Replay helps Giants beat Dodgers in wild affair

Baseball Betting Lines

09/27/2008 - San Francisco, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Steve Holm hit the game-tying sacrifice fly in the ninth, and Dave Roberts hit an RBI single in the 10th to give San Francisco a wild, 6-5 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers in the opener of a three-game set.

Jonathan Broxton entered in the bottom half of the ninth with the Dodgers ahead, 5-4, to close out the game. But San Francisco's Eugenio Velez grounded into a fielder's choice, then took off for second base on a steal. Catcher Russell Martin's throw sailed over the infield and almost past the center fielder to put Velez on third.

After Scott McClain walked, Holm lofted a fly ball to shallow left. Juan Pierre's throw, however, was too weak and wide and the run scored to tie the game at 5-5.

In the extra frame, Tyler Walker (5-8) retired the Dodgers in order to send the Giants to bat. Against Jason Johnson (1-2), Omar Vizquel smacked a two-out double, and Dave Roberts singled to right. The throw was not in time as Vizquel crossed home with the winning run.

San Francisco was only in a position to have to comeback after an improbable Los Angeles comeback. The Dodgers entered the ninth inning trailing, 4-2, but took the lead on a pair of homers. James Loney hit a leadoff shot against Brian Wilson to get Los Angeles within a run.

Pinch-hitter Nomar Garciaparra singled with one out, and pinch-hitter Matt Kemp struck out. Martin came up in another pinch-appearance and blasted a Wilson fastball over the left field fence to give the Dodgers a 5-4 lead.

Giants starter Brad Hennessey threw six solid frames, giving up two runs on six hits and a pair of walks, with two strikeouts. Pablo Sandoval went 3-for-4 with a run batted in, while Bengie Molina hit a two-run homer for San Francisco, which had lost three in a row.

Derek Lowe tossed three innings of shutout ball for the Dodgers, who already clinched the NL West title. Jeff Kent hit a two-run homer, while Pierre added a pair of hits.

Kent's homer gave Los Angeles the 2-0 lead in the fourth inning, but the Giants tied the game up on a reversed call. Scott Proctor started the frame for LA and gave up a one-out single to Sandoval.

Molina then stepped up and blasted the ball to right field, and it hit off the top of the tall wall's roof before bouncing back to the field. It was initially called a single, but the umpires conferred to see the replay, ruled it a home run, and the game was tied a 2-2.

In the home seventh the Giants added another pair of runs. Roberts walked and Velez singled with one out against Chan Ho Park before Joe Beimel entered to pitch. Sandoval greeted him with an RBI single, and later Rich Aurilia's sacrifice fly gave San Francisco a 4-2 lead.

Game Notes

It was the 13th homer of the season for both Loney and Martin. Kent's homer was his 12th...The Giants left 10 runners on base, while the Dodgers stranded six.

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Big East Conference odds

Work left to do: Villanova, Syracuse, DePaul, West Virginia, Providence

Notre Dame and Louisville appear to have done enough to make the move, so we'll make them locks. The Cardinals, despite a modest RPI, are trending way up and have clinched at least a tie for third in the Big East, which should be more than enough with their pair of big road wins. Villanova got back to .500 and gets back to more solid footing. Syracuse got a very important road win and crippled a fellow contender in the process. West Virginia's fate could be in its hands Tuesday at Pitt.

Work left to do:

Villanova [18-9 (7-7), RPI: 21, SOS: 5] Pounded Rutgers to get back to .500. If Cats can get their last two (at UConn, vs. Syracuse), that should be enough with strong computer numbers and a host of wins away from The Pavilion. The Cats have beaten Texas and swept the Big 5 (never easy in Philly), but have a couple of losses to bubble teams (Xavier, Drexel), too. I still think they'll be OK, possibly even at 8-8.

Syracuse [20-8 (9-5), RPI: 53, SOS: 62] History says 10 wins will be plenty, but it might be hard for the Orange to get that last one with a final two vs. G'town, which is trying to win the league title, and at Villanova, which will be desperate for a W. The relative lack of nonconference heft and the weak computer numbers are still concerns, but the Orange have won four in a row and got a very, very big win at Providence on Saturday.

DePaul [16-12 (8-7), RPI: 54, SOS: 18] Beat Cincy and should get past South Florida to get to 9-7, but then what? They have beaten Kansas and Cal (right after the DeVon Hardin injury) earlier this season, but also have lost to Bradley and Purdue, among others. They'll likely need a couple of BE tourney wins, too, but we'll see ...

West Virginia [19-7 (8-6), RPI: 58, SOS: 125] The game at Pitt on Tuesday night could decide the Mountaineers' fate (barring a deep tournament run). They can still get to 9-7 in the Big East without it by beating Cincinnati, but the nine wins would be against UConn, Villanova, St. John's, South Florida, DePaul, Rutgers, Seton Hall twice and the Bearcats. Beating bubble foes is fine, but where's the beef? Outside of beating PG-less UCLA in nonconference play (still a top quality win), there's not a lot to fall back on (besides maybe NC State). WVU vs. Syracuse would be an interesting debate, as the teams don't play in the Big East regular season. WVU has the best win, but Cuse has played the much better schedule.

Providence [17-10 (7-7), RPI: 70, SOS: 33] The Friars likely saw their at-large hopes die at home in the four-point loss to Syracuse, barring an unexpected run to the Big East semis or more. The RPI, bad already, won't be helped by playing St. John's and South Florida in the final two league games.

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Betting Football

NFL Football Betting Online

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.