Alvarez, Pirates hang on to beat Brewers following nine-run first

Baseball Betting Lines

07/20/2010 - Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rookie Pedro Alvarez hit two homers, including his first career grand slam, as the Pittsburgh Pirates scored nine times in the first inning and held on to edge the Milwaukee Brewers, 11-9, in the second of a four-game set at PNC Park.

Alvarez knocked in five runs, while rookie Neil Walker went 5-for-5 with an RBI and run scored for Pittsburgh, which snapped a five-game losing streak to Milwaukee, but won for only the third time in its last 11 overall. Jose Tabata added a two-run double in the win.

D.J. Carrasco (2-2) was credited with the win for throwing 2 2/3 scoreless innings of relief with five strikeouts. Pirates starter Brad Lincoln labored through 2 1/3 innings, allowing nine hits and seven runs with one strikeout. Octavio Dotel recorded his 20th save of the season with a scoreless ninth.

Jim Edmonds hit a three-run homer and Ryan Braun added a two-run shot for the Brewers, who had won six of eight coming in.

Dave Bush (4-8) was raked for 10 runs -- five earned -- on nine hits with a pair of walks and as many strikeouts over four innings. The right-hander snapped a streak of six straight starts having allowed two runs or fewer.

Pittsburgh jumped all over Bush, sending 13 hitters to the plate and putting up a nine-spot in the first. The Pirates loaded the bases on back-to-back singles and a walk with one out before Alvarez cracked a 2-2 hanging curveball into the right-field seats.

Lastings Milledge then singled, moved to second on Bush's pickoff attempt and scored when Erik Kratz's grounder couldn't be handled by third baseman Casey McGehee. Ronny Cedeno reached on another error by McGehee that put runners on first and second. After Lincoln bunted the runners up a base, Tabata brought in both with a double to right. Delwyn Young and Walker added back-to-back RBI two-baggers for a 9-0 game.

It was the first time the Pirates scored nine runs in the first inning since June 8, 1989 when they scored 10 at Philadelphia, but lost the game 15-11.

Milwaukee answered with three in the second inning on run-scoring singles from Alcides Escobar, Jonathan Lucroy and Rickie Weeks.

Alvarez clubbed a homer leading off the home second to make it 10-3, but the Brewers put four up in the third. Prince Fielder and McGehee hit consecutive one-out singles before Edmonds' launched a three-run shot to center. Escobar followed with a triple and crossed the plate on Lucroy's infield single which would signal the end of the night for Lincoln.

Carrasco came on and prevented further damage with a pair of strikeouts, then tossed a scoreless fourth and fifth.

Brendan Donnelly replaced Carrasco in the sixth and walked Weeks leading off, and Braun homered to left two batters later to cut the Milwaukee deficit to 10-9. Garrett Jones' sacrifice fly in the home half put the Bucs up by two.

Evan Meek and Joel Hanrahan worked a scoreless seventh and eighth inning, respectively, bridging the gap to Dotel, who struck out the first two hitters in the ninth. The closer then served up a double to Edmonds, but fanned Escobar to end the game.

Game Notes

It was the first time the Pirates scored nine runs in the first inning at home since August 8, 1893 versus the Chicago Colts...Pirates center fielder Andrew McCutchen missed his second straight game with a right shoulder injury suffered on Sunday versus Houston and is listed as day-to-day...Pittsburgh manager John Russell was ejected in the top of the seventh for arguing a foul ball...Walker became the first Pirates rookie to have five hits in a game since John Wehner on July 23, 1991 against Atlanta.

