving up six runs in the first inning. "It requires working hard between starts."
Pablo Sandoval homered and both Pat Burrell and Aubrey Huff were credited with an RBI for San Francisco, which has dropped three in a row and fell 1 1/2 games behind Philadelphia for the wild card lead. The Phillies defeated San Diego Saturday afternoon, keeping the Giants six games in back of the Padres for the top spot in the NL West.
The last time Giants starter Matt Cain faced Arizona he tossed eight shutout innings for the win back on July 22 at Chase Field. He'll take on the D'Backs again this afternoon and is 6-4 with a respectable 3.22 earned run average in 16 career starts in this series.
Cain was 0-2 in three starts before beating Cincinnati the last time out on Monday, as he held the Reds to two runs and five hits and struck out seven batters in eight innings of work.
The bulky right-hander has won four of his previous six decisions and evened his 2010 mark to 10-10 in 26 starts. Cain is 7-3 with a 2.59 ERA in 13 home starts this season.
Arizona will try for its fourth straight win and a three-game sweep of the Giants today, and has outscored its NL West rivals by a 17-5 margin so far.
Daniel Hudson benefited from a six-run first innings and threw seven innings of two-run ball for the win last night, while relievers Sam Demel and Jordan Norberto each pitched a scoreless inning of relief.
"I was struggling early on. We had some long innings, it was kind of tough to stay warm, just kind of battled through it for a little while then the tempo of game started picking up a bit out there," Hudson said on the team's site. "I really got into a rhythm there at the end."
Adam LaRoche and Mark Reynolds both homered and finished with three RBI and two runs scored for the last-place Diamondbacks, who got a three-run double from Miguel Montero during the first-inning explosion.
Rodrigo Lopez hasn't won since July 8 versus Florida and is only 0-5 with a 6.90 earned run average in his last eight starts. Arizona is 1-7 in that span and will send Lopez to the mound Sunday for his 27th start.
Lopez last pitched in Tuesday's 5-0 loss at San Diego, as he surrendered five runs and nine hits in 4 1/3 innings of work. The effort dropped him to 5-12 this season to go along with a 5.09 ERA.
The righty is 0-1 in two starts against San Francisco this season and 0-2 in four career starts in this series. Lopez hasn't pitched well on the road this season, going 2-6 in 12 starts away from home.
The Giants are 7-4 against Arizona this season.
<< Marlins' infield dirt to provide Miami a challenge
CORAL GABLES, Fla. (AP) -When No. 13 Miami opens its season Thursday, it's probable that some of the Hurricanes will be bloodied and scraped by the time the game ends.And it might not be Florida A&M's fault, either.The Hurricanes' roughest oppon
<< da Silva cruises to Zambia Open title
Ndola, Zambia (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Adilson da Silva closed with a one-under 72
Sunday to cruise to a four-shot win at the Zambia Open.
The Brazilian, who was runner-up in the last Sunshine Tour event, finished the
54-hole event at 17-under
<< Tanihara wins shootout in Japan
Itoshima, Japan (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Hideto Tanihara closed with a six-under 66
Sunday to earn a one-stroke win at Vana H Cup KBC Augusta.
Tanihara finished at 22-under-par 266. The victory was his ninth on the Japan
Golf Tour, but his first
<< FCS Season Preview: Great West
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - And for our next magic trick ... we're
going to pick the winner of the Great West Football Conference.
That's not easy to do with the way the five-team conference in the Football
Championship Subdivision h
Brewers' Bush takes on Pirates at Miller Park >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Pittsburgh native Dave Bush faces his hometown team for the
16th time today, when the Milwaukee Brewers close out a three-game weekend set
with the visiting Pirates at Miller Park.
A 30-year-old product of Wake Forest, B
Braves go for a series win over Marlins >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The National League East-leading Atlanta Braves were able
to end their four-game slide with last night's win versus the Florida Marlins.
This afternoon they'll try for a series victory over their division rivals in
the fin
Dickey leads Mets into finale vs. Astros >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Resurgent knuckleballer R.A. Dickey aims for a second
straight win and third in four decisions today, when the New York Mets close
out a three-game series with the visiting Houston Astros at Citi Field.
The Mets
Reds, Cubs conclude set in Cincy >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rookie left-hander Travis Wood steps into Edinson Volquez's
spot in the Cincinnati starting rotation today, when the first-place Reds
close out a three-game weekend series with the visiting Chicago Cubs at Great
America
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.
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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