Twins go for sweep of Angels

Baseball Betting Lines

07/22/2007 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Losers of two straight and five of the last six, the LA Angels of Anaheim try to salvage a win as they close out a three-game set against the Minnesota Twins at the Metrodome this afternoon.

On Saturday Joe Mauer produced one of the most exciting plays in baseball when he hit an inside-the-park home run that scored three in the bottom of the eighth inning to help give the home team a 5-2 triumph over the Angels.

Jason Bartlett and Torii Hunter also homered for the Twins, who won their second straight outing after falling in three straight to Detroit. Starting pitcher Boof Bonser, who has not earned a victory since the second week of June, allowed two runs on five hits with one strikeout over 7 2/3 innings before Pat Neshek got the final out in the eighth for the win, his fifth in six decisions this season.

Chone Figgins finished up 2-for-4 with an RBI and scored a run for the visitors, while Garret Anderson and Maicer Izturis both added a pair of hits in the setback.

Jered Weaver, who has not won in more than a month, gave up two runs on five hits with a walk and two strikeouts over seven innings for LA. Scot Shields was saddled with the loss, his third of the campaign.

Off the field it was announced that catcher Jose Melina was switching teams and coasts as the Angels traded him to the Yankees for pitcher Jeff Kennard.

Matt Garza, who has yet to allow a run this season, makes his way to the mound for the Twins this afternoon. The right-hander out of Fresno State is making just his fourth appearance of the season and his first since dropping a 1-0 decision to Detroit on Tuesday.

Against the Tigers Garza allowed just a single unearned run on three hits over seven innings of action and still that wasn't enough as the Minnesota offense failed to supply any support.

Garza, who is 4-7 in his career thus far, is facing off against the Angels for the very first time.

Similarly, LA's Joe Saunders is getting his first-ever look at the Twins lineup as he tries to remain undefeated on the campaign.

The left-hander, who hails from Virginia, has been called up from Triple-A Salt Lake to take the spot in the rotation previously held by Ervin Santana who was optioned to the minors on Wednesday.

Saunders last threw at the major league level against Pittsburgh back on June 22, a game in which he allowed four runs on seven hits and fanned three in six innings of work. His performance was just enough to push him to 3-0 on the season and 10-3 for his career thus far.

The Angels, who have now gone 14 straight games without a home run, are just one game ahead of Seattle in the AL West and are a game below .500 on the road at 25-26. Over the last week the team has averaged barely three runs per game, with Figgins accounting for five runs scored and a batting average of .545, the rest of the club just .248.

As for the Twins, who are five games over .500 this season yet still eight games out of the race for first in the AL Central, they have Justin Morneau accounting for two home runs and six knocked in over the last six games, giving him 81 RBI on the season and keeping him in second place in that department in the AL.

The Angels took two of three meetings with Minnesota out in the Golden State earlier this season.

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Football Betting Lines

The 2009 AP NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year odds have been released and Denver Broncos' running back Knowshon Moreno has been made the opening favorite.

Bet NFL Sports Lines

Moreno was selected in the first round of April's NFL draft and is expected to carry the rushing load for the Broncos this season. And with Jay Cutler now in Chicago, Moreno might be expected to be Denver's entire offense.

Betting Lines from sports betting lines have made Moreno a 5/2 favorite to win this year's Offensive Rookie of the Year Award. Fellow running back Chris “Beanie” Wells (Arizona Cardinals) is right behind Moreno at 7/2, while Donald Brown (Indianapolis Colts) and receiver Michael Crabtree (San Francisco 49ers) are 5/1 to win. Quarterbacks Mark Sanchez (New York Jets) and Matthew Stafford (Detroit Lions) are 7/1 and 8/1, respectively.

A couple of players who present some value are Josh Freeman, Shonn Green and Darrius Heyward-Bey.

Freeman needs to beat out Byron Leftwich to become the starting quarterback of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers but if he does, he has a lot or raw talent and could use the weapons around him (i.e. Kellen Winslow Jr. and Antonio Bryant) to be very successful in his first season.

Green enters a crowded backfield in New York, but considering both Thomas Jones and Leon Washington are unhappy about their contract situations and might holdout, the former Iowa product could become the Jets' primary back.

Everyone was shocked when Al Davis took Heyward-Bey with the eighth overall pick in April's draft, but the kid has a tremendous amount of talent and if quarterback JaMarcus Russell takes the next step this year, the former Maryland product could blossom. Plus, Heyward-Bey will be looking to prove the people wrong who said Oakland should have taken Michael Crabtree with the No. 8 pick.

