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07/15/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tim Lincecum didn't help the National League break its lengthy losing streak in the All-Star Game, but the New York Mets may have wished he had.
The rested two-time NL Cy Young Award honoree will take the mound when the San Francisco Giants start up their second-half schedule tonight against the Mets in the opener of a four-game series between postseason hopefuls from AT&T Park.
Lincecum received a third consecutive All-Star nod after compiling a 9-4 record with a 3.16 earned run average and a league-best 131 strikeouts through 18 pre-break starts, but didn't pitch in the NL's 3-1 victory over the American League in Tuesday's Midsummer Classic. That will enable the hard- throwing right-hander to start tonight's matchup of this key set, which takes place on his 26th birthday.
The San Francisco ace was last in action on July 7, when he struck out 10 Milwaukee batters and yielded just one run and four hits over seven sharp innings to defeat the Brewers. It was a needed return to form for Lincecum, who was reached for eight runs over a combined nine innings in back-to-back losses to Boston and Colorado during his two previous starts.
For all the success Lincecum has attained since breaking into the majors in 2007, he hasn't fared well in past matchups with the Mets. The former first- round pick has registered a loss and three no-decisions in three prior matchups with New York, while pitching to a subpar 5.04 ERA in those games.
Lincecum will be getting the call for a San Francisco squad that finds itself just two games back of fellow NL West members Colorado and Los Angeles for the lead in the league's Wild Card standings and is four behind first-place San Diego in the division race. The Giants closed out their first half strongly, winning six of their final seven contests and taking the final two bouts of a three-game series at Washington that culminated with Sunday's 6-2 triumph.
Travis Ishikawa went 2-for-3 with three RBI and rookie sensation Buster Posey delivered an two-run triple to help support a strong six-inning start from Giants youngster Madison Bumgarner in Sunday's victory. The 20-year-old Bumgarner (2-2) held the Nationals to one run and struck out a career-best six without a walk in earning his second win at the major-league level.
"My last two starts have been a little better," said Bumgarner, who's posted consecutive wins after losing his first outings since being recalled from Triple-A Fresno in late June. "I would have liked to go a little deeper [Sunday], [I] threw more pitches than I needed to early on, but that's a good hitting team. They're aggressive and are going to make you make good pitches."
Posey, San Francisco's other prized prospect, has been on a serious tear during his team's recent strong run. The highly-regarded catcher is batting a torrid .516 (16-for-31) with five homers and 14 RBI during an eight-game hitting streak that has raised his season average to a robust .350.
Closer Brian Wilson finished off Sunday's win by throwing 1 1/3 scoreless innings and helped the NL prevail as well in the All-Star Game, working a 1-2-3 bottom of the eighth to protect the Senior Circuit's two-run lead.
The Mets currently sit just one game off the pace in the NL Wild Card picture and are four behind Atlanta in the battle for first place in the NL East. New York will also get a welcome boost to its lineup as it begins the season's final 2 1/2 months, with standout center fielder Carlos Beltran set to make his 2010 debut this evening.
Beltran, a five-time All-Star selection with three Gold Gloves to his credit as well, sat out the entire first half recovering from knee surgery performed in January. The speedy switch-hitter, who hit .325 for the Mets last season and has knocked in at least 112 runs in three of the past four years, completed a successful minor-league rehab stint last weekend and is expected to bat cleanup in the lineup tonight.
"I'm happy to be back and be part of the team [and] to try to help accomplish our mission, which is to try and win a division and try to be in the playoffs," Beltran told the Mets' official site on Sunday.
While Beltran is ready to go, it's unclear as to whether the Mets will have leadoff hitter Jose Reyes available for the opener. The dynamic shortstop sat out both Sunday's 3-0 victory over Atlanta and the All-Star Game due to an oblique strain that has plagued him for the past two weeks.
New York didn't need Beltran in their last game, thanks to a top-notch performance out of starting pitcher Johan Santana. The two-time AL Cy Young recipient firing seven shutout innings as the Mets averted a three-game sweep by the division-leading Braves on Sunday, scattering five hits and three walks in improving his 2010 record to 7-5.
The Mets also received some clutch hitting on the afternoon, with both Alex Cora and Josh Thole coming through with RBI singles and Ike Davis supplying a solo home run as part of a 2-for-3 day. Angel Pagan finished with three hits for New York, which halted a three-game overall losing streak with Sunday's verdict.
"We scratched a couple runs on the board and got a [win]," said Davis afterward. "It's huge."
New York hopes to carry that momentum over into a critical 11-game West Coast road trip that begins this evening. The Mets have amassed an impressive 30-16 mark at home this season, but are a lackluster 18-24 away from Citi Field.
The Mets have acquitted themselves well as the visitor in this series, however, winning in nine of their last 12 stops at AT&T Park. New York took three of four matchups with the Giants held in San Francisco last season and also won two of three bouts between the teams at Citi Field back in May.
Mets manager Jerry Manuel will hand the ball to R.A. Dickey for tonight's opener, with the journeyman seeking to build off his pleasantly surprising first half. Since joining the club's rotation in mid-May, the knuckleball specialist has gone 6-2 with a 2.77 ERA in 10 starts and lasted at least six innings in all but one of those appearances.
Dickey has struggled some as of late, however. After ripping off six straight wins from May 25-June 23, the right-hander is 0-2 with a 3.86 ERA in a three- start span. His latest defeat took place against the Braves last Saturday, where he was reached for four runs (three earned) and gave up a pair of homers in 6 2/3 innings.
The 35-year-old, who's 3-1 with a 3.32 ERA in six road starts so far this season, has never previously faced the Giants.
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birdie put
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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.
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