Wwwastronet Baseball Betting News

<< Cardinals cruise behind Carpenter to top flailing Phils
St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chris Carpenter allowed just one run in eight strong innings, and the St. Louis Cardinals defeated the struggling Philadelphia Phillies, 7-1, in the second of four games at Busch Stadium. Carpenter

<< Angels' home run parade leads to rout of Yankees
Bronx, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mike Napoli, Maicer Izturis and former Yankee Hideki Matsui each hit a two-run homer to lead the Angels to a 10-2 win over New York at Yankee Stadium. Napoli finished with four RBI for the Angels, who capt

<< Hunter remains undefeated as Rangers rout Tigers
Detroit, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tommy Hunter gave up three hits in seven innings to stay undefeated on the year and Ian Kinsler drove in three runs in an 8-0 Rangers win against the Tigers. Kinsler had one of three Texas home runs

<< Timberwolves to introduce Ridnour Wednesday
Minneapolis, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Minnesota Timberwolves will announce the signing of free agent guard Luke Ridnour on Wednesday. The team scheduled a press conference to introduce the former Milwaukee Buck, who agreed to a four-yea

<< Braves top Padres behind Diaz, Jurrjens
Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Matt Diaz homered in his third straight game and Jair Jurrjens tossed seven strong innings, as the Atlanta Braves defeated San Diego, 4-1, in the opener of a three-game series at Turner Field between the top

Hafner's clutch double gives Indians win over Twins >>
Minneapolis, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Travis Hafner's RBI double in the eighth proved to be the difference, and the Cleveland Indians extended their winning streak to a season-best six with a 4-3 win over the Minnesota Twins. Hafner finish

Bautista, Encarnacion power Blue Jays past Royals >>
Kansas City, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jose Bautista hit his MLB-leading 26th home run and finished with five RBI to lead the Toronto Blue Jays to a 13-1 rout of the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium. Toronto starting pitcher Jesse Litsch

Ramirez's three homers propels Cubs over Astros >>
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Aramis Ramirez recorded his fourth career three-homer game and drove in seven runs, as the Chicago Cubs rallied past the Houston Astros, 14-7, in the second installment of a three-game series at Wrigley

Phillies P Moyer leaves game, DL stint looms >>
St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Jamie Moyer left Tuesday's 7-1 loss to St. Louis after one inning with a left elbow strain and is headed for a stint on the disabled list. Phillies manager Charlie

Lugo's RBI hit in 13th inning lifts O's over Rays >>
Baltimore, MD (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Julio Lugo's RBI single in the bottom of the 13th lifted the Baltimore Orioles to a wild 11-10 win over the Tampa Bay Rays in the second of three games at Camden Yards. The Orioles needed to score twice i

Betting Football

NFL Football Betting Online

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.

Big 12 Conference betting odds

Work left to do: Texas Tech, Oklahoma State, Kansas State

Texas joins Texas A&M and Kansas as locks after getting league win No. 11. Texas Tech greatly helped its own hopes and crippled OK State's with the two-point win Saturday. Is K-State the last reasonable hopeful? Could be an elimination match in Stillwater on Tuesday, at least for the Cowboys.

Work left to do:

Texas Tech [18-11 (7-7), RPI: 44, SOS: 12] A critical two-point win over OK State leaves the Red Raiders with Baylor and at Iowa State left. Get both and the Red Raiders likely are good to go. Get one and there could be some interesting comparisons with a K-State team that could finish two or three games "ahead" of them in the standings but doesn't have any of the quality wins Texas Tech has. Not a lot in nonconference play (against Arkansas in Little Rock being the best win, by far) to lean on.

Oklahoma State [18-9 (5-8), RPI: 50, SOS: 35] Still without a road win, the Cowboys now need to win two on the road just to get to .500 in conference play. It's hard to recall a team (OK, other than Clemson) falling so precipitously from lock status to almost certainly out of the NCAAs at this point. There are wins to be had in the last three, including a very big home game against K-State on Tuesday, but this team is reeling. Can you tell the pressure to win is getting to them with the way the final possession played out at Texas Tech? There are some good nonconference performances to lean on, specifically beating Missouri State and Syracuse on neutral floors and Pitt in OK City, but if the Pokes don't right this very, very soon, that won't be enough.

Kansas State [20-9 (9-5), RPI: 56, SOS: 96] It pays to be in the Big 12 North. The nine league wins are Colorado (twice), Missouri (twice), Iowa State (twice), Baylor, Nebraska and (a good one against) Texas. That helps explain the middling computer profile. The win over USC is nice, but the nonconference leaves a lot to be desired. The game at OK State in Stillwater on Tuesday is huge, as it could KO the Cowboys and leave K-State with a home date against Oklahoma with which to work.