Foxy win: Orioles rally in ninth, top Rangers in 10

Baseball Betting Lines

07/10/2010 - Arlington, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jake Fox homered off Dustin Nippert in the 10th inning after Corey Patterson's grand slam tied it in the ninth, giving the Baltimore Orioles an improbable 7-6 come-from-behind win to spoil the Texas Rangers' big day.

The Rangers acquired All-Star pitcher Cliff Lee from the Seattle Mariners hours before the game and appeared ready to celebrate by wrapping up a rain- soaked affair holding a four-run lead in the ninth.

The Orioles had other plans though, as Patterson put the finishing touches on his four-hit night with a no-doubt, grand slam off Neftali Feliz.

Jason Berken (2-1) tossed a scoreless ninth and was credited with the win, Baltimore's second in a row on the heels of a 1-6 stretch coming into this four-game series.

Vladimir Guerrero hit a three-run home run for the Rangers, who dealt Justin Smoak and three minor leaguers to Seattle while getting back Lee, pitcher Mark Lowe and cash considerations in baseball's signature trade thus far.

Nippert (3-4) took the loss, Texas' fourth in six games. Scott Feldman allowed two runs on eight hits in a seven-plus inning start.

Feliz entered in the ninth holding a 6-2 lead and ran into some trouble. The O's loaded the bags with one out after a pair of singles and a walk before pinch-hitter Josh Bell swung through an inside fastball for strike three for the second out.

Patterson then launched a 2-2 fastball into the upper deck in right field, improbably tying the game.

"We're keeping these games close and the bullpen is making good pitches and giving us chances to score some runs," Orioles manager Juan Samuel said. "Corey Patterson came up huge there. It was just an unbelievable feeling to see that ball go out of the ballpark."

Pedro Strop came in to stop the bleeding, but Miguel Tejada singled, and Nick Markakis followed with a double. Ty Wigginton followed with a walk, which brought up Adam Jones for the second time in the inning. Jones, who led off the frame with a single, grounded out to keep the game tied.

The Rangers put runners on first and second in the home half, but Berken got Chris Davis to fly out weakly to send the game to extras.

Fox, leading off the 10th, sent the eighth pitch of his at-bat against Nippert into the first row of seats in left-center for his fifth home run of the year.

Alfredo Simon retired the side in order in the bottom half to notch his 12th save of the season, capping Baltimore's first win this season when trailing after eight innings. The O's were 0-51 when facing a deficit entering the ninth.

After a two-hour, 29-minute rain delay, the Rangers got on the board with a four-run third off Orioles starter Brian Matusz, who was pulled after the inning, allowing a total of four runs on six hits and four walks.

Michael Young stroked a one-out single, and Ian Kinsler followed with another base hit. Guerrero brought everyone home with one swing of the bat, swatting a home run for a 3-0 advantage.

Two batters later, with two outs and nobody on base, Bengie Molina singled, which was followed by a Nelson Cruz double. Consecutive walks to David Murphy and Joaquin Arias forced in the fourth run of the frame.

The Orioles got on the board in the fourth, as Markakis doubled leading off and raced around on Wigginton's single for a 4-1 contest.

In the fifth, Matt Wieters singled leading off, although he was injured running the bases on Scott Moore's subsequent double. Craig Tatum pinch-ran and scored on Patterson's one-out single for a two-run game.

Davis and Kinsler each added a sacrifice fly in the eighth to give the Rangers a 6-2 lead heading to the ninth.

"Both games we had won, both games the bullpen didn't shut it down," Rangers manager Ron Washington said. "Those are the guys we've been depending on up until this point. We just didn't get it done."

Game Notes

Wieters injury was termed a right hamstring strain, and he will evaluated on Saturday...Baltimore outfielder Felix Pie also left with a left quad strain and will be evaluated on Saturday...Davis was recalled from Triple-A Oklahoma City to replace Smoak on the roster...Two of Matusz's three shortest starts have come in Arlington after throwing just 2 1/3 frames on May 20 in a loss...Rangers outfielder Josh Hamilton extended his home hitting streak to 29 games by going 3-for-5...Texas went 1-for-11 with runners in scoring position, stranding 12.

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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.