Twins try to gain ground in Central in opener with Tigers
Baseball Betting Lines
07/03/2009 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Minnesota Twins have an opportunity to gain some ground on the division-leading Detroit Tigers when the American League Central rivals begin a key three-game series tonight at the Metrodome.
The Twins presently trail the first-place Tigers by three games in the standings, with the hard-charging Chicago White Sox a half-game in front of Minnesota for second.
Minnesota will be entering this evening's clash with some momentum after taking the final two tests of a three-game series at Kansas City earlier this week. In Wednesday's rubber match, Glen Perkins threw seven effective innings and Michael Cuddyer homered and knocked in two runs to lead the way in a 5-1 triumph over the Royals.
Perkins (4-4) scattered 10 hits and allowed just one run to help the Twins to their fifth victory in their past seven games. The club completed a nine-game road trip with a 6-3 record.
"We're starting to play a little better," first baseman Justin Morneau told the team's official site afterward. "We could still hit better with runners in scoring position, but we're winning ballgames. We're finding a way to get it done, and a lot of that has to do with the pitching, which has been great on this road trip."
Morneau left Wednesday's contest in the seventh inning with a sore left groin but is expected to be in the lineup tonight. Shortstop Nick Punto, who was also removed in the seventh due to tightness in his lower back, is likely to be available as well.
Joe Mauer went 3-for-3 with an RBI single in Wednesday's win to raise his major league-leading average to .392. The All-Star catcher is batting a scorching .458 with nine home runs and 26 RBI in just 24 games at the Metrodome this season.
Tonight's matchup begins a nine-game homestand for Minnesota, whose 24-15 record at the Metrodome ranks among the best home marks in baseball. The team also gets to send out one of baseball's top winners in 2009 to the mound for this series opener, with Kevin Slowey ready to take aim at his 11th victory of the season.
Slowey carries an impressive 10-3 record into this evening's game, but two of those losses have come in his last four starts. The right-hander matched his shortest outing of the year in Sunday's 5-3 loss at St. Louis, where he was tagged for five runs and served up a pair of homers before being yanked after three innings.
A return home should benefit the 25-year-old, since he's 8-0 in nine Metrodome starts this season and allowed two runs or fewer in each of his last five appearances at his home park. One of those starts came against the Tigers on May 12, with Slowey firing six innings of one-run ball in a 6-2 win.
In four career encounters with Detroit, Slowey is 3-0 with a 4.57 earned run average.
The Tigers resume a nine-game road trip tonight and haven't fared too well thus far on the trek. After dropping two of three to the Houston Astros last weekend, Detroit only managed one win in its recent three-game set with the AL West cellar-dwelling Oakland Athletics.
Detroit's bats were stymied by the A's Dallas Braden in Wednesday's 5-1 defeat, with the left-hander limiting the Tigers to a run and five hits over the first seven innings.
"He went in and out, changed speeds," said Detroit manager Jim Leyland of Braden. "He pitched very well."
The Tigers were without third baseman Brandon Inge, the team's leader in RBI (52) and co-leader in home runs (18). The converted catcher sat out because of a sore left knee, but is expected to play tonight.
Detroit starter Justin Verlander (8-4) permitted four runs on a pair of homers in his six-inning stint to suffer the loss.
Rookie Luke French gets an audition for the fifth spot in the Tigers rotation in tonight's test. The young left-hander, an eighth-round selection by Detroit in the 2004 draft, earned a shot by going 4-4 with a 2.98 ERA in 13 starts for Triple-A Toledo.
French did appear in two games as a reliever for Detroit in mid-May and tossed three scoreless innings. The 23-year-old has been sharp lately for the Mud Hens, having surrendered just four runs and racking up 26 strikeouts in 23 innings over his past three starts.
Dontrelle Willis had been serving as the Tigers' fifth starter before being placed on the disabled list last month to work out a lingering anxiety disorder. He was then replaced by Alfredo Figaro, who was bombed for eight runs (7 earned) in six innings of a loss at Houston on Sunday.
The Twins swept a three-game series from Detroit at the Metrodome between May 12-14 and is 4-1 against the Tigers this season. Minnesota has also taken 10 of the past 14 overall meetings between the divisional foes.
