Twins aim to extend win streak versus Royals

Baseball Betting Lines

09/06/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) -- The Minnesota Twins will attempt to extend their current winning streak to four games when the American League Central front-runners take on a team they've had plenty of success against this season, the Kansas City Royals, this afternoon in a Labor Day matinee from Target Field.

The Twins head into the opener of this three-game series off an impressive home sweep of AL West-leading Texas over the weekend, taking all three matchups with the Rangers to continue their tremendous recent play at Target Field. In Sunday's finale, Denard Span and Michael Cuddyer both knocked in two runs and Minnesota staved off a late Texas rally to hold on for a 6-5 victory.

Twins starter Nick Blackburn did his part as well, yielding just two runs and six hits over the first seven innings to even his season record at 9-9. The right-hander had to sweat out the win, however, after the Rangers scored three times off relievers Jon Rauch and Matt Capps in the top of the ninth.

An RBI double by Julio Borbon and Cristian Guzman's run-scoring single off Capps in the ninth brought Texas within 6-4, and Michael Young followed with a two-out base hit before David Murphy walked to load the bases. Vladimir Guerrero then delivered an infield single to plate Guzman for a one-run game, but Young was called out for runner's interference on the play after making incidental contact with third-base coach Dave Anderson while rounding the bag.

The controversial call enabled the Twins to win for the 16th time in their last 19 games at Target Field, where the team has amassed an excellent 45-23 record for the season, and remain 3 1/2 games ahead of Chicago for first place in the AL Central. The White Sox swept a three-game set at Boston this past weekend.

"They're a really good team," Minnesota shortstop J.J. Hardy said of the Rangers. "These weren't easy games. Two of them were one-run ballgames. It was really nice to get out there and get that win [Sunday]."

Kansas City, on the other hand, is an unimpressive 26-42 on the road so far in 2010 and has lost eight of its past 12 overall. The non-contending Royals were able to halt a three-game skid, however, by edging Detroit by a 2-1 count Sunday at Kauffman Stadium.

Alex Gordon's leadoff homer in the bottom of the sixth inning snapped a 1-1 deadlock and rewarded teammate and starting pitcher Kyle Davies (7-9), who worked the first six frames and surrendered just one run and three hits. The blast came on the first pitch Gordon saw from Tigers reliever Brad Thomas.

"Just be aggressive," Gordon said when asked of his approach during the at- bat. "That's what I did. I got my fastball to hit and I was able to do something with it."

Gil Meche and Robinson Tejeda protected the one-run lead with a scoreless inning of relief each, with closer Joakim Soria retiring the side in order in the ninth to register his 37th save of the season.

Soria hasn't had too many save opportunities when facing the Twins this season, however. Minnesota is 9-3 against the Royals in 2010 and has won four of six meetings with Kansas City held in Minneapolis as well. In the last series between these divisional foes, the Twins outscored the Royals by a 36-7 in taking all three tests from July 26-28.

Kevin Slowey, who'll be toeing the rubber for Minnesota this afternoon, has also fared well when facing the Royals in the past. The right-hander owns a 5-1 record with a 3.19 earned run average in seven career appearances (six starts) against today's opponent and tossed seven shutout innings of three-hit ball to defeat Kansas City at Target Field back on June 8.

Slowey will be making his first start since an August 21 home loss to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, having spent the past two-plus weeks on the disabled list with a strained triceps. He lasted only three innings in that outing and was reached for four runs on seven hits, two of which were homers.

Prior to that setback, Slowey had no-hit the Oakland Athletics through seven innings in an August 15 win, but was removed by manager Ron Gardenhire after exceeding his pitch limit.

Sean O'Sullivan gets the call for Kansas City today for his first-ever encounter with the Twins. The young right-hander, acquired in a trade with the Angels in late July, hasn't made a very good impression on his new club during his short stay in Kansas City

O'Sullivan is 1-4 with a bloated 6.59 ERA in eight games (seven starts) since the swap and allowed four or more runs in five of those assignments. He's also served up nine homers -- including three in a no-decision against Texas on Tuesday -- in a combined 41 innings pitched with the Royals.

The 23-year-old permitted six runs total in five innings versus the Rangers and is 1-3 with a 5.45 ERA in five starts and one relief appearance on the road this year.

