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08/06/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Both the Minnesota Twins and Francisco Liriano will be aiming to continue their respective hot streaks when the American League Central contenders start up a three-game series with the Cleveland Indians tonight at Progressive Field.
Minnesota has played terrific baseball over the past two-plus weeks, having amassed an AL-best 12-3 record since July 21. The defending AL Central champions still haven't been able to make much ground in the division race, however, as first-place Chicago has won nine of its past 11 contests to maintain a 1 1/2-game advantage over the Twins.
Following this series, the Twins and White Sox will face one another three straight times in Chicago beginning on Tuesday.
Minnesota comes into Cleveland having split four matchups with AL East leader Tampa Bay to begin an important 10-game road trip. After losing the first two tests of the trek, the Twins regrouped to win the next two games and closed out the set with a wild 8-6 triumph on Thursday.
After blowing a 6-0 lead by allowing the Rays to score six times in the bottom of the eighth inning, Minnesota bounced back with a two-run ninth that was aided by the strange dimensions of Tropicana Field. With runners on first and third and two out, Jason Kubel hit a towering popup towards second base that struck a catwalk near the stadium roof and changed direction. The Rays were unable to catch the ball as it hit the turf behind the pitcher's mound, allowing Jason Repko to score the go-ahead run.
"We got a leadoff double (from Repko), got him over and got a nice break there off the speaker," Twins manager Ron Gardenhire remarked. "We've lost ball games here the same way."
Michael Cuddyer followed with an RBI single and was one of six Minnesota regulars, along with Kubel and Repko, to collect multiple hits on the afternoon. J.J. Hardy had a 3-for-4 day for the Twins that included an RBI single during a four-run first inning.
Kubel's fluke hit helped give newly-acquired reliever Matt Capps his first win in a Minnesota uniform. The former Washington closer threw 1 1/3 scoreless innings after taking over for Ron Mahay, who served up a game-tying grand slam to ex-Twin Jason Bartlett in the bottom of the eighth.
Liriano has played a key role in Minnesota's recent surge and been one of baseball's most dominant pitchers since the All-Star break. The talented lefty has won all four of his second-half starts and yielded a mere two runs in a combined 28 2/3 innings over that outstanding span. He enters tonight's clash riding a streak of 21 consecutive scoreless frames.
The 26-year-old began that scoreless stretch by firing seven shutout frames with eight strikeouts to defeat the Indians July 21 at Target Field. Liriano has also thrown seven scoreless innings in each of his last two assignments, including a sensational stint against Seattle on Sunday in which he gave up only two hits and matched a season high with 11 strikeouts.
Liriano has won all three of his 2010 encounters with Cleveland as well and limited the Tribe to three runs over 22 innings during those games. He allowed three runs and fanned nine batters in an 8-3 verdict at Progressive Field back on May 2.
In 11 career appearances (nine starts) against Cleveland, Liriano is 5-3 with a 3.15 ERA.
The Indians remain at the bottom of the AL Central standings, but had won four times in a five-game span on the road before dropping a 6-2 decision at Boston last night. Cleveland split four meetings with the Red Sox and finished off a seven-game road trip with a 4-3 record.
Rookie Josh Tomlin (1-1) lasted seven innings in his third major league start, but the Indians right-hander served up a grand slam to Adrian Beltre in the bottom of the fourth inning that turned out to be the difference. He gave up just four hits and struck out five in an otherwise solid showing.
The Indians didn't provide Tomlin much offensive support, managing only a first-inning solo homer by Shin-Soo Choo and five hits total in eight innings against Boston starter Daisuke Matsuzaka.
"Daisuke was tough," Indians manager Manny Acta said. "We aren't going to be a hitting-machine type of club. We battled and scrapped, but [Thursday] was tough with him throwing the ball low to mid-90's and the arsenal he has."
Acta will be sending out another hurler with limited experience in tonight's opener, with Jeanmar Gomez set to make his third start in the big leagues. The 22-year-old's first two have gone quite well, as he posted wins over Detroit and Toronto and surrendered only four runs -- two earned -- in 12 innings over the pair of games.
Gomez dazzled in his Indians debut on July 18, holding the Tigers to two unearned runs and five hits over seven innings in a spot start. The right- hander was sent back to Triple-A Columbus following the contest, but was promoted again last weekend to fill the rotation spot vacated when Cleveland traded veteran Jake Westbrook to St. Louis on Saturday.
The native Venezuelan picked up his second win after allowing two runs in five innings to best Toronto on Sunday.
Minnesota took two of three games from the Indians in Cleveland from April 30- May 2 and has prevailed in five of the nine overall meetings in this year's season series.
<< Angels pay a visit to Tigers in Motown
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Both the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim and the Detroit
Tigers are fading in their respective division-title races. Good news is that
one club has to win tonight when the two teams kick off a three-game series at
Comeric
<< O's hope to continue success under new manager vs. White Sox
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Baltimore Orioles passed their first test under new
manager Buck Showalter with flying colors. Their next challenge figures to be
a little bit tougher, however, with the American League Central-leading
Chicago White Sox i
<< Surging Phils put home streak on line against Mets
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The last time the Philadelphia Phillies squared off against
the despised New York Mets more than two months ago, they didn't score a run
over the three-game road series.
