07/04/2009 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rookie phenom Tommy Hanson looks for a fifth straight victory today when the Atlanta Braves visit our nation's capital for a holiday afternoon game with the host Washington Nationals at Nationals Park.
Hanson, who'll turn 23 later this month, was called to the majors earlier this season upon the release of veteran southpaw Tom Glavine.
He was touched for six hits and six runs against Milwaukee in his no-decision debut on June 7, but has been stellar since while allowing just two runs in 23 innings.
The effort earned him National League Rookie of the Month honors for June.
The two runs came in a 7-2 defeat of Baltimore on June 12 and three straight scoreless outings have since followed, in which Hanson has beaten Cincinnati, the New York Yankees and Boston while surrendering nine hits in 17 1/3 innings.
The Braves have outscored their opposition in those games, 13-1.
For the Nationals, lefty John Lannan goes for his own fourth straight victory.
The Long Beach, N.Y. native was just 2-5 after a 4-2 loss at Philadelphia on May 31 before going 3-0 with two no-decisions in five June starts.
He got to .500 with a 5-3 win at Baltimore on June 28, in which he gave up six hits and three runs in 7 1/3 innings.
Lannan faced the Braves twice in his initial four starts this season, going 0-1 while giving up 14 hits and four runs in 13 innings. Lifetime against Atlanta, he is 2-2 with a 3.30 earned run average.
The Nationals are 6-10 in games he's pitched.
On Friday, Brooks Conrad's first home run of his career was a pinch-hit, three-run shot to lift the Braves to a 9-8 win, extending their win streak to a season-best five games. .
Chipper Jones, Yunel Escobar and Matt Diaz each had two RBI while Martin Prado crossed the plate three times for Atlanta, which can get back to .500 with a win today.
Kenshin Kawakami started on the mound, but lasted just 4 1/3 innings as he was charged with five runs -- four earned -- on six hits with three walks and six strikeouts.
Boone Logan (1-0) got the win for throwing 1 2/3 perfect innings.
Adam Dunn hit the 299th home run of his career while Nyjer Morgan went 0-for-4 with a walk, one stolen base and a run scored in his debut with the Nationals, who have dropped four straight and six of seven.
Ross Detwiler was tagged for five runs on 10 hits with two walks and a strikeout in just 3 1/3 innings. Jesus Colome (1-1) was saddled with the loss.
Atlanta has won five of its seven matchups with the Nats this season after Washington took 12 of the 18 meetings a year ago.
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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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