First-place Rangers, Royals square off in KC

Baseball Betting Lines

08/30/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The first-place Texas Rangers can get their road record to .500 and maintain a stranglehold on the American League's West Division tonight, when they visit the Kansas City Royals in the opener of a three-game series at Kauffman Stadium.

The Rangers dropped an 8-2 decision to Oakland on Sunday in the rubber match of their three-game series, but still own a 7 1/2-game lead on the second- place Athletics. Texas heads to Kansas City at 30-31 in 61 road games in 2010.

A's starter Gio Gonzalez (12-8) gave up just two runs on five hits with a walk and four strikeouts for the Athletics, who took the final two games after dropping Friday's opener. Coco Crisp finished 2-for-4 with an RBI while Kevin Kouzmanoff and Mark Ellis each hit a solo home run.

Josh Hamilton hit a solo home run as well and drove in the other run for the Rangers, who have dropped three of four.

Colby Lewis (9-11) was tagged for seven runs -- six earned -- on eight hits with three walks and seven strikeouts over 5 2/3 innings.

The Rangers go with breakout lefty C.J. Wilson, a former closer who's won six straight decisions since July 11.

The 29-year-old, who entered the season with 12 wins in 258 major-league appearances, picked up his 13th win of the year with a 4-3 decision over Minnesota on Aug. 25 after allowing seven hits and three runs in six innings.

He's pitched at least six innings five times and allowed three runs or less seven times in the unbeaten streak, which has seen his earned run average drop from 3.35 to 3.02 in eight starts.

Wilson tossed a complete game in his most recent meeting with the Royals, allowing five hits and a run in a 4-1 victory on May 7 in Texas.

He is 1-0 with six saves in 11 career meetings with Kansas City and 3-3 in 10 road starts this season.

For the Royals, righty Kyle Davies starts for the seventh time in his career against the Rangers while still seeking his first win.

The 26-year-old got a no-decision after he was ripped for nine hits and nine runs in four innings of a 13-12 Texas win on May 6.

He is 0-3 with a 7.62 ERA against the Rangers in 28 1/3 innings.

Davies was a 9-1 loser at Detroit in his most recent start on Aug. 24 after giving up 12 hits and seven runs in 4 2/3 innings.

His last win came Aug. 13 against the New York Yankees.

On Sunday, Mitch Maier homered and drove in two runs, helping the Royals salvage a three-game series with a 6-2 win over the Cleveland Indians at Progressive Field.

Alex Gordon added two hits, while Kila Ka'aihue had an RBI double for the Royals, who had lost four of their last five. Brayan Pena drove in a pair of runs in the win.

Bruce Chen (9-7) won for the fourth time in six starts after allowing just two runs on six hits and two walks in six-plus frames.

The Rangers had a six-game series winning streak halted in the last meeting between the club's on May 26. That victory by the Royals gave them a split of a quick two-game set at Kansas City, where Texas has still won eight of the past 11 meetings.

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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.

MySportsbook.com Releases World Series Championship Lines

New York Yankees and Chicago White Sox early favorites to win 2008 World Series
The Major League Baseball season starts this weekend and MySportsbook.com, a leading online sportsbook for over 8 years, is the first to offer baseball sports betting lines on who will win the 2007 World Series.

"The World Series is the biggest baseball event in the sports betting world and MySportsbook.com is excited that we are first to market with betting lines on every team," says Tim Dalton, Marketing Director, MySportsbook.com. "We are getting things ready for a great baseball season and our members are looking forward to our Player Payback Bonuses, as well as Dime Lines, all season long."

Going in to this weekend, MySportsbook.com's favorites to win the World Series are the New York Yankees at 7-2 and last year’s winners the Chicago White Sox at 9-2.

"These betting lines are ripe for the picking," Dalton added, "baseball fans know that the season is long and many factors, including players staying healthy, will affect these Future odds as the baseball season progresses. Betting on your favorite team in the beginning of the season could prove quite lucrative. We are seeing examples of this right now in the NCAA College Basketball Tournament with a lucky few that placed pre-season bets on George Mason to win it all. Anything can happen."

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your Sportsbook accepts Mastercard needs..

About www.MySportsbook.com
MySportsbook.com is the foremost online sportsbook offering Internet wagering to its worldwide customers. Fully licensed and regulated in St. John’s, Antigua since 1997, MySportsbook.com offers a complete range of online casino games, sports betting lines, poker tournaments and horse racing offtrack betting daily through its portfolio of companies and managed services. With over 7 years of experience, MySportsbook.com has become one of the most respected companies in the gaming industry by providing unparalleled 24/7 customer support and timely payouts. MySportsbook.com is part of the SportingBet PLC group of companies that is publicly-traded on the London Stock Exchange ( LSE ) under the symbol SBT.L. MySportsbook.com provides a secure environment for sports and casino wagering and has been featured in numerous media outlets, including MAXIM Magazine, Cigar Aficionado, and CNN’s Paula Zahn Now among others.