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First place in AL Central on the line in Twins-White Sox finaleBaseball Betting Lines08/12/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - First place in the American League Central is on the line tonight in Chicago, where the White Sox wrap a three-game series with the Minnesota Twins at U.S. Cellular Field. The Twins and White Sox entered this series tied atop the standings before Minnesota grabbed a short-lived lead with Monday's 12-6 victory, winning for a third straight game, but Chicago erased that deficit last night with a 6-1 triumph. John Danks allowed just a run over eight innings and struck out seven, while Carlos Quentin paced the offense with a two-run homer. The White Sox snapped a three-game slide and have homered in a season-high 10 straight games. "It's just another game in August," Danks said. "If we play this same game come mid-September it will be a bigger game." Alexei Ramirez doubled in a run and scored twice for Chicago, which was without Andruw Jones due to a sore back. Michael Cuddyer had two hits and drove in the Twins' lone run, but Glen Perkins was charged with six runs -- four earned -- over 4 2/3 innings in his first big league start in over a year. He was recalled before the game to replace the injured Kevin Slowey (elbow). "It was an ugly baseball game for us. We made a lot of mistakes out there. It cost us a lot of runs," said Twins manager Ron Gardenhire, whose club fell to 5-4 on a 10-game road trip. Minnesota also saw two players exit early last night, as a nagging left wrist injury forced J.J. Hardy out in the seventh inning, while left-handed reliever Jose Mijares suffered a right knee injury when trying to cover first base. He is likely to land on the disabled list. The Twins will also have to deal with one of baseball's hottest starters in Gavin Floyd, who has not allowed more than two earned runs in any of his last 12 starts with a 1.19 earned run average in that span. The right-hander has won three straight starts and six of his last seven decisions. He was 2-6 with a 6.64 ERA before his 12-game run, but is now 8-8 with a 3.49 ERA. Floyd won in Baltimore on Saturday, yielding two runs on six hits over seven innings. Floyd, 27, is 4-5 with a 4.04 ERA in 10 career starts versus the Twins and lost to them on July 16 after allowing four runs -- one earned -- over five innings. Francisco Liriano was the Twins' winning pitcher on that day and he counters Floyd again tonight. Liriano is 1-3 with a 5.82 ERA in his career versus the White Sox and gave up two runs over 7 2/3 innings versus them and Floyd nearly a month ago. The 26-year-old lefty carried a 21 scoreless-innings streak into his last start on Friday, but that run came to an end in the first frame on Friday versus Cleveland. Liriano allowed four runs on seven hits and six walks over 4 2/3 frames in all, getting a no-decision. Liriano is 10-7 on the year with a 3.33 ERA. Minnesota has won seven of the 11 meetings with Chicago thus far in 2010. The Twins have also won in seven of their last nine trips to U.S. Cellular Field.
<< Internacional wins first leg of Copa Lib final
Guadalajara, Mexico (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Giuliano and Bolivar scored in a four- minute span of the second half, and Brazil's Internacional defeated Mexico's Guadalajara, 2-1, on Wednesday night in the first leg of the Copa Libertadores final.
<< Brewers place Hawkins on DL
<< Red Sox have brooms ready in finale at Toronto
<< Showalter's Orioles shoot for sweep of Tribe
<< Yankees send Sabathia to hill in opener at KC
Dodgers send Kershaw to the hill in finale with Phillies >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - If the Dodgers plan on leaving the City of Brotherly Love with a series win over Philadelphia this evening, starting pitcher Clayton Kershaw may have to do something he's never done before. Kershaw is scheduled to pitch in
Liverpool acquires Poulsen from Juventus >>
American defender Lichaj signs new deal at Villa >>
Thorn joins Sixers as club president >>
Isiah nixes Knicks? Not so fast >>
NFL Football BettingBILLS (+10) at Steelers SPORTSBOOK LINES It's impossible to gauge how a team will react after something like the Steve Everett situation, and it probably doesn't matter. That being said, the Bills are going to lose several games this year where they keep things close but fall short in the end to superior teams. Ben Roethlisberger and company could have a field day against Buffalo's decimated defense, but I like the Bills to cover. BENGALS (-7) at Browns SPORTSBOOK LINES All you can ask out of your NFL team is that it has a plan. You may not always agree with it as a fan, but as long as it appears the organization is going in some sort of direction, you have to go with it. Which brings us to the Cleveland Browns. You flip a coin to determine whether Chuck Frye or Derek Anderson should start the preseason opener. You start Frye in Week 1, but pull him in the first half. And then you deal him to the Seahawks for a sixth-round pick? Hmm... the Bengals could get six turnovers again this week. COLTS (-7) at Titans SPORTSBOOK LINES Tennessee signed ex-Colts cornerback Nick Harper in the offseason so that should help slow down Peyton Manning. Just ask Jason David and the Saints. Oh wait... One of these weeks, I'm going to learn