Casnogames Baseball Betting News

<< Braves head to Pittsburgh for key set with Bucs
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A loss today could push the National League East-leading Atlanta Braves out of first place for the first time since May 30. They probably couldn't be happier to see the Pittsburgh Pirates. Atlanta aims to maintain its ed

<< Mets resume rough road trip in Washington
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - After breaking out of a prolonged slump with four solid starts, New York Mets hurler Mike Pelfrey fell back into his struggling ways last time out. That is sort of how his team has been all season long. Pelfrey will try

<< Phils eye first place in doubleheader with Marlins
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Even when Roy Oswalt is off his game, he is still pretty darn good. The Philadelphia Phillies pitcher might get a chance tonight to put his team back into sole possession of first place in the National League East. Set to

<< The biggest threat to the U.S. Ryder Cup team
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - While I was busy searching for the best line to describe Miguel Angel Jimenez, someone I don't know beat me to it. In the Internet age, it isn't hard to believe how it happened. Sports Illustrated writer Alan Shipnuck po

<< Leinart finds new home with Texans
Houston, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Houston Texans have agreed to a one-year contract with quarterback Matt Leinart, according to the player's agent. The Houston Chronicle cited Leinart's agent, Tom Condon, as confirming the move, which comes

Angels send Haren to the hill for matchup with Indians >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - In-season acquisition Dan Haren makes the ninth start in a so-far unsuccessful stint with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim tonight when they host the Cleveland Indians to begin a three-game series at Angel Stadium. A 14-g

Hunter steps in for ailing Lee in Toronto >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tommy Hunter steps in for the ailing Cliff Lee this afternoon when the Texas Rangers open a four-game series with the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre. The original plan was to have Lee get an extra day of rest because o

O's, Yanks open set in the Bronx >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Yankees have to be wondering which A.J. Burnett will show up this afternoon when they open a three-game series with the Baltimore Orioles at Yankee Stadium. After an awful August that saw him go 0-4 with a 7.8

Tigers hope to play spoiler against White Sox >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Detroit Tigers' postseason chances have probably gone by the wayside. However, they will get a chance to play spoiler this week and open a four-game series with the playoff-hopeful Chicago White Sox at Comerica Park.

Rays, Red Sox start series at Fenway >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Tampa Bay Rays can deal the final blow to the Boston Red Sox' playoff hopes this week, as the American League East rivals open a three-game set at Fenway Park. The Rays come into tonight's opener trailing the New York

Albert Pujols to be This Year's Home Run Champ Says Online Sportsbook

Barry Bonds is a 50-1 long shot to be this year's home run champ odds.  The favorite to be this year's home run champ is none other than Albert Pujols, however.

Now that Barry Bonds is signed and in Giants camp, it is on to his pursuit of all of sports most prestigious records: the all-time home run mark. Bonds sits just 21 homers shy of tying Hank Aaron for the career mark at 755. Word out of Giants’ camp is that Bonds is the healthiest he has been in a few years. Bonds is just two seasons removed from his injury riddled 2005 campaign where he played in only 14 games and hit only 5 home runs. He did come back last year and had a solid season hitting .270 with 26 bombs. All eyes will be on Bonds this spring and summer not only because of his home run chase but his highly publicized steroid abuse allegations. If and when Bonds breaks the record, he surely will not get the positive attention one should for breaking a record that was once thought of as “unbreakable”. Despite Bonds decent season last year, he is just 50-1 at MySportsbook.com to lead the MLB in long balls this season.

Not surprisingly, the favorites to go deep the most times this season are Albert Pujols 5-1, Ryan Howard 6-1, David Ortiz 8-1 and Alex Rodriguez 12-1. With 49 homers, Pujols finished second in the National League behind Howard (58). Pujols is considered the favorite due to the consistent power numbers that he has posted since breaking into the league in 2001. Also one must consider the fact that he played in 16 fewer games then Howard did due to an injury. Howard smashed 58 homers in his first complete season of big league play en route to the National League MVP odds award. He silenced his critics by successfully hitting left-handed pitching. Howard also displayed the ability to use his power to the opposite field. Two attributes which should keep Howard amongst the league leaders in long balls for years to come. From the American League representatives, David Ortiz leads the field. Ortiz was second in the majors last year with 54 home runs. Except for 1999 when he only played in 10 games, Ortiz has improved on his home run numbers each year he has been in the majors (1997).

Be sure to log onto online sports betting site MySportsbook.com to check out the odds for who will lead the MLB in home runs this season. Below is just a sample of the players listed. With the highest credit card rates in the industry, MySportsbook.com is the place to bet on baseball this summer.

World Series odds

Adam Dunn 15-1

Albert Pujols 5-1

Alex Rodriguez 12-1

Alfonso Soriano 15-1

Andruw Jones 25-1

Barry Bonds 50-1

Carlos Delgado 40-1

David Ortiz 8-1

Jermaine Dye 40-1

Ken Griffey Jr. 100-1

Lance Berkman 40-1

Manny Ramirez 20-1

Richie Sexson 40-1

Ryan Howard 6-1

Travis Hafner 20-1

Vladimir Guerrero 40-1

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.