Buehrle, Pierzynski carry White Sox over Royals

Baseball Betting Lines

07/09/2010 - Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mark Buehrle spun seven scoreless frames and A.J. Pierzynski hit two home runs and drove in a season-high four runs to power the White Sox to an 8-2 victory over Kansas City in the opener of a three-game set.

Buehrle (8-7) allowed six hits, while walking three and striking out a pair to lead Chicago to its sixth consecutive win.

Andruw Jones had three hits and drove in two runs and Paul Konerko had a pair of hits, scored twice and drove in a run for the White Sox, who have won 12 of their last 13 home games.

Bruce Chen (5-3) suffered the loss after yielding three runs on six hits over 3 1/3 innings, while walking one and fanning one for the Royals, who were denied their first four-game win streak of the season.

Konerko and Carlos Quentin opened the second inning with singles, advanced on a Pierzynski sacrifice bunt and scored on a single off the base of the left field wall by Jones, who had driven in only one run since June 11.

Pierzynski went from small ball to long ball with a one-out solo home run in the fourth that made it 3-0 and knocked Chen out of the game.

Meanwhile, the Royals put a runner at second base in four of the first five innings and had multiple base runners in the first, fourth and fifth innings but could not score against the ChiSox southpaw.

Chicago added another run in the fifth against Kanekoa Texeira when Gordon Beckham doubled, moved to third on a Juan Pierre bunt base hit and scored when Alexei Ramirez bounced into a double play.

Alex Rios worked a two-out walk in the eighth off Victor Marte, stole second and scored when Konerko doubled to the gap in right-center. Quentin drew a walk, and was replaced by a pinch-runner, before Pierzynski followed with his second clout of the night to right field to finish the scoring for the home side.

Sergio Santos threw a scoreless eighth for the Sox and turned things over in the ninth to Jeff Marquez, who was making his major league debut. The right- hander retired the first batter he faced before Mitch Maier singled and scored on a Yuniesky Betancourt home run that spoiled the shutout bid. Marquez then retired the next two hitters to end the game.

Game Notes

Royals' outfielder Jose Guillen missed his second straight game due to a left quadriceps strain suffered in Tuesday's game in Seattle...Quentin returned after missing the last three games because of a knee injury...Jones had his first multi-RBI game since May 5...Buehrle beat the Royals for the first time in three meetings this year and for a 21st time in his career...The season series is even at five games apiece...The White Sox are 23-5 since June 9. Bryan Bulaga, the 23rd overall pick in the NFL Draft by the Green Bay Packers, threw out the ceremonial first pitch prior to the game.

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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.