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - There haven't been many pitchers who have slowed down the Chicago White Sox as of late, but Zack Greinke has shown in the past to be quite capable of such a task. The Kansas City Royals ace will take the mound in tonight
<< Santana returns to face Orioles
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim have been able to
rebound from a rough beginning to the season. The team is hoping one of its
most talented pitchers will be able to do the same in tonight's matchup with
the Baltimore Orio
<< Rays ride hot streak into Arlington
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Tampa Bay Rays take their hot streak into the Lone
Star State, where the defending American League champions will start up an
intriguing three-game series with the Texas Rangers this evening.
With wins in 15 of their
<< Cardinals send Pineiro to hill in Cincinnati
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Joel Pineiro hopes for some run support tonight when the
St. Louis Cardinals begin a three-game set with the Cincinnati Reds at Great
American Ball Park.
Pineiro lost for the ninth time in his last 11 starts on Sun
<< King Felix goes for Mariners at Fenway
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Seattle Mariners enter the final leg of a challenging
road trip with tonight's opener of a three-game series with the American
League East-leading Boston Red Sox from Fenway Park.
The surprising Mariners have acquitte
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Cleveland Indians have been playing poorly since mid- June and will try to stop a five-game losing streak tonight in the opener of a three-game series versus the Oakland Athletics at Progressive Field. The Indians have
Rockies to open homestand with last-place Diamondbacks >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Colorado Rockies are back home after a lengthy road
trip and will open a three-game series tonight against the National League
West-rival Arizona Diamondbacks at Coors Field.
Colorado went 5-4 on a nine-game road swing
Federer reaches record seventh straight Wimbledon final >>
Wimbledon, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Five-time champion Roger Federer
defeated Tommy Haas in Friday's men's semifinal action at Wimbledon. The
iconic Federer will now appear in a men's record seventh straight Wimbledon
final on Sunday.
Manny set to return as Dodgers visit Padres >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - He won't have the home crowd on his side until after the
All-Star break, but Los Angeles Dodgers star left fielder Manny Ramirez
probably doesn't mind, since he is finally done serving his 50-game suspension
for violating the
Rookie aims for repeat in Giants' tilt with Astros >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ryan Sadowski will shoot for an encore performance tonight
for the NL Wild Card-leading San Francisco Giants, who will open a 10-game
homestand with the first of three consecutive meetings versus the Houston
Astros at AT&
Football Betting
NFL Football Betting OnlineThe San Francisco 49ers (5-11 SU, 5-10-1 ATS in 2007; 1-1 SU & ATS in pre-season) found some offensive life last week, and they will try to build some momentum on Thursday night as they travel to the Windy City to take on the Chicago Bears (7-9 SU & ATS in 2007; 0-2 SU, 0-1-1 ATS in pre-season) in an NFL matchup that is set to get underway at 8 PM ET at Soldier Field (natural turf) in Chicago.
Thursday, August 21
NFL betting odds: CHICAGO -3 (-120), Total 37
NOTABLE STAT: San Francisco was last in points, last in total offense in 2007
KEY NFL BETTING TREND: SF has lost its last seven SU on pre-season road
In the BetUS NFL pre-season football betting odds, the Bears are listed as a three-point favorite (laying -120), with the total posted at 37 points.
Here are some NFL football betting trends as they relate to this matchup (reflecting numbers going into the 2008 season):
* SF has lost 11 of its last 14 games SU
* SF has covered three of its last 11 games
* SF has lost six of its last seven road games SU
* SF has covered one of its last seven road games
* CHI has covered five of its last eight games
* CHI has played five of its last seven games OVER the total
* CHI has covered four of its last 13 home games
* SF has lost its last seven pre-season road games SU
* CHI has covered two of its last seven home pre-season games
Well, I guess we should congratulate the Bears on making their quarterback choice for the season's opening game, as they have designated Kyle Orton the starter against Indianapolis. The Bears obviously have lost patience with Rex Grossman, and what they do with him at this point is anybody's guess. But suffice it to say that there isn't a quarterback competition anymore, at least in training camp.
