Cuddyer, Span help Twins edge Rangers

Baseball Betting Lines

09/05/2010 - Minneapolis, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Michael Cuddyer and Denard Span each drove in a pair of runs and Minnesota survived a ninth-inning scare to take a 6-5 decision over Texas in the finale of a three-game series from Target Field.

Orlando Hudson and J.J. Hardy also collected an RBI each for the Twins, who swept the set from the AL West leaders and have won eight of their last 10 games.

Nick Blackburn (9-9) allowed six hits and two runs over seven solid innings, fanning four with three walks for Minnesota, which maintained its 3 1/2 game lead over Chicago in the AL Central after the White Sox topped Boston.

Matt Capps earned his ninth save despite allowing two runs to score and being charged with a run on three hits while recording the final out of the game.

Matt Treanor drove in two while Julio Borbon, Cristian Guzman and Vladimir Guerrero added RBI hits in the ninth for the Rangers, who slid to their sixth loss in eight outings.

C.J. Wilson (14-6) was tagged in the loss for seven hits and six runs, striking out five but walking four over 5 1/3 frames.

Jon Rauch turned in a scoreless eighth but allowed an RBI double from Borbon with two down in the ninth and departed with a runner on second.

Capps was called upon but Guzman hit a run-scoring single for a 6-4 game. Young followed with a base hit and David Murphy walked to load the bases. Guerrero then sent a ball up the middle. It was fielded by Hudson behind second base and he threw to third behind Young, who was trying to go back to the base.

Although Guzman scored to make it a one-run game, Young was called out due to runners interference -- incidental contact with Texas' third-base coach -- while rounding the bag.

Cudddyer's two-run double in the first staked the Twins to the lead, then the Rangers countered in their next at-bat with a Treanor two-run single.

Minnesota got a run back in the home second as Hardy and Matt Tolbert both walked, Jason Repko beat out a bunt single and Span's sacrifice fly plated the go-ahead run.

The home team put up three more runs in the sixth. Jason Kubel and Delmon Young stroked back-to-back singles then a Hardy hit plated one run. Repko walked two batters later to load the bases then Span also walked to force in a run and chase Wilson.

Michael Kirkman then allowed a sac fly from Hudson to make it 6-2 before retiring Joe Mauer on a fly out.

Blackburn finished his performance by sending the Rangers down in order in the sixth then working around a Guzman double in the seventh.

Game Notes

Minnesota won seven of the 10 meetings with Texas this season, including a perfect 6-0 mark at home...The Rangers announced Sunday that outfielder Josh Hamilton will be out for an undetermined period of time while recovering from a bruised left ribcage suffered on Saturday...Both clubs are in action on Monday as the Twins stay home to host Kansas City while the Rangers head to Toronto to start a four-game set.

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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.