Cuddyer, Span help Twins edge Rangers
Baseball Betting Lines
09/05/2010 - Minneapolis, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Michael Cuddyer and Denard Span each drove in a pair of runs and Minnesota survived a ninth-inning scare to take a 6-5 decision over Texas in the finale of a three-game series from Target Field.
Orlando Hudson and J.J. Hardy also collected an RBI each for the Twins, who swept the set from the AL West leaders and have won eight of their last 10 games.
Nick Blackburn (9-9) allowed six hits and two runs over seven solid innings, fanning four with three walks for Minnesota, which maintained its 3 1/2 game lead over Chicago in the AL Central after the White Sox topped Boston.
Matt Capps earned his ninth save despite allowing two runs to score and being charged with a run on three hits while recording the final out of the game.
Matt Treanor drove in two while Julio Borbon, Cristian Guzman and Vladimir Guerrero added RBI hits in the ninth for the Rangers, who slid to their sixth loss in eight outings.
C.J. Wilson (14-6) was tagged in the loss for seven hits and six runs, striking out five but walking four over 5 1/3 frames.
Jon Rauch turned in a scoreless eighth but allowed an RBI double from Borbon with two down in the ninth and departed with a runner on second.
Capps was called upon but Guzman hit a run-scoring single for a 6-4 game. Young followed with a base hit and David Murphy walked to load the bases. Guerrero then sent a ball up the middle. It was fielded by Hudson behind second base and he threw to third behind Young, who was trying to go back to the base.
Although Guzman scored to make it a one-run game, Young was called out due to runners interference -- incidental contact with Texas' third-base coach -- while rounding the bag.
Cudddyer's two-run double in the first staked the Twins to the lead, then the Rangers countered in their next at-bat with a Treanor two-run single.
Minnesota got a run back in the home second as Hardy and Matt Tolbert both walked, Jason Repko beat out a bunt single and Span's sacrifice fly plated the go-ahead run.
The home team put up three more runs in the sixth. Jason Kubel and Delmon Young stroked back-to-back singles then a Hardy hit plated one run. Repko walked two batters later to load the bases then Span also walked to force in a run and chase Wilson.
Michael Kirkman then allowed a sac fly from Hudson to make it 6-2 before retiring Joe Mauer on a fly out.
Blackburn finished his performance by sending the Rangers down in order in the sixth then working around a Guzman double in the seventh.
Game Notes
Minnesota won seven of the 10 meetings with Texas this season, including a perfect 6-0 mark at home...The Rangers announced Sunday that outfielder Josh Hamilton will be out for an undetermined period of time while recovering from a bruised left ribcage suffered on Saturday...Both clubs are in action on Monday as the Twins stay home to host Kansas City while the Rangers head to Toronto to start a four-game set.
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Super Bowl 2009 Betting
Super Bowl 2009 Betting propositionsUnderdog 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.
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