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Angels pay a visit to Twins' Target FieldBaseball Betting Lines08/20/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Both the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim and Minnesota Twins made the playoffs last season, but only one of those teams seems to be headed for a return trip. The Angels will attempt to boost their sagging postseason hopes when they make their first-ever appearance at the brand-new Target Field for tonight's opener of a critical three-game series with the red-hot Twins. Anaheim has captured three straight American League West titles, but the club faces an uphill climb in its quest for a fourth. With 40 games remaining in the regular season, the Angels trail Texas by seven games for first place in the division. The Angels were able to gain some ground on the Rangers on Thursday, however. Mike Scioscia's squad came through with a 7-2 victory over Boston last night, while Texas suffered its fourth straight loss after yesterday's setback at Baltimore. Hideki Matsui snapped a 1-1 tie in Thursday's matchup with the Red Sox by belting a three-run homer in the sixth inning, while Ervin Santana (13-8) made the lead stand for Anaheim by holding Boston to two runs and four hits over the first seven frames. Matsui finished with four RBI on the night and Alberto Callaspo knocked in two runs for the Angels, who had lost the first two games of the Boston series and three in a row overall. Los Angeles will now face a surging Minnesota team that's amassed a major league best 24-9 record since the All-Star break and has opened up a four-game lead in the AL Central after just taking two of three tests from the second- place Chicago White Sox. The Twins have also been tough to beat at their new home park as of late, having posted wins in nine of their last 10 games at Target Field. That streak did come to an end with last night's 11-0 setback to the White Sox, however, which also halted a six-game overall winning streak for Minnesota. "I think we caught [the White Sox] at a time when they just hit everything," Twins catcher Drew Butera said after Thursday's loss. "They hit mistakes and they hit good pitches too." Chicago handed Carl Pavano (15-8) one of his worst outings of the season in last night's finale, pounding the Minnesota ace for seven runs and a whopping 15 hits in his six innings of work. Pavano had gone 10-1 with a 2.63 earned run average over his previous 13 starts. The Twins, who were outhit by a 21-5 margin for the game, will turn to another pitcher who's been on a roll in hopes of bouncing back tonight. Brian Duensing has been sensational since joining the team's rotation a month ago, with the second-year lefty having produced a 3-0 record and a 2.43 ERA during that stretch. Duensing was especially good in his last start, yielding just three hits and two walks against Oakland this past Saturday to notch his first career shutout. That effort followed up a 7 1/3-inning stint at Cleveland on August 8 in which he allowed four runs (three earned) to pick up another win. The former University of Nebraska standout's best work has usually come at home this year. In 22 overall appearances that included last Saturday's gem, Duensing is 3-1 with a minuscule 1.42 ERA at Target Field. This will be Duensing's first-ever start against the Angels, but he's surrendered two runs in 5 1/3 innings over four career encounters with the Halos in relief. Dan Haren gets the call for Anaheim tonight, with the midseason acquisition in search of his first win on the road since a complete-game performance at Houston on May 6 while still a member of the Arizona Diamondbacks. Haren hasn't made much of an impact since coming to the Angels in a July 25 trade with Arizona, as Los Angeles has lost in four of his first five starts following the swap. The three-time All-Star isn't entirely to blame for his 1-3 record, however, as he's given up two runs or less in three of those five games. The hard-throwing righty's only win as a Angel came on August 10, when Haren held Kansas City to one run and five hits over seven sharp innings. He wasn't quite as effective in Sunday's home start against Toronto, which reached him for four runs in seven frames en route to a 4-1 triumph. Haren is 2-4 with a mediocre 4.93 ERA in 11 road starts between the Diamondbacks and Angels this season, and owns a 2-2 record with a 2.57 ERA over six career meetings with Minnesota. He hasn't faced the Twins since 2007, though. The Angels have won seven of their last 11 clashes with the Twins and swept a three-game series in their final visit to the Metrodome last year. Minnesota did take three of four from Anaheim in a season-opening series in Southern California this past April, however.
