Phillies go for four-game sweep of Rockies

Baseball Betting Lines

07/26/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Philadelphia Phillies will try to complete a four-game sweep of the Colorado Rockies this afternoon at Citizens Bank Park.

Philadelphia won its fourth straight game on Sunday, as Jimmy Rollins tied the contest and then scored the winning run on a wild pitch in the seventh inning, helping the Phillies to a 4-3 victory. Ben Francisco hit a two-run homer for the Phillies, who have scored 20 runs in the first three games of this series.

"We're still very comfortable with each other in here, and we have a team that's built to win. We plan on doing that," Phillies outfielder Jayson Werth said.

Ryan Madson (3-1) hurled a scoreless relief inning for the win. Brad Lidge loaded the bases in the ninth but recovered to earn his ninth save.

Ryan Spilborghs clubbed a two-run shot for the Rockies, who stumbled to their fifth straight defeat and are 2-8 on their 11-game road trip that winds down this afternoon.

Joe Beimel (1-1) was saddled with a blown save and the loss after being charged with two runs -- one earned -- over two-thirds of an inning.

"It's obviously a tough way to lose, but you don't put yourself in a favorable position when you strand 12 runners," lamented Rockies manager Jim Tracy. "We just continue to allow the big at-bat to elude us and we lost by a run because of it."

Heading to the hill tonight for the Phillies will be righty Joe Blanton, who is 3-6 with a 6.03 earned run average. Blanton absorbed the loss on Wednesday in St. Louis, as he allowed five runs (three earned) and seven hits in seven innings.

Blanton has never faced the Rockies in the regular season.

Colorado, meanwhile, will counter with righty Jason Hammel, who has lost his last two starts after winning six consecutive decisions. Hammel lost to Florida on Wednesday, surrendering five runs and six hits in seven innings to fall to 7-5, while raising his ERA to 4.23.

Hammel is 1-0 in two games (one start) against the Phils with a 4.82 ERA.

Though Colorado and Philadelphia split a two-game series in May, the Phillies have won 14 of the last 17 regular-season matchups between the clubs.

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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.