Twins return home to face Mariners

Baseball Betting Lines

07/30/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Fresh off a wildly successful road trip, the surging Minnesota Twins return to Target Field this evening to play the first of three consecutive matchups with the Seattle Mariners.

The Twins are back home after going 6-1 on a week-long trek and winning the final five games of the swing. A prolific offense has carried the reigning American League Central champions during this successful stretch, as Minnesota has racked up an eye-popping 53 runs over the course of those five victories.

Ron Gardenhire's squad continued to swing the bats well in Wednesday's 6-4 triumph over Kansas City, as the Twins built a 5-0 lead after 3 1/2 innings and held off a late Royals comeback attempt.

Delmon Young began Minnesota's barrage by belting a three-run homer in the first inning and finished 3-for-5 for the Twins, who have won seven of their last eight overall and trail Chicago by only 1 1/2 games for first place in the AL Central. Jason Repko and Denard Span also collected three hits on the afternoon, with Repko adding a solo home run and Span contributing an RBI single.

Brian Duensing (4-1) did his part as well in Wednesday's win, with the Minnesota starter holding the Royals to two runs over the game's first six innings. Kansas City scored twice against the Twins bullpen in the eighth to pull within 5-4, but closer Jon Rauch threw a scoreless ninth to preserve the lead and nail down his 21st save of the year.

Minnesota has now prevailed in 10 of their 14 contests since the All-Star break and has been tough to beat at Target Field all throughout the season, having amassed a 30-20 record thus far at the first-year ballpark.

"We gotta keep up with the other guys now," said Gardenhire after Wednesday's result. "We have to play our schedule out and hopefully get some streaks together."

Young has played a big role in the Twins' recent tear. The outfielder is currently riding an eight-game hitting streak and is batting a scorching .540 (20-for-37) with three homers and 15 RBI during that span.

The Twins were also able to add some relief help on Thursday's off day, acquiring closer Matt Capps from Washington in exchange for well-regarded catching prospect Wilson Ramos. The 26-year-old Capps ranked fourth in the National League with 26 saves at the time of the deal and earned his first career All-Star nod this season by posting a 2.74 ERA in 47 appearances.

Minnesota beat up on doormats Baltimore and Kansas City during its successful trip and gets to face another favorable opponent tonight in the last-place Mariners, a team that's amassed a horrid 6-20 record thus far in July and comes in having been swept in a four-game series by the White Sox in Chicago.

After dropping a 9-5 decision in Thursday's finale, Seattle is now a poor 15-36 on the road this season.

The Mariners did receive three doubles and three runs scored from All-Star Ichiro Suzuki and a 2-for-3, two-RBI showing from Casey Kotchman in last night's loss, but starting pitcher David Pauley (0-3) lasted only 2 2/3 innings and was rocked for four runs and six hits.

You have to get ahead of hitters," said Mariners manager Don Wakamatsu, whose club walked five batters and served up four home runs on the evening. "When you fall behind, especially against a club with their power potential, you run into trouble."

Seattle has given the Twins some problems this year, however, having taken three of four meetings between the teams at Safeco Field earlier this season. The Mariners have also won five of the past six games in this overall series.

Doug Fister will take the mound for the Mariners in tonight's opener and will try once more to reclaim his early-season form. After producing a 3-1 record and a spectacular 1.72 ERA over his first seven starts, the towering right- hander has gone 0-5 with a 5.17 ERA in nine outings and spent nearly a month on the disabled list due to a fatigued throwing shoulder.

Fister has particularly struggled since returning from the injury, although he did give the Mariners five effective innings against Boston this past Sunday. The Fresno State product surrendered a pair of runs on seven hits and did not get a decision in an eventual 4-2 Seattle win.

Like his team, the 26-year-old has not performed well on the road this season, having put together a 1-3 record and a 5.74 ERA in six away starts. Fister also had an undesired outcome in a home assignment against the Twins on May 31, when he was reached for five runs in 7 2/3 innings to receive a loss.

In contrast, Minnesota's Scott Baker has usually been very good when pitching at home, with the right-hander bringing a 6-3 record and 3.90 ERA over 10 Target Field starts into tonight's tilt.

Baker wasn't sharp in his last Minneapolis appearance, however, yielding six runs and 10 hits before being removed after 4 2/3 innings of a July 19 loss to Cleveland. He rebounded by tossing a strong seven frames to defeat Baltimore on the road this past Saturday, though, with the Orioles managing just two runs on four hits and fanning eight times against the Oklahoma State product.

