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07/21/2007 - Bronx, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Hideki Matsui and Shelley Duncan each hit two- run homers as the New York Yankees defeated the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, 7-3, in the first game of a doubleheader.
Robinson Cano went 2-for-4 with an RBI and run scored for the Yankees, who avoided losing three straight. Bobby Abreu and Andy Phillips each had two hits in the victory.
New York starter Kei Igawa pitched five frames, allowing two runs on seven hits. Igawa also fanned six and walked three. Luis Vizcaino (7-2) was credited with the victory after pitching a scoreless sixth.
Jason Hammel came out of the bullpen to start for Tampa Bay and pitched just four innings, giving up two runs on three hits. He was then optioned down to Triple-A Durham after the game.
"Today I felt real good," said Hammel. "My rhythm was good and everything just felt real good on the mound. It was a great line-up (to face) and I thought I did pretty well. I felt like I had a few more (innings) in me, but I don't want to get hurt on something silly. Definitely, I'd like to be a starter but I'll take any role if I can help the club. It's bittersweet (being sent to the minors), but hopefully I'll be back real soon."
Jae Kuk Ryu (1-2) absorbed the loss after allowing five runs on four hits in only 1 2/3 innings.
B.J. Upton, Ty Wigginton and Raul Casanova all hit solo home runs for the Devil Rays, who have lost two of their last three games.
With the game tied at 2-2, the Yankees plated five runs with two outs in the sixth to take control. Abreu singled to start things and Alex Rodriguez was hit by a pitch. Matsui and Jorge Posada followed with strikeouts before Cano picked them up and singled home Abreu. A base hit by Phillips brought two more runs in and Duncan's two-run homer made it 7-2.
"It was a changeup, and the ball started in my zone and I committed to it," said Duncan, who was pushed from the dugout by his Yankee teammates in response to a curtain call from the fans. "I just really made sure I wanted to stay on it, because the at-bat before I came off (the pitch), and I struck out. I wasn't going to let that happen again."
"It was really a special game," Duncan added. "I never really expected (the standing ovation). It was probably one of the coolest things I've ever been a part of."
Tampa Bay made it a four-run game in the eighth after Casanova hit a home run off Scott Proctor.
The D-Rays loaded the bases in the ninth with two outs, but Mariano Rivera struck out Jonny Gomes to end the game.
Home runs by Upton in the first inning and Wigginton in the second gave the Devil Rays an early 2-0 lead.
The score remained tied until Matsui launched a two-run homer in the fourth frame to even the score. Rodriguez walked with one out before Matsui belted his 15th homer of the season.
Game Notes
Duncan's home run was the first of his career...Tampa Bay outfielder Carl Crawford left the game in the fifth inning with a sprained left ankle and will not play in the second game of the doubleheader...Scheduled starting pitchers for the night cap of the doubleheader are Matt DeSalvo for the Yankees and J.P. Howell for the Devil Rays.
<< Local favorite Francella bounced from Match Play
New Rochelle, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - With no big names left entering the
quarterfinal round, a local favorite breathed life into the HSBC Women's World
Match Play Championship.
But not for long.
Meaghan Francella's run as the 33rd
<< Power wins Champ Car pole in Edmonton
Edmonton, AB Canada (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Will Power won Saturday's final
qualifying session for the Rexall Grand Prix Edmonton at the Rexall Speedway.
The No.5 Team Australia driver circled the 1.973-mile, 14-turn,temporary
course
<< Beckham not expected to start for Galaxy
Carson, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - David Beckham is not expected to start for Los
Angeles on Saturday night when the Galaxy host English Premiership power
Chelsea in a friendly at The Home Depot Center.
The international superstar has be
<< Drew, Diamondbacks edge Cubs
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Stephen Drew hit a go-ahead home run in the
eighth inning and the Arizona Diamondbacks held on to beat the Chicago Cubs,
3-2, in the middle contest of a three-game set at Wrigley Field.
