Jones, Alvarez and Doumit power Pirates past Nats

Baseball Betting Lines

09/03/2010 - Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Garrett Jones hit two doubles and drove in three runs, leading Pittsburgh to an 8-5 win over Washington to begin a three- game weekend series at PNC Park.

Ryan Doumit homered among three hits for the Pirates, who had lost five of their last six. Pedro Alvarez drove in two runs, while Jose Tabata and Ronny Cedeno each had two hits in the win.

Zach Duke (7-12) lasted five-plus innings, giving up four runs, five hits and three walks while fanning five for the win.

Danny Espinosa hit his first career home run for the Nationals, who have lost three straight. Adam Dunn and Justin Maxwell each drove in a run in defeat.

Livan Hernandez (9-10) was pounded for eight runs on eight hits and two walks in just 4 1/3 innings to take the loss.

Nationals outfielder Nyjer Morgan, who found out Friday that he had been suspended eight additional games on top of a previous seven-game suspension after fighting with Marlins pitcher Chris Volstad on Wednesday, went 0-for-4.

Espinosa's homer in his second career game leading off the third gave Washington the early lead, but Pittsburgh answered with three runs in the home half to go ahead for good.

Cedeno led off with a double and moved to third on Duke's sacrifice bunt. Andrew McCutchen followed with a sacrifice fly for a tie game.

Tabata followed with a single, and Neil Walker walked, leading to Jones' two- run double for a 3-1 contest.

Doumit's leadoff blast in the fourth increased Pittsburgh's lead, and the Pirates added four more runs in the fifth.

Tabata and Walker hit back-to-back one-out singles, and Jones followed with another double to plate Tabata. Alvarez added two more runs with a double to right, and Doumit capped off the inning with an RBI single for an 8-1 game.

Washington came back with four in the sixth to close the gap.

Ian Desmond walked and Ryan Zimmerman singled to start the rally. Dunn plated Desmond with a base hit, and Mike Morse drew a walk to load the bases with nobody out, ending Duke's start.

Sean Gallagher came in and got Ivan Rodriguez to ground into a 5-3 double play, scoring a run, and Maxwell and Espinosa followed with an RBI hit apiece to make it a three-run game again.

Wilfredo Ledezma, Chan Ho Park, Brian Burres and Chris Resop combined to pitch a scoreless seventh and eighth, and Joel Hanrahan pitched around a two-out single in the ninth for his third save.

Game Notes

The eight runs allowed and 4 1/3 innings pitched both tied season-worsts for Hernandez...Hernandez was looking for his 10th win, which would have been the 11th time in his career he's accomplished the feat...The Pirates snapped a five-game losing streak to Washington...Walker has a 10-game hit streak.

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MySportsbook.com refunds all bets on Oakland, Green Bay and Tampa Bay from NFL week one.

(September 14) – Week one of NFL action saw three teams go scoreless for the first time since 1977.  Another four were unable to get a touchdown and almost half of the underdogs covered the spread. Those three teams saved bettors at MySportsbook.com from losing out completely, thanks to the company’s unique NFL Shutout Rule -- which ensures that if the team you backed goes scoreless, your wager is refunded.

Sportsbook refunded tens of thousands of dollars to customers who bet on Oakland, Green Bay and Tampa Bay, the three teams that stunk up the field so badly that their fans and backers never had a chance to get up from their couches and cheer.  In the spirit of the low scoring start to the season, odds makers at the world’s largest online sportsbook and casino have set odds on how many total shutouts there will be this season. 

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Seattle, last year’s highest scoring team, showed the power of their defense with their gritty 9-6 win in Motown over the ravenous Lions.  They take their act back home to the comforts of Qwest Field where they will face the resurgent Arizona Cardinals.  The Seahawks are favored by a touchdown. 

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Betting Football

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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.