Buehrle dominates as White Sox top Pirates

Baseball Betting Lines

06/17/2007 - Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mark Buehrle hurled eight innings of one-run ball to lead the Chicago White Sox over the Pittsburgh Pirates, 6-1, at PNC Park.

Buehrle (4-3) scattered nine hits, walked a batter and struck out four to earn the 101st victory of his career. The crafty left-hander threw 113 pitches - 75 for strikes - and has continued to fare well in interleague play since the start of the 2005 season, improving to 6-1 in nine starts against the National League. Ryan Bukvich worked a perfect ninth.

Josh Fields provided the majority of the offense, clubbing a two-run homer and adding a run-scoring double for the Sox, who snapped a six-game skid on the road, and a four-game losing streak overall.

John Van Benschoten (0-1), who made his first major league start in almost three years, yielded two runs on three hits, walked three and struck out four in 5 2/3 innings in the loss. The 2001 first-round draft pick is taking the spot of Shawn Chacon, who was recently moved to the bullpen.

The right-handed Benschoten has spent most of his time rehabbing from operations on both shoulders since going 1-3 with a 6.91 ERA in six games (five starts) for Pittsburgh in 2004.

Ryan Doumit had a pair of hits and knocked in the lone run for the Pirates, who have dropped two of three.

The White Sox jumped on Van Benschoten for a pair of runs in the second to grab the early lead. Jermaine Dye drew a one-out walk, Alex Cintron's single moved him to third, and Rob Mackowiak's groundout scored Dye. Fields followed with a double to left, plating Cintron to make it 2-0.

The Pirates got one back in the bottom of the frame, as Adam LaRoche doubled and scored on Doumit's two-out single.

Chicago added two more in the seventh, as Mackowiak legged out a bunt single and Fields slugged a two-run homer to left-center.

A.J. Pierzynski singled, Paul Konerko followed with a double, and after Cintron was intentionally walked with one out, Mackowiak's sac fly scored Pierzynski to make it a 5-1 margin in the eighth.

Tadahito Iguchi's RBI double in the ninth accounted for the final margin.

Game Notes

Buehrle has won both career starts against the Pirates, with the first one coming last June 27...The White Sox have not lost seven straight road games since dropping eight in a row from May 15-23, 2001...Pirates manager Jim Tracy missed the game and will also be absent for the series finale on Sunday to attend college graduation ceremonies for his son. Bench coach Jim Lett is the acting manager in his absence...Attendance was 36,610.

Luckusurf Baseball Betting News

<< Zambrano loses no-hitter, game to Padres; Lee and Young brawl
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Russell Branyan hit a home run in the ninth inning as the San Diego Padres broke up Carlos Zambrano's no-hit bid with one out in the eighth inning and held on to defeat the Chicago Cubs 1-0 at Wrigley

<< Shaughnessy captures inaugural Barcelona title
Barcelona, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Sixth-seeded American Meghann Shaughnessy captured the inaugural $145,000 Barcelona KIA tennis event after defeating Romanian Edina Gallovits in Saturday's final. The 28-year-old Shaughnessy breezed past

<< Angels' Anderson and Kotchman leave game
Anaheim, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Angels left fielder Garret Anderson and first baseman Casey Kotchman both left Saturday's game versus the Dodgers early with injuries. Anderson left the game in the second inning for a pinch-hitter

<< Baddeley leads Woods at U.S. Open
Oakmont, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Aaron Baddeley will carry a two-shot lead over Tiger Woods into the final round of the U.S. Open after shooting an even-par 70 Saturday at a tamer Oakmont. Baddeley, an Australian transplant living in Ari

<< Angels blank Dodgers; Kotchman, Anderson hurt
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jeff Weaver tossed 5 1/3 scoreless innings to win his fifth consecutive decision as the Angels blanked the Dodgers, 3-0, in the latest edition of the Freeway Series. Orlando Cabrera had tw

Phillies hold off Tigers >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jamie Moyer pitched seven strong innings, as the Philadelphia Phillies held off a ninth-inning rally and topped the Detroit Tigers, 6-3, in the second of a three-game set. Moyer held the powerful Ti

Columbus rallies to tie New England >>
Foxborough, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Alejandro Moreno scored on a diving header in the 85th minute as Columbus rallied from a two-goal deficit for a 3-3 draw with New England on Saturday. Moreno's spectacular effort was off a cross from Gu

Griffey, Ross each go deep twice as Reds rip Rangers >>
Cincinnati, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ken Griffey Jr. and David Ross each belted two homers, overshadowing Sammy Sosa's quest to 600, as the Cincinnati Reds beat the Texas Rangers, 8-4, at Great American Ballpark. Griffey hit a solo homer

Brewers top Twins to win fourth straight >>
Minneapolis, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Corey Hart knocked in a pair of runs in the seventh inning as the Milwaukee Brewers beat the Minnesota Twins, 5-2, in the middle contest of a three-game interleague set Dave Bush (4-6) tossed 6 1/3 i

Oregon State, Arizona State post wins in CWS >>
Omaha, NE (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Oregon State and Arizona State won their opening games in the College World Series on Saturday. The Beavers, the defending national champions, got a pair of hits and two RBI from Scott Santschi and held off

It's less than a month until the NHL hockey betting season opens at MySportsbook.com and preparations are underway for another battle in the race to hoist Lord Stanley's mug in 2007.

As cup crazy fans prepare to place their bets, one online sportsbook ,MySportsbook.com, is offering hockey betting lines on the 2007/2007 Stanley Cup , who will bring it home this upcoming season.

Despite a poor showing in last season's playoffs and the loss of Steve Yzerman to retirement, the Detroit Red Wings are early favourites at this online sportsbook with wagering odds of 6-1. The Wings will look to offensive powerhouse Pavel Datsyuk and newly appointed captain Nicklas Lidstrom to lead one of the league's most prominent franchises.

Always a threat are the Ottawa Senators, with newly acquired goaltender Martin Gerber from the Stanley Cup champion ,Carolina Hurricanes. The Sens are second best in the rankings at a 7-1 bet, and odds makers at this sportsbook are optimistic that the Ottawa squad will fare better than last season's Eastern Conference semi-final upset to the Buffalo Sabres.

Also worth noting are the defending Stanley Cup champs Carolina Hurricanes, a 10-1 bet to repeat. Behind the Canes are the New Jersey Devils, Calgary Flames, Buffalo Sabres, Philadelphia Flyers, and Anaheim Mighty Ducks all sit at 12-1. In the basement are the Washington Capitals, Chicago Blackhawks, and St. Louis Blues who all have 100-1 odds to win.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your hockey betting needs.

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.