to not pick against Tennessee, which has won seven of its last eight games. But it's not happening against Indy. TEXANS (+6.5) at Panthers SPORTSBOOK LINES Houston's Mario Williams, the first pick in the '06 draft, has more touchdowns than Reggie Bush after one week. Somehow I don't see that lasting. Meanwhile, Carolina bottled up what was expected to be a pretty high-octane offense in St. Louis in Week 1. Could this be the Panthers' defense everyone expected last year? Maybe. This feels like a 20-16 Carolina win. RAMS (-3) vs. 49ers SPORTSBOOKS LINES Absolutely love this game. Everyone's favorite pick for this year's surprise team -- the 49ers -- laid an egg on Monday night (not that anyone was watching with the game ending in the middle of the night for those of us on the East Coast). St. Louis wasn't much better, delivering a lackluster effort against the Panthers that included two Steven Jackson fumbles and panic from his fantasy owners. Jackson rebounds this week, and the Rams get their first win. PACKERS (+1.5) at Giants SPORTSBOOKS LINES Do you really trust this guy to win an NFL game if Eli Manning can't go? I say no. I'd feel alot better about this Packers team if it had any semblance of a running game, but I still think Green Bay's defense is good enough to give it a 2-0 start. JAGUARS (-10) vs. Falcons SPORTSBOOKS LINES Does it scare me to pick Jacksonville to cover a double-digit spread after it scored just 10 points last week against the Titans? Absolutely. But can I bring myself to pick Atlanta under any circumstances? No. Check out this poll on ajc.com. It asks what Atlanta's most urgent deficiency is: offense, defense, specials teams or all of the above. "All of the above" has 57 percent of the votes. Ouch. SAINTS (-3) at Buccaneers SPORTSBOOKS LINES I'm picking way too many road teams this week. Oh well. New Orleans has had some time to reflect on its lackluster showing in the opener, and the Buccanneers just aren't a very good football team. Anyone else surprised Tampa Bay hasn't made a move to sign Byron Leftwich? I thought that's what they do. VIKINGS (+3) at Lions SPORTS BETTING LINES Run the ball and stop the run. Minnesota can do both, and that will keep them in a lot of games this season. Even though it was only one week, Adrian Peterson looks like he was a steal at No. 7 in last year's draft. Not only will he produce, but Peterson delivers excitement to what otherwise would be one of the league's most boring teams. DOLPHINS (+3.5) vs. Cowboys SPORTS BETTING LINES Lost in the Tony Romo lovefest is just how bad the Cowboys' defense was last week. I know they're banged up, but Dallas' 'D' allowed 438 yards to the Giants' offense, and backup running back Derrick Ward averaged 6.8 yards per carry. Meanwhile, Cam Cameron's decision to split carries between Ronnie Brown and Jesse Chatman sounds about as can't-miss as Larry David's plan to show up to Marty Funkhouser's party a night late. Still, gotta go with Miami to cover at home. SEAHAWKS (-2.5) at Cardinals SPORTS BETTING LINES I'm probably missing something, but this game seems too easy. Arizona blew Monday night's game against the 49ers in typical Cardinals fashion, and the Seahawks beat Tampa Bay by two touchdowns. Love Seattle in this one. BRONCOS (-9.5) vs. Raiders SPORTS BETTING LINES Special teams was a major story line in Week 1. Take a look at the Broncos. They had to rush on to the field to get a Jason Elam field goal as time expired against the Bills. Denver drove into Buffalo territory on eight of 10 drives but came away with just a pair of field goals and a touchdown. Look for more scoring from the Broncos this week against an Oakland defense that gave up 36 points to Detroit in Week 1. BEARS (-12) vs. Chiefs SPORTS BETTING LINES Everyone talks about Rex Grossman when dissecting the Bears' offense, but Chicago's quarterback got no help in last week's loss to the Chargers. Meanwhile, Kansas City confirmed what we all thought while watching Hard Knocks: The Chiefs are going to stink this year. It could be a rough first month for Larry Johnson fantasy owners. Kansas City's RB was limited to 43 yards on 10 carries in Week 1, and the Chiefs face the Bears, Vikings and Chargers the next three weeks, all formidable run defenses. RAVENS (-10) vs. Jets SPORTS BETTING LINES A big dose of Willis McGahee and a usual sound defensive effort will give the Ravens their first win. According to Football Outsiders, no team in the NFL rushed only three defenders on pass plays last year more than the Jets. And according to my special Jets correspondent Ben Stauber, New York did the same in Week 1. Whoever starts at quarterback for the Ravens should have all day to throw. PATRIOTS (-3) vs. Chargers Friends and I were discussing how Bill Belichick goes about paying his $500,000 fine for cheating. Does he just write one check to the NFL? Do you need some sort of clearance to make such a monstrous financial transaction? I guess I shouldn't complain about the security deposit I have to put down on my new apartment. Anyway, two of the league's best teams square off in what should be a good one Sunday night. The Patriots always respond well just when you think they're in trouble. And their offensive attack was the story in Week 1. Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting. |
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