And if you're looking for a deep sleeper, check out Pat White at 30/1. He enters the Miami Dolphins vaunted “Wild Cat” offense and could be a big time playmaker.

For complete odds on the 2009 AP NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year odds, see below.

2009 AP NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year Odds to Win

Ramses Barden (NYG) 40/1

Andre Brown (NYG) 20/1

Donald Brown (IND) 5/1

Kenny Britt (TEN) 20/1

Glenn Coffee (SFO) 30/1

Chase Coffman (CIN) 50/1

Michael Crabtree (SFO) 5/1

Josh Freeman (TB) 14/1

Shonn Green (NYJ) 14/1

Percy Harvin (MIN) 10/1

Darrius Heyward-Bay (OAK) 18/1

Juaquan Iglesias (CHI) 30/1

Cornelius Ingram (PHI) 50/1

Rashad Jennings (JAC) 30/1

Johnny Knox (CHI) 40/1

Jeremy Maclin (PHI) 18/1

Mohamed Massaquoi (CLE) 30/1

LeSean McCoy (PHI) 12/1

Knowshon Moreno (DEN) 5/2

Hakeem Nicks (NYG) 18/1

Brandon Pettigrew (DET) 30/1

Brian Robiskie (CLE) 20/1

Mark Sanchez (NYJ) 7/1

Matthew Stafford (DET) 8/1

Jason Smith (STL) 40/1

Mike Thomas (JAC) 25/1

Patrick Turner (MIA) 50/1

Mike Wallace (PIT) 50/1

Chris Wells (ARI) 7/2

Pat White (MIA) 30/1

Field (Any Other Player) 9/1

Betting Line

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Big East Conference odds

Work left to do: Villanova, Syracuse, DePaul, West Virginia, Providence

Notre Dame and Louisville appear to have done enough to make the move, so we'll make them locks. The Cardinals, despite a modest RPI, are trending way up and have clinched at least a tie for third in the Big East, which should be more than enough with their pair of big road wins. Villanova got back to .500 and gets back to more solid footing. Syracuse got a very important road win and crippled a fellow contender in the process. West Virginia's fate could be in its hands Tuesday at Pitt.

Work left to do:

Villanova [18-9 (7-7), RPI: 21, SOS: 5] Pounded Rutgers to get back to .500. If Cats can get their last two (at UConn, vs. Syracuse), that should be enough with strong computer numbers and a host of wins away from The Pavilion. The Cats have beaten Texas and swept the Big 5 (never easy in Philly), but have a couple of losses to bubble teams (Xavier, Drexel), too. I still think they'll be OK, possibly even at 8-8.

Syracuse [20-8 (9-5), RPI: 53, SOS: 62] History says 10 wins will be plenty, but it might be hard for the Orange to get that last one with a final two vs. G'town, which is trying to win the league title, and at Villanova, which will be desperate for a W. The relative lack of nonconference heft and the weak computer numbers are still concerns, but the Orange have won four in a row and got a very, very big win at Providence on Saturday.

DePaul [16-12 (8-7), RPI: 54, SOS: 18] Beat Cincy and should get past South Florida to get to 9-7, but then what? They have beaten Kansas and Cal (right after the DeVon Hardin injury) earlier this season, but also have lost to Bradley and Purdue, among others. They'll likely need a couple of BE tourney wins, too, but we'll see ...

West Virginia [19-7 (8-6), RPI: 58, SOS: 125] The game at Pitt on Tuesday night could decide the Mountaineers' fate (barring a deep tournament run). They can still get to 9-7 in the Big East without it by beating Cincinnati, but the nine wins would be against UConn, Villanova, St. John's, South Florida, DePaul, Rutgers, Seton Hall twice and the Bearcats. Beating bubble foes is fine, but where's the beef? Outside of beating PG-less UCLA in nonconference play (still a top quality win), there's not a lot to fall back on (besides maybe NC State). WVU vs. Syracuse would be an interesting debate, as the teams don't play in the Big East regular season. WVU has the best win, but Cuse has played the much better schedule.

Providence [17-10 (7-7), RPI: 70, SOS: 33] The Friars likely saw their at-large hopes die at home in the four-point loss to Syracuse, barring an unexpected run to the Big East semis or more. The RPI, bad already, won't be helped by playing St. John's and South Florida in the final two league games.

For more March Madness odds go to MySportsbook.com

For more College Basketball betting lines go to BettingExpress.com

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