07/05/2008 - Minneapolis, MN (Baseball Betting) - Brendan Harris, Craig Monroe and Alexi Casilla each knocked in two runs, as the Minnesota Twins rallied to beat the Cleveland Indians, 9-6, in the middle contest of a three-game set from the Metrodome.
Joe Mauer added a solo home run for the Twins, who have won four in a row and are 8-2 in their last 10 games. Kevin Slowey (6-6) was dealt the win as he was touched for five runs on five hits in six innings. Joe Nathan earned his 24th save of the year with a scoreless ninth.
Grady Sizemore hit a three-run home run and tripled in five at-bats for the Indians, who have dropped seven straight contests and are 2-10 in their last 12 contests. Tom Mastny (0-2) blew his first save and also absorbed the loss as he was hit for four runs on two hits while recording just one out in the sixth. Starter Aaron Laffey was roughed up for four runs on five hits and four walks over five frames.
Minnesota pulled ahead for good in the sixth inning. Denard Span worked a one- out walk and Carlos Gomez reached as Mastny failed to cover first on a slow roller. Casilla then crushed a two-run double off the wall in right field. Mauer was intentionally walked and Rafael Perez came on in relief of Mastny.
Justin Morneau walked to load the bases, before Perez uncorked a wild pitch to score another run. Monroe was intentionally walked, which loaded the bags again, and Delmon Young flied out to right. Harris, however, golfed a two-run single to shallow left that saw Monroe get nailed at third for the third out, though the Twins scored five runs to make it 9-5.
Boof Bonser came on in relief of Slowey in the seventh and gave up a lead off single to Kelly Shoppach. Andy Marte and Sizemore were then retired, but Jamey Carroll hit an RBI double to center to make it 9-6.
Mauer's two-out walk in the first led to a Minnesota rally which put the Twins up 2-0. Morneau followed by getting beaned and Monroe cracked a two-run double.
The Indians answered back in the second inning. Shin-Soo Choo led off with a walk and moved to second on Casey Blake's groundout. David Dellucci offered an RBI double to right-center, Shoppach walked and Marte hit an RBI single, leaving runners at the corners. Sizemore cleared the table with a homer to right, giving Cleveland a 5-2 advantage.
The Twins got a run back in the fourth. Nick Punto blasted a one-out double to left and moved to third as Laffey uncorked a wild pitch. Span then made it 5-3 as he clubbed an RBI single to center.
Leading off the fifth, Mauer deposited a 3-1 fastball just beyond the fence in center to make it a one-run game.
Game Notes
The Twins have amassed an impressive 17-3 record since June 13, a surge that has vaulted them to within one game of the first-place Chicago White Sox in the American League Central standings. Most of that damage has come at home, where Minnesota has won 12 of its last 14 games and owns an outstanding 31-18 mark at the Metrodome this season...Minnesota is 5-3 against Cleveland so far in 2008. Cleveland went 7-2 at the Metrodome during its march to the division title last year.
<< ChiSox crush A's
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Nick Swisher, Brian Anderson and Alexi Ramirez
each homered to back a terrific effort on the mound from Gavin Floyd, as the
Chicago White Sox downed the Oakland Athletics, 6-1, in the third meeting of a
four-ga
<< Loretta, Astros make easily work of slumping Braves
Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mark Loretta finished 3-for-4 with three
doubles and four RBI as Houston pounded Atlanta, 6-1, in the middle contest of
a three-game set at Turner Field.
Carlos Lee and Miguel Tejada knocked in the ot
<< Fielder's late hit pushes Brewers past Bucs
Milwaukee, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Prince Fielder's RBI single in the bottom
of the ninth lifted the Milwaukee Brewers to a 2-1 win over Pittsburgh in the
second of three games with the Pirates.
Tyler Yates took the mound for Pittsburgh
<< Nats' Dukes leaves with knee injury
Cincinnati, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Washington Nationals left fielder Elijah
Dukes left Saturday's contest against the Cincinnati Reds in the seventh
inning after twisting the patella bone in his right knee.
Dukes took an awkward l
Sonnastine and Rays blank Royals >>
St. Petersburg, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ben Zobrist tripled and homered, and
Andy Sonnanstine threw seven shutout innings, as the Tampa Bay Rays topped
Kansas City, 3-0, in the second of four games with the Royals.
Sonnanstine (10-3) s
Reds rally late to swat Nats >>
Cincinnati, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jerry Hairston Jr. singled to start
the ninth, stole second, and scored the winning run on a Brandon Phillips
single, as the Cincinnati Reds edged the Washington Nationals, 3-2, in the
third i
Meena Lee, Ji share lead in Arkansas >>
Rogers, AR (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Meena Lee fired a seven-under 65 Saturday to
move into a share of the lead with the second round of the NW Arkansas
Championship suspended due to darkness.
Lee completed 36 holes at 12-under-par 132.
