Red-hot Mariners continue series with Blue Jays

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07/21/2007 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - As one of the hottest teams in baseball, the Seattle Mariners continue their quest for the top spot in the American League West as they contend with the Toronto Blue Jays in the second of a three-game set from the Rogers Centre.

On Friday Adrian Beltre connected on a two-run home run for the visitors as the Mariners captured a 4-2 win, marking the team's eighth in the last 11 outings. With the victory, and a loss by the Angels, Seattle pulled to within a game of first place in the division.

Jose Guillen and Raul Ibanez each drove in a run for the Mariners, while J.J. Putz locked up the triumph with his 29th save of the campaign, his 31st straight dating back to last season. Putz, who put Miguel Batista in the win column for the 10th time this season, ran his scoreless innings streak to 22 in the process as well.

Batista permitted just two runs on five hits and struck out six over 5 2/3 innings of work, while Toronto starter Jesse Litsch managed to make it through only 4 1/3 innings, giving up four runs on five hits and walking four.

Alex Rios accounted for three hits for the Blue Jays and scored one of the team's two runs on the night, with Frank Thomas coming up with the other.

Now in his ninth season in the majors, Jeff Weaver tries to dig himself out of a huge hole as he takes the mound for the Mariners this afternoon in Toronto.

Weaver has won just twice in 2007, leaving him 20 games under .500 (88-108) for his career as he prepares to face the Blue Jays for the second time this season. The right-hander allowed a total of 10 hits for the fourth time in 2007 on Sunday as the Mariners bowed to Detroit in an 11-7 decision at home. Weaver was tagged for seven earned runs after giving up just seven earned runs in the previous six starts combined.

For his career Weaver has less than impressive stats versus Toronto, posting a 5-9 record with a 5.33 ERA in 16 appearances over the years.

As for the Jays, they are giving the ball to Josh Towers, who hopes to improve upon his 4-1 career mark against Seattle.

A seven-year veteran who broke into the majors with Baltimore, Towers has already doubled his number of wins from a season ago when he finished 2-10. The right-hander enters this contest with a 4-6 mark on the campaign after giving up six runs on nine hits, three of which were home runs, in a loss to the Yankees on Monday in the Bronx.

After playing under .500 against the Blue Jays each of the three previous seasons, Seattle seems to have found the answer in 2007 with four wins in as many chances against the Canadian club.

While Beltre had a big hit for the Mariners in last night's contest, he is still hitting a mere .136 in the last six games for the club. During that span Ichiro Suzuki has a total of seven hits and has scored five times.

Troy Glaus has been pounding the ball for the Jays, a team that is 11 games out of first in the AL East, coming up with three home runs and seven RBI for the club in the last seven outings. With Aaron Hill accounting for 11 hits and five knocked in, the pair have combined for the majority of the team's 17 RBI in the last week.

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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.