Valencia, Twins stay hot in rout of Royals

Baseball Betting Lines

07/28/2010 - Kansas City, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Danny Valencia knocked in three and collected four more hits while Carl Pavano turned in his eighth consecutive winning decision in an 11-2 Twins victory over Kansas City.

Valencia was coming off a 4-for-4 performance in Monday's 19-1 shellacking of the Royals and is 8-for-9 in the series. Joe Mauer, who was 5-for-5 with a career-high seven RBI on Monday, drove in another two runs with two hits in the middle test to this three-game set.

J.J. Hardy hit a solo home run and added a run-scoring single amid a three-hit game and Michael Cuddyer added three hits and two RBI to the win, Minnesota's fourth straight and sixth in the last seven games.

The Twins have racked up 47 runs and 72 hits over their current four-game torrent and reached double-digit runs for the third straight game. Over the last seven games, Minnesota has outscored the competition 60-12.

Pavano (13-6), meanwhile, reached 98 pitches in five innings, but held the Royals to five hits and a run over that time to stretch an unbeaten streak to 10 starts dating back to June 9. The Twins have gone 9-1 in those games.

Bruce Chen (5-5) was knocked around for 11 hits and six runs in 5 1/3 innings to take the loss, Kansas City's fifth in six games. Scott Podsednik had two hits and drove in a run, extending his hitting streak to 14 games.

Minnesota paced itself in the early going with a mere four runs in the first three innings. Cuddyer chased home Mauer with a two-out single and Valencia did the same to score Delmon Young in the game's first frame.

Valencia and Hardy had back-to-back RBI singles with one out in the third for a 4-0 margin. Jose Guillen interrupted the visitors' scoring with a sacrifice fly in the fifth, but the Twins were right back at it in their next at-bat. Jason Repko singled in Drew Butera and Mauer added a sac fly in the sixth after Kyle Farnsworth took over for Chen.

Podsednik knocked in Alex Gordon with a two-out hit in the bottom half, but Hardy blasted a home run off Robinson Tejeda in the seventh to erase the run and make it 7-2.

Minnesota tacked on four more in the eighth as Mauer, Young, Cuddyer and Valencia strung together consecutive two-out RBI hits off Victor Marte.

Game Notes

The Twins had 19 hits Tuesday a night after tying their season high with 20. Young had two hits and scored three runs...Minnesota improved to 9-3 since the All-Star break...Pavano walked three and struck out two. He had pitched into the seventh inning in each of his previous 12 trips to the mound. The veteran right-hander has also won five straight decisions on the road, where he's compiled a 7-3 record in 11 starts thus far in 2010. It was Pavano's fourth overall matchup with the Royals this season, as he improved to 3-1 in 2010 and 7-5 in 13 lifetime games (12 starts) against them...The Twins have won eight of 10 versus the Royals this year, as well as 16 of the last 20 overall meetings between the teams. Minnesota is also 18-5 at Kauffman Stadium since the start of the 2008 season.

Wwwsportinglife Baseball Betting News

<< Phillies' Victorino leaves game
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Philadelphia Phillies outfielder Shane Victorino left Tuesday's 9-5 victory over Arizona with a strained left oblique muscle. Victorino stated after the game that he suffered the injury while sliding i

<< Pirates extend Rockies' slide in series opener
Denver, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Neil Walker finished 3-for-4 with a solo home run as Pittsburgh continued Colorado's second-half slide with a 4-2 victory at Coors Field. Zach Duke (5-9) started the three-game set with six solid innings,

<< Haren likely to make next start after X-rays come back clean
Anaheim, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Dan Haren is expected to start on Saturday when the Angels take on the American League West-leading Rangers after X-rays of his right forearm came back clean on Tuesday. Haren, acquired by Los Angeles

<< Memphis rookie Vasquez has ankle surgery
Memphis, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Memphis Grizzlies rookie guard Greivis Vasquez underwent surgery on his right ankle Tuesday to remove a bone spur. Vasquez, who starred at the University of Maryland, had the procedure performed in B

<< Lee fans 13, Cruz hits game-winning HR in 10th as Rangers down A's
Arlington, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Cliff Lee set a career high with 13 strikeouts over nine brilliant innings and Nelson Cruz belted a two-run, game- winning home run in the bottom of the 10th, as the Texas Rangers edged the Oakland

Reds subdue Brewers with 19-hit barrage >>
Milwaukee, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Scott Rolen was one of three Cincinnati players with four hits and drove in three runs as the Reds walloped the Brewers, 12-4, snapping Milwaukee's five-game winning streak. Brandon Phillips we

Bay out of Mets lineup >>
Flushing, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jason Bay is experiencing concussion-like symptoms several days after crashing into the outfield wall while making a catch against the Dodgers and was not in the Mets' lineup against St. Louis on Tuesday

Billingsley, Ethier lead Dodgers over Padres >>
San Diego, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chad Billingsley pitched six shutout frames, and his pinch-hitter, Andre Ethier, came through with a big hit in the top of the seventh, as the Dodgers kicked off an important NL West three-game set with a

Uribe, Renteria homer in eighth as Giants nip Marlins >>
San Francisco, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Juan Uribe led off the bottom of the eighth inning with a tie-breaking homer off Brian Sanches and Edgar Renteria added a two-run shot later in the frame, lifting the San Francisco Giants to a 6-4 win

Lackey beat old team as Red Sox use late surge >>
Anaheim, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - John Lackey returned to his former stomping grounds and pitched 7 1/3 quality innings to lead the Boston Red Sox to a 4-2 win over the Angels in the middle installment of a three-game series. Lackey (10-5

Super Bowl 2009 Betting

Super Bowl 2009 Betting propositions

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.

Get free 2009 Super Bowl Betting from top rated online sportsbook MySportsbook.com. Mysportsbook.com online Super Bowl betting VISA Mastercard