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COLLEGE FOOTBALL BETTINGNCAA Football BettingMany fans thought it was the best side in the nation by the end of last season. This year, the polls have built on Georgia's momentum and granted it the No. 1 preseason ranking, followed by Ohio State and USC. (The Associated Press has the Buckeyes at No. 2; USA Today took the Trojans.) "To have people believing we have one of the best teams in the nation going into this thing, it's exciting for us," Bulldogs coach Mark Richt told the AP. "I don't think anything is guaranteed, but we certainly have put ourselves in position where at least the college football world thinks we're pretty good." Georgia Bulldogs - 9.5 wins There's no question they're good, but the Bulldogs have one of the toughest 12-game schedules in the nation, mostly because they play in the powerhouse Southeastern Conference. Away games at No. 15 Arizona State, No. 7 LSU and No. 10 Auburn loom large, with contests between the hedges versus No. 24 Alabama and No. 18 Tennessee as well as the World's Largest Cocktail Party in Jacksonville versus No.5 Florida. Ohio State Buckeyes - 10 wins Like the Bulldogs, the Buckeyes also have a number of tough road contests in 2008. After two scrimmages dressed up as real games versus Youngstown State and Ohio, it's off to face USC. Other tough away games include No.13 Wisconsin in October and No. 20 Illinois in November. Granted, it should be pretty easy sledding at the Horseshoe. In fact, the only ranked team that travels to Columbus is No. 22 Penn State, in October. USC Trojans - 10.5 wins A similarly light schedule awaits the Trojans of Southern California, which is why the oddsmakers' total is one win more and the over is currently commanding -150 odds. Pete Carroll's troops only play three ranked teams in 2008, and all of those games are at home. After what should be an easy trip to Virginia to start things off on Aug. 30, the Trojans get two weeks to prepare for Ohio State in Los Angeles. Their two other ranked opponents, No. 21 Oregon and No. 15 Arizona State, visit in consecutive weeks to start the month of October. After that, the competition eases up. Of course, this is the same highly-touted school that lost to Stanford in 2007 and Oregon State in 2006. And don't discount the fact that USC plays its biggest rivals, Notre Dame and UCLA, back-to-back to close out the regular season. On paper, the Trojans are far superior, but motivation will be high for the Irish and Bruins, especially if their historic foes are in national-title contention. Odds to Win the Heisman Trophy Tim Tebow, Florida - 7/2 "There has never been anyone quite like him," Meyer told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "I am very lucky to be his coach." Chris Wells, Ohio State - 5/1 The man they call "Beanie" was a star recruit out of high school, so it's not like nobody knew who the star tailback was before he rushed for 576 yards as a freshman in 2006 and 1,609 as a sophomore. But perhaps his finest moment came last year versus Michigan when he rumbled for 222 yards and two touchdowns in the Buckeyes' 14-3 victory over the hated Wolverines. Knowshon Moreno, Georgia - 8/1 If the Bulldogs are to live up to expectations, they'll need a huge effort from their sophomore running back. This might be the last year of college ball for Moreno, who rushed for 1,334 yards and for 14 touchdowns as a freshman, while adding 253 receiving yards on 20 receptions, so expect big things for the man from Belford, N.J. Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting lines . MySportsbook.com refunds all bets on Oakland, Green Bay and Tampa Bay from NFL week one. (September 14) – Week one of NFL action saw three teams go scoreless for the first time since 1977. Another four were unable to get a touchdown and almost half of the underdogs covered the spread. Those three teams saved bettors at MySportsbook.com from losing out completely, thanks to the company’s unique NFL Shutout Rule -- which ensures that if the team you backed goes scoreless, your wager is refunded. Sportsbook refunded tens of thousands of dollars to customers who bet on Oakland, Green Bay and Tampa Bay, the three teams that stunk up the field so badly that their fans and backers never had a chance to get up from their couches and cheer. In the spirit of the low scoring start to the season, odds makers at the world’s largest online sportsbook and casino have set odds on how many total shutouts there will be this season. MySportsbook.com has posted updated sports betting lines for week two of the season. Ben Roethlisberger’s health status is still questionable, so Willie Parker will try to lead Pittsburgh again as they travel to Jacksonville as a one point favorite. After beating up on his little brother last week, Peyton Manning will look to lead the Colts to victory against Houston. Indianapolis is a whopping 13.5 favorite in the match-up. Seattle, last year’s highest scoring team, showed the power of their defense with their gritty 9-6 win in Motown over the ravenous Lions. They take their act back home to the comforts of Qwest Field where they will face the resurgent Arizona Cardinals. The Seahawks are favored by a touchdown. To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your Sportsbook accepts Visa needs. |
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