Blue Jays edge Rangers in 11 innings
Baseball Betting Lines
04/22/2009 - Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kevin Millar doubled home the winning run in the bottom of the 11th after Toronto blew a three-run lead in the ninth, as the Blue Jays got past Texas, 8-7, in the middle contest of three-game set from the Rogers Centre.
Rod Barajas slugged a pair of two-run homers and Alex Rios had four hits with two RBI for Toronto, which has wins in three of its last four. Jose Bautista also collected four hits and scored twice while Millar scored twice and banged out three hits in the win.
B.J. Ryan was tasked with holding the lead in the ninth, but started by hitting Chris Davis with a pitch and walking Jarrod Saltalamacchia.
Ian Kinsler plated the first run with a fielder's choice grounder to second, that looked to be a sure double-play ball, but Aaron Hill's throw from second was wide of the bag and Kinsler took second on the throw. Kinsler then stole third to set up pinch-hitter Josh Hamilton's RBI ground out.
Michael Young then took Ryan deep to left-center, tying the game at seven.
Young also doubled twice, knocked in two and scored twice for Texas, which handed Toronto ace Roy Halladay his first loss of the season on Tuesday in the series opener. Saltalamacchia also ended with two RBI in defeat.
After Millar ended the bottom of the ninth with a double-play ball, Jason Frasor (3-0) was called upon to hold off the Rangers, and he did with two perfect frames of work.
Vernon Wells worked a walk off C.J. Wilson (0-2) to start the home 11th and moved up on Travis Snider's sacrifice bunt. Scott Rolen was issued an intentional free pass and Darren O'Day, acquired off waivers from the Mets earlier in the day, was summoned from the pen. Millar worked the count to 2-2 before taking a slider into the gap in left-center to end the game.
David Purcey limited the Rangers to three runs on seven hits and two walks over 5 1/3 frames while striking out six, but was denied his first victory of the 2009 season thanks to Ryan's antics in the ninth.
Matt Harrison was touched for five runs on nine hits and two walks over four innings in his start for Texas.
The Blue Jays jumped on top 2-0 in the second inning. Millar lined a two-out single into center and Harrison left a 1-1 changeup up in the zone as Barajas took it out to left field for the early lead.
Texas tied it just as quickly, though, as Nelson Cruz led off the third with a single and advanced to third on Davis' double to the left-field gap. Saltalamacchia roped a two-run single to left to even the score.
Barajas' second two-run shot of the game highlighted a three-run fourth as the Jays took a 5-2 lead. Millar doubled to left with one down and Barajas launched a slider deep to left. Bautista followed with a base-hit, moved to third on Hill's two-out single and crossed home on an RBI single by Rios.
Omar Vizquel singled and scored on a Young double in the fifth, cutting the Rangers' deficit to 5-3, but the Jays tacked on two more in the sixth off Scott Feldman on RBI singles by Rios and Adam Lind.
Texas got a run off Scott Downs in the eighth as Young doubled to right leading off, advanced to third on an Andruw Jones single and scored on a fielder's choice grounder from Marlon Byrd.
Game Notes
Texas split its eight games with the Blue Jays last season, but won both matchups held at the Rogers Centre...Kevin Millwood (1-1) gets the start in Thursday's series finale for Texas opposite Toronto's Scott Richmond (1-0)... The Rangers placed right-handed pitcher Kris Benson on the 15-day disabled list Wednesday, retroactive to April 16, with right elbow tendinitis. The club also acquired O'Day and transferred pitcher Dustin Nippert from the 15-day to the 60-day disabled list.
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Park.
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Western
Tigers OF Thames to miss more than a month >>
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Carl Crawford went 4-for-5
Betting Football
NFL Football Betting OnlineIs 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.