Meanwhile, the quarterback competition may also be settled in San Francisco, where the Niners bounced back from a lackluster 18-6 loss to the Raiders, in which they turned the ball over four times, to execute a 34-6 rout of the Packers last Saturday. However, coach Mike Nolan has stopped short of saying that, insisting that the job is still open. But J.T. O'Sullivan, the longshot of the trio of Niner signal-callers who opened camp, will start his third straight pre-season game here. Against Green Bay, O'Sullivan was only 8-for-17, and was intercepted, but he also threw for 9.1 yards an attempt, which included a 59-yard TD pass to Josh Morgan. The others struggled.
Some offensive cohesion is badly needed, in light of the Niners' dismal 2007 campaign, in which they were dead last in the NFL in scoring, with just 13.7 points a game. And O'Sullivan is the guy who is most familiar with offensive coordinator Mike Martz's exacting system, because he learned it last year in Detroit. O'Sullivan will go at least the entire first half and may even last longer. He'll be relieved by Alex Smith, with Shawn Hill doing the mop-up work. Three receivers who were out last week - Bryant Johnson, Ashley Lelie and Arnaz Battle - will miss this game too.
That may hurt a little here, especially since the Bears will be using a lot of their defensive starters. And it's the defense that has been keeping the Bears in games thus far. In fact, the defense and special teams were responsible for the first 19 points Chicago scored against Seattle last time out, as the offense really struggled with Grossman at the controls. But maybe the first-team offense has a chance to settle a little bit as it works more with Orton at the helm.
Certainly we have concerns about the Bears' offensive line, but we like the scenario for them here, especially if O'Sullivan doesn't make some bis plays. The Niners may have nowhere else to turn right now, and they have lost seven straight road games in the pre-season. Let's take Chicago, the three-point favorite in the NFL football betting odds.
CHICAGO -3 (-120) **
(Graded on a scale of 1-4 stars)
The 2008 NFL betting lines season is almost upon us! If you like to bet on the NFL, you are in the best possible place for online betting. The sportsbook has NFL odds up on a ton of futures, and you will also find NFL lines up for early games as well. Join sportbook today and we'll help guide you right through to Super Bowl XLIII and beyond!
Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting odds .
MySportsbook.com and Kentucky Derby Offer Bonuses
The 2008 Kentucky Derby has announced a $1-million bonus for this weekend’s 134th ‘Run for the Roses’ and MySportsbook.com is doing the same.
Well, not quite $1 million, but MySportsbook.com is offering a 75% rebate for Kentucky Derby lines. Check out the exclusive horse racing bonus for all the details.
According to MySportsbook.com, the favorites for Saturday’s Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky are: Curlin (+250); Street Sense (+500); Scat Daddy (+700); Circular Quay (+750); and Nobiz Like Shobiz (+800).
Derby organizers announced this week that there will be a $1-million bonus at the 2007 Kentucky Derby odds if the first-place horse wins by more than 6 1/2 lengths – the margin of Barbaro's victory last year. The bonus would be divided Saturday among the winning trainer, jockey, owner and a charity, with each receiving 25 percent. The designated charity is the Barbaro Memorial Fund.
''It's certainly creative, it's certainly fun and it has something for the horsemen, which we always want to embrace,'' Churchill Downs president and chief executive Robert Evans said at a news conference. ''What's really cool is it will force us to remember Barbaro.''
Meanwhile, the Derby favorite – Curlin – is going against the odds this year. It's been 125 years since Apollo won after skipping his 2-year-old season, and not since Regret in 1915 has such a lightly seasoned horse worn the blanket of red roses.
Arkansas Derby winner Curlin – unbeaten in three career races – tries to overcome both those obstacles in Saturday's 133rd Derby.
''We're not running against history,'' trainer Steve Asmussen said Monday. ''We're running against who they load up.''
Six other horses have run in the Derby without benefit of 2-year-old races and with three or fewer starts. The best any of them managed was a sixth-place finish by Showing Up last year.
Asmussen dismissed suggestions that Curlin's lack of racing experience could keep him from the winner's circle.
”He exudes confidence and he's got a great presence about him,'' the trainer said. ''I feel great about the position we're in. He's not worried about anything, why should you be?''
The Kentucky Derby is at 4:04 p.m., ET Saturday.
For complete odds on the Kentucky Derby, visit MySportsbook.com. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.