Blue Jays try to extend road success in finale with Royals

Baseball Betting Lines

08/13/2007 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Toronto Blue Jays aim for a rare road series win when they close out a four-game set with the Kansas City Royals this evening at Kauffman Stadium.

Toronto has claimed two of the first three weekend matchups with Kansas City to improve its lackluster season road record to 24-35. The Blue Jays have not won a series away from home since prior to the All-Star break, when the club took two of three tests in Oakland from July 2-4.

The Jays also have not posted back-to-back road victories since following up a June 13 decision over San Francisco with a triumph at Minnesota on June 25.

They'll have a chance to do so tonight after posting a 4-1 win over the Royals on Sunday. A.J. Burnett made a successful return from a lengthy stay on the disabled list, as the oft-injured right-hander twirled 7 1/3 innings to lead Toronto to victory.

Burnett (6-6), who had been sidelined with a sore shoulder since late June, held Kansas City to one run and three hits while recording five strikeouts. He had a shutout bid spoiled when Alex Gordon led off the bottom of the eighth with a solo home run.

Lyle Overbay paced the Toronto offense with three hits and two RBI, while Gregg Zaun ended 2-for-4 with two runs scored to help the Jays to their third win in four games.

Brian Bannister (8-7) took the loss for Kansas City, getting chased with two outs in the fifth after allowing three runs on seven hits and walking three.

Jesse Litsch (4-4) will attempt to duplicate Burnett's gem when he takes the mound for the visiting Blue Jays tonight. The rookie has been impressive as of late, having posted a 2-0 record with a 1.93 earned run average over his three most recent starts.

After yielding just one run over 13 2/3 combined innings in consecutive wins over Minnesota and Tampa Bay, Litsch took a step back in an August 6 outing against the Yankees. The 22-year-old allowed three runs on six hits over five frames and did not factor in the decision of his team's 5-4 loss.

Litsch has also pitched very well on the road this season, bringing a 2-2 record with an impressive 2.51 ERA in five away starts into tonight's finale. He has never previously faced Kansas City.

The Royals will hand the ball to struggling southpaw Odalis Perez, who suffered his third loss in four starts with Wednesday's home setback to Minnesota.

Perez lasted just three innings against the Twins and yielded six runs (three earned) on seven hits. The shoddy performance gave the native Dominican a 6.46 ERA in six starts following the All-Star break.

The 30-year-old was also roughed up by the Blue Jays in Toronto back in April. Perez permitted four runs and seven hits before being yanked after just 1 1/3 innings in that 9-1 defeat. He is 2-2 with a 4.79 ERA in four overall starts against the Blue Jays.

Toronto has won four of six meetings with the Royals this season and eight of the last 11 matchups in the overall series.

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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.