Silva, Twins cool off Mariners

Baseball Betting Lines

08/22/2007 - Minneapolis, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Twins jumped on the Mariners with a seven-run first inning, and Carlos Silva went seven strong innings as Minnesota ended Seattle's five-game win streak with an 8-4 victory in the finale of a three-game set.

Silva (10-12) struck out three and walked none in scattering eight hits across his seven frames, allowing two earned runs.

Michael Cuddyer hit a grand slam, Jason Kubel was 3-for-4, and Torii Hunter and Tommy Watkins had two hits apiece to lead a Twins offense that put the game out of reach early.

The Twins have now won five of eight, and climb back to .500 (63-63) with the win.

Miguel Batista (13-9) took the loss, getting hammered for eight earned runs on nine hits, lasting just two innings.

"They beat me," conceded Batista afterward. "The pitcher that doesn't recognize when he's been hit is not a pitcher. I learned that from Tom Seaver. Out of nine hits, I probably threw two pitches that could have been placed better."

Ichiro Suzuki was 2-for-3 and Jose Guillen went 2-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored for the Mariners, who had taken two from the Twins following a sweep of the White Sox. Seattle has won seven of ten overall, and holds a two-game advantage over the Yankees in the American League wild card race.

Minnesota started the first inning onslaught with back-to-back one-out singles by Watkins and Hunter. After Justin Morneau followed Hunter with a walk, Cuddyer cleared the bases with a blast into the seats in left-center, staking the Twins to a quick 4-0 advantage.

"It was nice to be able to get (Silva) some early support," said Cuddyer of his slam. "Given that situation, with less than two outs, you're just trying to get the first (runner) in."

Things didn't get any easier in the inning for Batista, as Kubel and Mike Redmond followed Cuddyer's slam with back-to-back singles. Garrett Jones then singled to left, scoring Kubel, and Nick Punto's sacrifice fly plated Redmond. Leadoff man Alexi Casilla, the tenth hitter to come to the plate in the inning, then completed the scoring with an RBI triple before Watkins struck out to finally end the inning.

The Twins struck for another run in the second, as Hunter led off with a double and moved to third on Cuddyer's fly ball to right. Kubel's single through the right side brought Hunter home for an 8-0 lead.

Seattle left-hander Ryan Rowland-Smith came on in the third for Batista, and did a masterful job holding the Twins offense in check through the middle innings, striking out six and walking two and not allowing a hit over the four frames he pitched.

The Mariners eventually got a pair of runs back against Silva in the seventh on a solo home run by Ben Broussard and an RBI triple by Yuniesky Betancourt that scored Willie Bloomquist, who had singled.

After Silva was lifted for Pat Neshek in the eighth, Seattle cut the lead to four, courtesy of an Adrian Beltre double, a triple by Guillen, and a Raul Ibanez sacrifice fly. But Neshek got Richie Sexson to strike out looking and then induced a flyout from Broussard to escape the inning with a still- comfortable 8-4 lead.

Game Notes

Joe Nathan came on for the Twins to record a one-two-three ninth, bringing his ERA to 1.77 on the season...Every Twins starter but Punto had at least one hit...It was the shortest start for Batista since June 16, 2004...Suzuki stole his team-leading 36th base...Ibanez added to his team-leading RBI total, knocking in his 83rd run of the season.

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Betting the NFL preseason

Rule No. 1 in the gamblers' handbook states, "Avoid sports betting on meaningless games."

When you're drowning in a sea of baseball monotony, however, things change. Even a hint of pro football betting can persuade the most disciplined bettor to break a few rules. 

The NFL preseason is around the corner, with a tempting Hall of Fame match kicking off on Sunday. But bettors must stay vigilant. Wagering on NFL exhibition games is an entirely different beast than the regular season. Most fans don't recognize the players on the field because starters get as much action in August as Warcraft fans get on Prom night.

The only certainty about the NFL this time of year is uncertainty – and yet there are some who say betting in August can be a gold mine.

“I actually feel the NFL preseason presents solid profit opportunities for sharp bettors and handicappers,” Sports Expert Steve Merril explains. “My experience has been that the sportsbooks fear the preseason, which is evident by lower limits and massive moves.”

The line moves are attributed to the limited knowledge available regarding playing-time distribution. One team’s top unit out on the field for one more series has an impact on the pointspread. Setting lines in the preseason often is a shot in the dark.

“We base the betting lines mostly on public perception,” Pete Korner, founder of the Sports Club in Las Vegas, says. “It’s very tough to predict, almost a guessing game.”

The preseason is all about figuring out who’s in and for how long.

“It becomes a race between bettors and oddsmakers to find out how long the quarterbacks are going to stay in,” Korner admits. “If a sharp gets the information first, he could exploit an early line. I’m a full believer in moving the line in the preseason if the books find out something late in the week.”

Determining what each team’s motive is can help bettors handicap. To do this you must pay close attention to the philosophies head coaches employ in exhibition play.

“You need to know what a coach is trying to accomplish,” says Covers Expert Bryan Leonard. “Sometimes a new coach will want to instill a winning attitude. Others just want to make sure their starters don’t get hurt."

So how do you distinguish who’s playing scared and who’s playing for keeps?

“Head coaches on the hot seat or new coaches trying to implement a winning attitude usually try harder to win in the preseason,” Merril says.

Cleveland Browns head coach Romeo Crennel fits this criteria. He’s entering his third season as the sideline boss and has yet to lead the Browns to more than six wins.

Cleveland is an enticing bet as well because of the unresolved quarterback situation. General manager Phil Savage sacrificed the Browns’ first-round pick in next year’s draft for Brady Quinn, but the former Notre Dame quarterback hasn’t signed or reported to training camp yet.

Charlie Frye and Derek Anderson split time at QB last season and it looks like either player (or even Quinn) could be the opening-day starter.

“If a team has quarterback depth and the pecking order hasn’t been decided, it’s a big advantage,” Leonard says.

Even in the third week of the preseason when starters generally play the most, the final outcome of the game is in the hands of fringe players. A team's talent, all the way down to the last man on the roster, is something to consider.

The New England Patriots have long been considered one of the deeper teams in the NFL and coach Bill Belichick has said in the past he’s unafraid of stars getting hurt in games with nothing on the line. He shocked his colleagues in 2003 by playing some of his starters on special teams in the preseason.

“We want to have the team ready to play a tough, physical game and preparation has to go into that and I imagine a certain amount of injuries go with it,” Belichick told the Providence Journal in August 2003.

Bettors can only hope to find more teams that share the Pats' business-like approach to the preseason (New England is 17-9-3 against the spread since 2000) and take advantage of teams who detest the exhibition schedule.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your bet on football needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.