Mets rally late to topple Phillies >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Damion Easley went 3-for-5 and knocked
in a run, while Brian Schneider's two-run, pinch-hit double in the eighth
inning proved to be the difference as the New York Mets rolled past
Philade
Kurt Warner to start, Matt Leinart to watch
Despite the debate that's swirling , Kurt Warner will remain the starting quarterback for the Arizona Cardinals, coach Dennis Green said today. The Arizona Cardinals are the +7 point underdog at online sportsbook MySportsbook.com for this Sunday's game.
Green's comment came in a statement released by the team following an ESPN report that Green decided that rookie Matt Leinart would replace Warner as starter for Sunday's game at Atlanta.
"Generally talking about the starting lineup is not something we do," Green told the AP. "However, given the speculation that was out there we want to make it clear. We're disappointed after last week, but we still expect to be a playoff football team and we fully expect Kurt Warner to be the quarterback that leads us. That has not changed."
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your bet on football needs.
Recently I had an email debate with an angry reader who said I did not understand "the science of oddsmaking", as he called it.
He said I was wrong for suggesting oddsmakers care about who wins or loses games.
"Oddsmakers only care about splitting the betting public 50/50 on both sides of the line and keeping the commission (a.k.a. juice)," he wrote.
He might have been right about not understanding "the science of oddsmaking". After all, I'm not an oddsmaker. That said, I stick to my assertion that oddsmakers (a.k.a. sportbooks) often do care about who wins games.
Granted, as a general rule, sportsbooks try to balance their action so that they're not exposed to big losses. However, there are times when this is difficult to pull off, regardless of how much a line has moved. There are also times when that general rule is ignored and a book pursues risk.
Generally speaking, it's safe to say the books in Vegas are risk-adverse. Unlike in the past when the wise guys ruled the town, Vegas is now corporate and the goal of most casinos is to make as much money as possible with as little risk as possible.
Thus, Vegas sportsbooks try everything in their power to balance the action. They're satisfied simply collecting the juice. But these profits are small, especially compared to the take from other casino games, namely slot machines.
Because the profits at Vegas sportsbooks are so small, you could argue that many casinos operate sportsbooks simply as a novelty to keep the tourists happy.
With a growing aversion to risk, it should come as no surprise that Vegas bookmakers have been panicking this NFL season.
Despite huge pointspreads, a disproportionate percentage of bettors are still laying their money on favorites like the Eagles, Colts, Pats and Vikings rather than the dogs (a common trend for the largely recreational bettors that visit Vegas).
And much to the dismay of the books, those favorites are finding ways to cover the thick chalk. In fact, prior to Week 7, the four teams listed above are a combined 16-2-2 (88 percent) against the spread. (The tables turned dramatically in Week 7, but more on that later.)
The result has been an early-season beating for the books, and a bonanza for bettors.
While Vegas increasingly hates risk, it's no longer a major player in the sports betting world. Most of the betting action now takes place offshore where sportsbooks are not as obsessed about balance. In fact, some books encourage exposure to risk because the rewards can be so much bigger.
Consider MySportsbook.com. On its website, the book has odds pages which actually display the amount of action it's getting on games. In other words, you can see how much action the book is taking on both sides of a pointspread, moneyline or over/under.
One look at these numbers and it's obvious MySportsbook.com does not balance every game. In fact, far from it.
Take last weekend's matchup between St. Louis and Miami. By game time on Sunday, 83 percent of the betting action at MySportsbook.com was on the Rams; only 17 percent was on Miami.
What's interesting is that MySportsbook.com opened the pointspread with Miami at +6 1/2. By game time, the spread had lowered to +5.
That goes contrary to the balancing theory. If MySportsbook.com had wanted to balance the action, it would have given Miami more points; instead, it took away 1 1/2.
MySportsbook.com exposed itself to even more to risk, and rolled the dice on the underdog Dolphins. Why? I contacted a representative with the book to find out. His answer was simple.
"The line moved early based on 'smart money' from sharp players," said Jeff Gilroy, a spokesperson for the book. "We also knew from early in the week that we would need Miami, therefore (we dropped) the spread to encourage Rams money.
"At the end of the day, we liked the home team."
So the conclusion is this: MySportsbook.com respected the sharp action, and gambled that the sharp bettors had a better take on the game than the recreational bettors, who were hammering the visiting Rams.
In the end, the gamble paid off. Miami, desperate for a win in front of its home fans, pounded the overrated Rams, who are terrible on the road and even worse on grass. Final score: 31-14 Fish.
MySportsbook.com was also heavily exposed on numerous favorites in Week 7, including Philadelphia, Seattle and Denver. All three failed to cover.
The fact that sportsbooks are exposed to risk on certain games is really nothing new. The fact, that Sportsbook.com is willing to show the public where it's exposed is intriguing.
Armed with this type of information, bettors can make more educated wagers. They can get an idea where the sharp money is going and conversely where the public money is headed.
MySportsbook.com is opening up its cashbox, letting bettors look inside and challenging them to take their best shot at grabbing the cash.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting odds needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.
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