Duensing set for first start of season as Twins battle Orioles
Baseball Betting Lines
07/23/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) -- Brian Duensing will have a tough act to follow when the Minnesota Twins pitcher makes his first start of the season in tonight's clash with the Baltimore Orioles from Camden Yards.
Minnesota took the opener of this four-game series behind a sensational performance from Carl Pavano on Thursday, with the veteran right-hander going the distance on a five-hitter to lead his team to a 5-0 triumph.
Pavano (12-6) struck out four and walked just one in posting his seventh consecutive winning decision, and needed only 102 pitches to record his fourth complete game in seven starts.
"I set out this offseason with personal goals," said Pavano, whose 12 wins are just one shy of the New York Yankees' CC Sabathia for the American League lead. "I wanted to go deeper into games and it feels better than good."
Delmon Young continued a recent tear of his own for Minnesota, collecting two hits in three at-bats and staking Pavano to a quick 3-0 lead with a bases- clearing double in the first inning. The former No. 1 overall pick is now hitting .452 (14-for-31) with 12 RBI in eight games since the All-Star break.
Michael Cuddyer added a solo homer in the victory, the Twins' fifth in their last seven tries. Minnesota moved within two games of idle Chicago for first place in the AL Central standings.
Duensing will attempt to get his club a little closer to the top spot when he toes the rubber tonight. The former University of Nebraska standout has been brilliant pitching out of the bullpen this season, compiling a 3-1 record with a stellar 1.67 earned run average over 39 appearances, which prompted manager Ron Gardenhire to tab the left-hander to replace an ineffective Nick Blackburn in the Minnesota rotation.
The 27-year-old Duensing did make nine regular-season starts as a rookie in 2009 and also took the ball for the Twins in their 7-2 loss to the Yankees in Game 1 of last year's AL Division Series. He pitched very well in a starting role, producing an impressive 5-1 record and a 2.73 ERA in those nine outings.
Duensing stretched out for tonight's assignment by throwing four innings in relief of Blackburn against the White Sox last Sunday, and picked up the win in the Twins' 7-6 come-from-behind verdict after yielding just one run.
Blackburn has registered a poor 6.53 ERA in 18 starts and was demoted to the bullpen after being reached for five runs in five innings in Sunday's test. It was the fifth time in the righty's last six games in which he allowed five runs or more.
Jeremy Guthrie, the scheduled starter for Baltimore this evening, is mired in a frustrating slump as well at the moment. The right-hander comes in having dropped six consecutive decisions since his last victory, a May 25 besting of Oakland, and is a woeful 3-10 with 4.58 ERA overall in a disappointing 2010 campaign.
Guthrie was sharp in his latest effort, though, limiting Toronto to one run while striking out six batters over 6 2/3 innings this past Saturday at Camden Yards. He still wound up with a no-decision to extend his winless streak to nine straight starts.
One of Guthrie's three wins of 2010 did come against the Twins, however, with the former Cleveland Indians No. 1 pick permitting three runs in 6 2/3 innings during a May 8 encounter in Minneapolis. He's 2-0 with a 3.16 ERA through five career matchups with Minnesota, three of which have been starts.
Baltimore owns the majors' worst record at 30-65 and has dropped six of seven to begin the second half following last night's defeat. Kevin Millwood (2-9), making his first start in more than two weeks, took the loss on Thursday after surrendering five runs in a 6 1/3-inning stint.
Minnesota has won three of five meetings with Baltimore so far this season, but had lost in three straight visits to Camden Yards prior to prevailing last night.
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Betting Football
NFL Football Betting OnlineIs there such a thing as a trap game in the NFL?
I once asked that question to Pete Korner, who at the time was office manager and a senior linesmaker for Las Vegas Sports Consultants.
Korner almost ripped my head off. There is no such thing as a trap game, he loudly berated me. It’s a myth. The numbers are made using power ratings, he said.
There are trap games, though. They just might not be what you think. The perception is of a good team, say Philadelphia, laying a small number against New Orleans.
Using the highly-respected power ranking from The Gold Sheet, you’d find the Eagles with a power rating of 4 and the Saints at 8. When you factor the game being played in New Orleans, you could see why the line opened so short at less than a field goal.
For some, this makes it enticing to take the Eagles. That’s not a real trap game, though.
A real trap game, says professional gambler Dave Malinsky, is thinking you’re getting value betting a bad team, which brings us to the Oakland Raiders-Denver Broncos matchup.
The Raiders are +15 in this long-standing division rivalry. Denver is on a short week having dispatched Baltimore Monday. However, the Raiders haven’t covered the spread their last 10 games.
Many bettors don’t trust the Raiders to give a full effort. Few think much of Art Shell and his Oakland’s coaching staff.
So oddsmakers have to do something to make Oakland attractive if they hope to get equal action.
Now Malinsky is a value shopper. But he won’t touch the Raiders even getting more than two touchdowns.
“I try to eliminate the undisciplined, unfocused teams because they’re the ones most likely to suffer the bad beats,” he said.
Near the top of Malinsky’s list of stay-away teams is the Miami Dolphins, who have yet to cover a spread this season.
“Whatever you think of Nick Saban, you have to look at the penalties and turnovers,” Malinsky said.
It’s easy to point out the Dolphins failed to get the money this past week against New England because Olindo Mare missed a field goal and had another field goal blocked. But even though the Dolphins outgained the Patriots, 283-213, they committed eight penalties.
Bad teams not only cost themselves victories, but pointspread covers as well. The Arizona Cardinals and Green Bay Packers are two more examples.
The Cardinals couldn’t have been in a better position this past Sunday, up 14-0 at home against a mediocre Kansas City Chiefs squad. But they couldn’t hold it. The Packers got a push against St. Louis, but also could have won losing by three when Brett Favre fumbled at the St. Louis 11-yard line with 44 seconds left.
“The Packers were in a position to beat Philadelphia, too,” Malinsky said. “But they couldn’t even cover double digits.
“These teams just make mistakes and it costs you … they always will look good from a value standpoint. They really will. But that’s the trap.”
Houston and Tennessee rank among the six-worst teams. Malinsky wouldn’t be afraid to take either of these teams, however, if the price were high enough.
The Texans are bad, Malinsky said, but they have some discipline. The Titans showed they could not only come up with an outstanding game plan, but execute it as well, losing by one to the Colts on the road as an 18 ?-point underdog this past Sunday.
“Jeff Fisher is a worker,” Malinsky said of the Titans coach. “I’m not sure how hard Art Shell wants to work when he gets out of bed.”
Fisher, though, could be out as Tennessee coach after this season. Is he still worth backing in the right spot, with the right price, as a lame duck coach?
“It’s in his nature to keep working hard and not worry about any possible lame duck status,” Malinsky said. “He’s coaching for his resume.”
Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting lines.