05/20/2008 - San Diego, CA (Baseball Betting) - Albert Pujols went 3-for-5 with a pair of solo home runs to lead the St. Louis Cardinals in a rout of the San Diego Padres, 8-2, in the opener of a three-game set.
Ryan Ludwick went 3-for-4 with three RBI and two runs scored, and missed the cycle by a triple, for the Cardinals, who have won three in a row. Yadier Molina, Todd Wellemeyer and Cesar Izturis added an RBI each in the win.
"It's real big to put some runs on the board," Ludwick said. "We've had a lot of close games."
Wellemeyer (5-1) took the win after he gave up just two runs on six hits in six frames. St. Louis' bullpen was perfect through three innings of relief.
Brian Giles and Khalil Greene each had two hits for the Padres, who have lost three in a row, 5-of-6 and are 5-13 over their last 18. Giles and Adrian Gonzalez accounted for the San Diego runs batted in.
Jake Peavy was supposed to take the hill for San Diego, but the reigning NL Cy Young Award winner is headed to the disabled list with a strained flexor muscle in his right arm. Wilfredo Ledezma (0-1) got the start instead and absorbed the loss after he was touched for four runs on five hits in just four innings on the hill.
"You always fear the worst, this time it wasn't," Padres manager Bud Black said of Peavy. "Jake is out two weeks, we don't know the other end of that timetable."
The Cardinals jumped on top in the first. Skip Schumaker led off with a single and stole second base. Three batters later, Ludwick launched his 12th homer of the year over the fence in left, and St. Louis was up 2-0.
The Padres got one back in the home first. Tadahito Iguchi worked a one-out walk, moved to third on Giles' single and crossed home plate when Gonzalez grounded out.
St. Louis tacked one on in the third. Pujols made contact on a two-out single, Ludwick and Troy Glaus followed with walks and Molina was hit by a pitch to drive in Pujols.
Izturis belted his first homer of the year in the fourth to put the Cards up 4-1.
Justin Germano took the mound for San Diego in the fifth and gave up a towering home run to Pujols. Ludwick and Glaus kept it going with back-to-back singles, but Molina grounded into a double play. Adam Kennedy was intentionally walked, putting runners at the corners. Wellemeyer then hit an RBI single, and the Cardinals were on top 6-1.
San Diego made it 6-2 in the bottom of the fifth. Paul McAnulty led off with a walk and moved to second when Jody Gerut grounded out. Giles then singled on a line drive to left to score McAnulty.
The Cardinals again made it a five-run game in the sixth. Brian Barton managed a single, stole second and held at third when Pujols grounded out. Ludwick then hit an RBI double to left field.
Pujols added another solo shot in the eighth to make it 8-2 in favor of the Cardinals.
Game Notes
On Monday at 2 p.m. (pt) there was a blast at the site of a Hilton Hotel being built near Petco Park. At least 13 construction workers were injured. Authorities said there were no indications the blast had been triggered deliberately, and there appeared to be no damage to the ball park.
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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.
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