The two National League East inhabitants will do bus
<< Promising goalies poised for breakout
Toronto, Canada (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The parity of the cap-era NHL claimed
another victim this past week when the Chicago Blackhawks traded Stanley Cup
winning goalie Antti Niemi in favor of an aging Marty Turco and a paltry $1.45
million in cap
Dodgers aim to regroup in opener vs. Nationals >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - It's only August, but the Los Angeles Dodgers are in danger
of playing themselves out of the playoff race. They'll try to get their
struggling offense going tonight versus the Washington Nationals in the opener
of a th
Rays seek to carry over home success in road test with Blue Jays >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Tampa Bay Rays ended their longest homestand of the
season closer to first place in the competitive American League East Division.
They'll continue their quest to get to the top spot when they begin a six-game
road trip w
Zito, Giants resume series in Atlanta >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A lack of offense has the Giants in danger of dropping
three straight games for the first time in a month. Things might not get
better with Barry Zito on the hill.
Zito will try to avoid a third straight los
Lee aims to get on track as Rangers visit Athletics >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Cliff Lee tries to avoid his first losing streak of the
season this evening when the Texas Rangers start a three-game series with the
Oakland Athletics at the Coliseum.
Lee hasn't lost back-to-back starts all season, but e
Kurt Warner to start, Matt Leinart to watch
Despite the debate that's swirling , Kurt Warner will remain the starting quarterback for the Arizona Cardinals, coach Dennis Green said today. The Arizona Cardinals are the +7 point underdog at online sportsbook MySportsbook.com for this Sunday's game.
Green's comment came in a statement released by the team following an ESPN report that Green decided that rookie Matt Leinart would replace Warner as starter for Sunday's game at Atlanta.
"Generally talking about the starting lineup is not something we do," Green told the AP. "However, given the speculation that was out there we want to make it clear. We're disappointed after last week, but we still expect to be a playoff football team and we fully expect Kurt Warner to be the quarterback that leads us. That has not changed."
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your bet on football needs.
Underdog bettors love the Super Bowl and, history suggests, the underdogs love them back. And the big dogs bite harder.
Even so, there is a warning in store for Super Bowl gamblers who must love dogs: The Arizona Cardinals Super Bowl betting lines might not be enough of a Cinderella to make it worth your while.
Although the Cardinals were widely panned as one of the worst division winners and least playoff-worthy teams in recent memory, their trip to Super Bowl XLIII Jan. 31 in Tampa against the Pittsburgh Steelers Super Bowl betting lines comes with a little more respect from the oddsmakers than you might imagine. They are a 7-point underdog at most sports books.
If you count yourself among those who covet the big dog in the big game, this isn’t exactly great news. You should have been hoping for more points. This is because the facts show that the bigger the dog, the better the bet in the Super Bowl.
Case in point: Over the past 13 seasons, double-figure underdogs in the Super Bowl are 4-0-1 ATS and have won the past three outright. In fact, the last double-digit chalk to do the deed for bettors was the 1995 San Francisco 49ers, who managed to beat the astounding 19-point spot afforded backers of the San Diego Chargers in the 49-26 romp in Super Bowl XXIX.
By contrast, 7-point favorites are 2-1-1 ATS in the same span, the last such contest resulting a cover grinded out by the Colts in their 29-17 win over the Bears two seasons ago in Super Bowl XLI.
In 2004, the Patriots failed to cover the number in their 32-29 triumph over the Carolina Panthers in Super Bowl props while the Rams and Titans gave everyone a refund in 2000 after the Rams posted a 23-16 win as a seven-point favorite.
So while Arizona’s run has included impressive upsets as a 10-point road underdog to the Carolina Panthers and Sunday’s 32-25 win in the NFC championship game to the 4-point favored Philadelphia Eagles, their long-shot story lacks a bit of the David vs. Goliath storyline of past Super Bowl underdogs.
While the seven-point spread represents a significant gap in the perception of strength between the two teams, it is far from monumental. For example, last season the Giants were the wild-card afterthought turned road-warrior buzzsaw, with stunning wins over the Buccaneers, Cowboys and Packers to earn their place in the Super Bowl.
There, they played spoiler to New England’s bid to become the first 19-0 team in NFL history and cemented their place in sports betting lore with a 17-14 win as a 12.5-point underdog.
In other words, the Cardinals appear to have their work cut out for them as a mid-range underdog. But in homage to the spread beaters who have come before them, here is a brief look back at recent colossal upsets in the Super Bowl:
SB XLII -- 2008 -- New York Giants 17, New England Patriots 14 (Giants +12.5) – Eli Manning’s 13-yard touchdown pass to Plaxico Burress in the final minute clinched the historic upset for the Giants, who used a masterful defensive plan to slow down Tom Brady and the previously undefeated New England Patriots.
XXXVI -- 2002 -- Patriots 20, Rams 17 (Patriots +14) – This was the coming out party for the aforementioned Brady, who went from obscure sixth-round draft pick to Super Bowl hero in one fell swoop. He led the game-winning drive in the final minute – eschewing analyst John Madden’s advice to take a knee and play for overtime – leading to Adam Vinatieri’s memorable 48-yard field goal that split the uprights as time expired.
XXXII 1998 Broncos 31, Packers 24 (Denver +12) – The first of John Elway’s two consecutive Super Bowl titles to put an end to his Hall of Fame career was an upset for the ages. The Broncos used the determination of Elway and a 157-yard, three-touchdown performance from Terrell Davis to turn back Brett Favre and the heavily favored Packers.
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