Porcello, Tigers tame Yankees in doubleheader opener

Baseball Betting Lines

05/12/2010 - Detroit, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rick Porcello tossed seven scoreless innings to lead the Detroit Tigers past the New York Yankees, 2-0, in the first game of a day/night doubleheader at Comerica Park.

Magglio Ordonez and Brennan Boesch each had an RBI for the Tigers, who have taken the first two games of this four-game set, while winning for the third time in their last four chances.

Porcello (3-3) had his finest outing of the season, as he scattered four hits, struck out two and walked three. The 21-year-old righty had pitched to a 7.50 earned run average through his first six starts.

New York, meanwhile, wasted a terrific performance from right-hander Javier Vazquez (1-4), who surrendered both runs on five hits in a season-high seven innings. He also struck out seven and walked a pair.

Vazquez, acquired from Atlanta this offseason, had been horrendous for the Yankees through his first five starts and was skipped over in his last scheduled outing on Friday in Boston. Prior to Wednesday, he hadn't gotten out of the sixth inning, while allowing 25 runs and eight home runs in 23 innings of work.

The Yankees have now lost three straight games for the first time this season.

Both pitchers were cruising through the first five innings before the Tigers got to Vazquez in the sixth. Austin Jackson started the inning with a single and advanced to third on a base hit from Johnny Damon. Vazquez then got Ordonez to ground into a fielder's choice, but on the play Jackson scored to give the Tigers the lead.

After Miguel Cabrera singled, Ordonez scored on another base hit from Boesch and Detroit led 2-0. Boesch, who had three RBI in Monday's win, has now driven in a run in nine of his first 14 big league games.

That would be more than enough for Porcello, who improved to 7-0 in his last 10 home starts dating back to last season. Ryan Perry worked a 1-2-3 eighth and Jose Valverde recorded the final three outs for his 10th save of the season.

The Yankees threatened in the second, loading the bases on singles from Robinson Cano and Nick Swisher and a walk from Randy Winn. However, nothing came of it, as Ramiro Pena flied out to end the inning.

Pena put the brakes on another rally in the fourth when he struck out with two men on base to end that frame.

Game Notes

Jackson has hit safely in 28 of his 32 games this season...Prior to the game the Yankees placed reliever Alfredo Aceves (back) on the 15- day disabled list and recalled outfielder Greg Golson from Triple-A Scranton to take his place...Yankees Hall of Famer Yogi Berra celebrated his 85th birthday on Wednesday...The double-dip was made necessary by a rainout on Tuesday...The game was completed in a timely 2 hours and 15 minutes.

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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.