Ethier helps Dodgers edge Braves

Baseball Betting Lines

08/14/2010 - Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Andre Ethier's sacrifice fly off Atlanta reliever Jonny Venters in the seventh inning proved to be the difference, as Los Angeles clipped the Braves, 2-1, in the second portion of a four-game series at Turner Field.

Scott Podsednik collected three hits and scored the decisive run for the Dodgers, who avoided a fourth straight loss. Ted Lilly (6-8) scattered three hits and walked two over six scoreless innings to record his third win in as many starts with Los Angeles since being acquired from the Chicago Cubs.

Atlanta's Derek Lowe (11-10) labored through six innings and managed to limit the damage to just one run despite allowing 10 hits.

The NL East-leading Braves had a three-game win streak snapped and their lead over Philadelphia in the division standings trimmed to two games after the Phillies blanked the Mets on Saturday.

Consecutive one-out singles by Podsednik and Ryan Theriot placed runners on the corners for Ethier, whose fly ball to right plated the speedy Podsednik to put the Dodgers up, 2-0, in the seventh.

Kenley Jansen replaced Lilly in the bottom of the inning and issued a leadoff walk to Matt Diaz before Melky Cabrera stroked a one-out double. George Sherrill took over on the mound, and pinch-hitter David Ross knocked in a run with a groundout.

Octavio Dotel recorded the final out in the seventh for Los Angeles and tossed a 1-2-3 eighth. Hong-Chih Kuo, who was promoted to the closer's role in place of the struggling Jonathan Broxton, pitched a flawless ninth to earn his fourth save of the season.

The Dodgers failed to score despite placing two men on base in both the first and third innings. Los Angeles broke through in the fourth, getting a run on a double-play grounder by Matt Kemp.

Lowe pitched out of another jam in the fifth.

Lilly singled to begin the inning, just his second hit of the season, and Podsednik followed with a grounder up the middle that deflected off the glove of second baseman Omar Infante for a single. Lilly hustled to third on the play, forcing a throw that couldn't be corralled by Brooks Conrad. Podsednik took second on the error.

After Theriot struck out swinging, Lowe intentionally Ethier to load the bases, and the right-hander got out of trouble by getting James Loney, who singled his first two times up, to ground into an inning-ending double play.

Game Notes

Atlanta third baseman Chipper Jones underwent surgery on Saturday to repair the torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee. The estimated recovery time for Jones is six months...Podsednik has now hit safely in 11 straight games.

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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.