O's record first-ever season sweep of Angels

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08/29/2010 - Anaheim, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jeremy Guthrie came within two outs of his first career shutout and Matt Wieters knocked in the lone run with a sacrifice fly in the seventh inning, as Baltimore posted a 1-0 victory to complete its first-ever season sweep of the Angels.

With the O's clinging to the narrowest of margins, Guthrie (8-13) was lifted in favor of reliever Michael Gonzalez after Reggie Willits hit a one-out double and Howie Kendrick followed with a single.

Gonzalez then struck out Bobby Abreu before Koji Uehara needed only one pitch to retire Torii Hunter on a popup to second to earn his fourth save.

Guthrie gave up four hits, walked one and struck out five.

"I wasn't overthrowing and I had a nice flow," Guthrie said. "It's nice to come out on top with this one, especially against (Los Angeles starting pitcher) Jered Weaver."

His counterpart, the aforementioned Weaver (11-10), pitched eight strong innings, striking out 11 and scattering five hits.

"It's frustrating. To see Weaver pitch with that consistency is important to us," said Angels manager Mike Scioscia. "He gave us a chance to win, but we let him on the down on the offensive side."

The Orioles looked to break the scoreless deadlock in the top of the sixth, but Josh Bell was called out by home plate umpire Brian Gorman attempting to score on Nick Markakis' single to center field.

Los Angeles threatened in the bottom of the inning, placing runners on the corners with one out, but Guthrie escaped the jam by getting Kendrick to ground into an inning-ending double play.

Luke Scott singled to begin the seventh for Baltimore, then took third on a double by Ty Wigginton. One out later, Wieters lofted a fly ball to left to plate Scott with the game's only run.

Game Notes

Weaver has lost his last three starts...Baltimore infielder Julio Lugo left the game after getting hit in the batting helmet by a pickoff attempt in the first inning...Angels third baseman Alberto Callaspo went 0-for-3 to snap a 13-game hitting streak.

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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.