The 28-year-old will be out to improve upon a 1-3 record and 4.60 ERA over seven lifetime starts against Seattle when he toes the rubber this evening.

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Pacific-10 Conference odds

Teams that should be in: Stanford

Oregon and USC get their tickets punched after taking care of business this weekend. Yes, the Trojans' computer numbers aren't great, but there's no way the third-place team in this league is getting nixed. Grudgingly, I added Arizona after consultation with our Bracketologist. I don't know that Arizona will lose its last three (including a Pac-10 quarterfinal game), and even if the Cats do, I still can't see how they'd be left out, given the overall profile. That said, it bears watching, as three more L's would leave them at 18-12 (9-9) and on a 6-11 skid entering the Dance. It would be nice to see the Wildcats get at least one W in the Bay Area next week, as Cincinnati (albeit without Armein Kirkland and with a worse profile) was axed after a similar slide last season. I just couldn't rationalize having some of the other teams as locks and not having Arizona in that category -- there just aren't enough good teams behind the Cats to threaten their spot, it seems. Stanford has its fate in its own hands with the Arizona schools coming to the Farm to close out the regular season next weekend.

Should be in:

Stanford [17-10 (9-7), RPI: 40, SOS: 21] No shame in not getting a win in L.A., but that makes the home game against Arizona State a must-win ahead of what could be an intriguing meeting with Arizona should the Cats lose at Cal. Getting to 11 Pac-10 wins would make Selection Sunday much more comfortable, but 10's probably more than enough this season. The Cardinal have nonconference wins over Texas Tech and at Virginia to lean on, although they also lost badly to Air Force and Santa Clara at home.

Southeastern Conference odds
Work left to do: Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, Mississippi State

It looks more and more possible that no one from the SEC West will make the NCAAs. How weird is that? Tennessee and Vandy move into the locks category after more good work this weekend. Kentucky stays there, although it would be smart for the Cats to handle Georgia at home Wednesday ahead of a trip to the Swamp. Could a disaster scenario (two more L's and a first-round SEC tourney exit) somehow dislodge the Cats despite their incredible computer numbers? Still unlikely, but not worth chancing it.

Work left to do:

Alabama [19-9 (6-8), RPI: 43, SOS: 47] The tough L at Tennessee was understandable, and even created some hope. Unfortunately, that hope was dashed by a home loss to Auburn, which leaves the Tide in some real trouble. There's still no signature win on the profile (no, Kentucky doesn't count), and the computer profile is weakening rapidly. The Tide conceivably could beat Ole Miss and win at Miss. State to get to 8-8 and clinch at least a share of the West crown, but that's probably not enough right now. The Tide will need to do some work in the SEC tourney.

Georgia [16-10 (8-6), RPI: 52, SOS: 23] This is the team with the best chance to make it from this section right now. The Bulldogs rebounded from a terrible performance at Ole Miss to beat down Miss. State. Now they are at Kentucky (king of the RPI 51-100 win) and home to Tennessee. That would be worth a lot of computer points to get both (which is doable), as both teams are in the top 11 in RPI. Finishing at least 9-7 is an absolute must, and I would feel much better about the Dawgs' chances if they got both to get to 10 SEC wins. They also beat Gonzaga, but lost to ACC bubblers Georgia Tech and Clemson.

Mississippi [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 63, SOS: 79] Like everyone else in this division, Ole Miss gacked up a chance to stake a claim, losing by double figures at South Carolina. Even 9-7 likely is not nearly enough with a nonconference profile devoid of anything notable.

Mississippi State [16-11 (7-7), RPI: 66, SOS: 37] With a chance to get in the mix, these Bulldogs were leashed by their Georgia counterparts. Could they get to 9-7? I guess -- although winning at Arkansas, then beating Alabama is no lock -- but would that mean all that much for a team with this overall profile? Probably not. There's nothing of note (on the good side) in the nonconference profile.

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MySportsbook.com Releases World Series Championship Lines

New York Yankees and Chicago White Sox early favorites to win 2008 World Series
The Major League Baseball season starts this weekend and MySportsbook.com, a leading online sportsbook for over 8 years, is the first to offer baseball sports betting lines on who will win the 2007 World Series.

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Going in to this weekend, MySportsbook.com's favorites to win the World Series are the New York Yankees at 7-2 and last year’s winners the Chicago White Sox at 9-2.

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