Orlando Hudson we
Photo-finish decides Virginia Derby >>
New Kent, VA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Long-shot Red Giant caught Strike the Deal at
the wire to capture Saturday's 10th edition of the $1 million Virginia Derby
at Colonial Downs. The time for the 1 1/4 miles on the turf was 1:59.62, a new
track r
Bacsik, Nats shutout Rockies >>
Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mike Bacsik combined with three
Washington relievers on a three-hitter as the Nationals blanked the Colorado
Rockies, 3-0, in the third of a four-game series at RFK Stadium.
Bacsik (3-6) went
Bonds goes 0-for-2; Lincecum, leads Giants past Brewers >>
Milwaukee, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Barry Bonds went 0-for-2, failing to move any
closer to Hank Aaron's all-time home run record, but his teammates provided
enough offense to power San Francisco past the Milwaukee Brewers, 8-0, in the
second
Penny struggles, still leads Dodgers past Mets >>
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Matt Kemp crushed a three-run home run in a
five-run fourth inning, and the Los Angeles Dodgers recovered from a shaky
outing by Brad Penny to beat the New York Mets, 8-6, at Dodger Stadium.
Penny (12-
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.
Michael Vick is back, Brett Favre isn't and the NFC East remains the best division in the NFC, maybe in all of football.
As players start to gather for the start of another season, some things change and some stay the same in the world of the NFL.
The NFC East has been the dominant division in the National Conference for a while, despite limited playoff success, save for the New York Giants surprise Super Bowl win two seasons ago.
Hell, there's a generation of kids in Texas who have never seen the Cowboys win a playoff game (last win was in 1996).
But collectively, the Giants, Eagles, Cowboys and Redskins (well, maybe not so much the Redskins) are as good as a division gets in an NFC conference that has struggled to stay competitive with the AFC side.
Sports bettors have both acknowledged the NFC East's dominance, as one glance at the NFL future odds menu will show.
Looking over the NFL betting odds at online sports book MySportsbook.com we see the top three teams listed to win the NFC Championship are all from the NFC East:
Dallas Cowboys - 7 - 1
Philadelphia Eagles - 13 - 2
New York Giants - 9 - 2
Slotting in behind these three are two teams from the NFC North: the Minnesota Vikings (15-2) and the Chicago Bears (10-1).
Again, despite the lack of recent playoff success, the Dallas Cowboys are popular with the sports betting community, as they hold 14% of all the money wagered on who will win the NFC Championship.
So far, the New York Giants are the bettors' favorite to represent their conference in the Super Bowl, as they have 24% of the overall NFC Championship betting volume.
And what about the Philadelphia Eagles? For the most part, the Eagles had a very productive offseason, the kind that could bring them back to the top.
They had a good draft adding the likes of WR Jeremy Maclin and RB LeSean McCoy.
Unfortunately, the team received a blow when long-time defensive coordinator Jim Johnson passed away on Tuesday.
But this team will make a real run at the division title this year. Going into the regular season, Philly is listed at +240 to win the division.
Last season the Eagles were 9-6-1 SU and 10-6 ATS.
Teams from the NFC East will play teams from the AFC West in the regular season and the Eagles haven't really been a good bet in the last 20 games against the likes of San Diego, Oakland, K.C. and Denver, only going 8-12 ATS.
Two seasons removed from that Super Bowl title, the New York Giants see themselves listed as the odds-on favorite in NFC East championship futures at +162.
Plaxico Burress is gone and with him all the bad publicity surrounding the gun in the sweatpants incident, but can they replace him in the offense?
Last season the Giants were a very reliable bet going 12-4 ATS.
In the Giants' last 20 games against fellow teams from the NFC East; they are 13-7 ATS.
Dallas is listed at +240 to win the division.
Dallas went 9-7 SU and 7-9 ATS last season and with the amount of talent the Cowboys have, a similar performance won't do.
The Cowboys have been atrocious against divisional rivals, going 6-14 ATS in their last 20.
The Washington Redskins are longshots to win the division at +550.
Visit MySportsbook.com for free sportsbook odds RSS feeds go to MySportsbook.com for all your betting football needs.
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