Blue Jays, Devil Rays continue set at Tropicana Field

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09/08/2007 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Toronto Blue Jays try to keep their slim playoff hopes alive this evening when they play the middle contest of a three-game series with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays at Tropicana Field.

Toronto enters tonight's matchup 6 1/2 games behind the New York Yankees in the wild card race. The Blue Jays failed to gain any ground on the front- running Yanks on Friday, but picked up a win nonetheless, as Dustin McGowan hurled eight innings and struck out a career-high 12 in Toronto's 7-2 win.

McGowan (10-8) allowed just two earned runs on four hits, walking only one, before being lifted for Jason Frasor, who tossed a perfect ninth.

Matt Stairs went 2-for-4 with a pair of RBI, Gregg Zaun launched a three-run homer, and Aaron Hill and John McDonald each scored twice for the Jays, who have now won five of seven and moved a season-high four games over .500.

Edwin Jackson (4-14) was victimized by two big innings, lasting 5 2/3 innings in the losing effort for the Rays, surrendering seven earned runs on seven hits while striking out six and walking three.

Akinori Iwamura and Carl Crawford each scratched out a single and scored a run for Tampa Bay, which managed just four hits on the night and lost for only the third time in its last 10 tries.

Getting the call for the Blue Jays tonight will be A.J. Burnett, who has won three of his last four decisions. Burnett earned the win on Sunday in Seattle, as he held the Mariners to three runs and four hits in seven innings. He also struck out seven batters, while running his record to 8-7 to go along with a 3.71 earned run average.

Burnett has dominated the Tampa Bay Devil Rays over the course of his career, going an impressive 6-1 against them with a 2.57 ERA in 11 starts.

Tampa will counter with right-hander Jason Hammel, who is 2-4 with a 6.95 ERA. Hammel celebrated his 25th birthday with a win on Sunday against the New York Yankees, as he allowed just a run and five hits in seven solid innings. He also fanned seven batters without issuing a walk.

Hammel did not receive a decision in his only other appearance against the Jays back on August 1,

Toronto has won seven of its 13 meetings with the Devil Rays this season and is 30-20 in the last 50 matchups.

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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.

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