The Tigers send their ace to the mound in the opening game of a crucial AL Central series at Comerica Park.

Minnesota Twins at Detroit Tigers

Minnesota will be happy to leave Toronto and AL East opponents, dropping to 9-15 against the division with a 8-1 loss to the Blue Jays last night.  “We know they are a home run hitting team and you have to make pitches,” manager Ron Gardenhire said.  “We didn’t make very many of them tonight.”  The Twins continue their road trip and hope to improve upon its 19-10 divisional record (+440) against the Tigers.  First baseman Justin Morneau hopes to return to the lineup after sitting out with a mild concussion due to getting kneed in the head on Wednesday night.  “He wasn’t feeling very good. We’ll see how he does today,” Gardenhire said.  The club has seen its games post a 5-1 O/U mark this month and 32-22 O/U the last three years in July.

Continue reading “Friday MLB Betting Preview – Twins at Tigers”

The Blue Jays are easily the best home underdog on Tuesday’s MLB card.

Minnesota Twins at Toronto Blue Jays

Minnesota gets no break in traveling up north for a series against the Toronto Blue Jays, with the club carrying a disappointing 8-12 mark against the AL East division.  The Twins also currently stand at 18-21 on the road this season (-210) and have dropped 13 of their last 19 away from Target Field.  Offensively, the lineup will be led by the All-Star combination of catcher Joe Mauer and first baseman Justin Morneau.  Mauer is hitting .388 in his last 14 games against the Blue Jays, while Morneau is a sizzling .354 with seven home runs and 26 RBIs in his last 25 meetings.  Minnesota is an even 1-1 on artificial turf this season – the surface of the team’s old home the Metrodome.

Continue reading “Tuesday MLB Betting Preview – Twins at Blue Jays”

Mets 3B David Wright looks to continue terrorizing American League pitchers in Game 2 of this interleague series.

Minnesota Twins at New York Mets

Minnesota has now lost four straight games for the first time this season, but manager Ron Gardenhire is not one to panic, “These guys are feeling it a bit right now, they’re disappointed.  It’s a long season and we’ve got to keep grinding.”  The Twins are 2-5 on its current road trip and have gone 8-17 in their last 25 games away from Target Field.  The starting rotation has struggled on the road, posting a 17-20 record and 5.49 ERA compared to a 23-13 mark and 3.37 ERA at home.  The Twins face former teammate Johan Santana this afternoon, as they were 3-0 with him on the mound versus the Mets during his tenure in Minnesota.  The club is a disappointing 7-9 in interleague action (-260), but has still posted the third-best all-time mark at 139-105 against the NL.

Continue reading “Saturday MLB Daytime Betting Feature – Twins at Mets”

Minnesota comes into this interleague series having lost five of its last seven games and getting swept by the Milwaukee Brewers.  It was just the second time the club had been swept in a series this season, with the only other time coming in a two-game series against Boston on May 19-20.  The Twins are now just 7-8 on the season during interleague play (-180) and are watching the Chicago White Sox and Detroit Tigers gain ground on them in the divisional race.  “I didn’t like our energy today,” 1B Justin Morneau said.  Minnesota has a losing 9-12 record in the month of June (-380).

Continue reading “Twins Vs Mets Baseball Betting Preview”

Two of the league’s best fireballers take to the mound at Target Field in the series finale.

Colorado Rockies at Minnesota Twins

Colorado has dropped two straight games and eight of 13 to fall five games behind in the NL West, while also falling to an even 23-23 against right-handed pitchers.  “If I had an answer, I’d be much more definitive, but I don’t,” manager Jim Tracy said.  “But I can tell you there is an element of frustration because we’re a club that is still playing baseball a game over .500.”  Despite last night’s 2-1 defeat, the Rockies have the best winning percentage in interleague play among National League teams since 2006.  Colorado fanned 12 times against Minnesota SP Scott Baker, as they rank fifth in the NL in strikeouts.  A bigger problem is a .215 team batting average with 59 strikeouts with two out and runners in scoring position.

Continue reading “Thursday MLB Daytime Betting Preview – Rockies at Twins”

The Twins seek to finish off a three-game sweep of the Rangers on national television.

Texas Rangers at Minnesota Twins

Texas has lost three straight games and five of six, as they continue an eight-game, 10-day road trip.  The Rangers are batting .220 and have managed to score just six runs during its current three-game skid.  Despite the recent struggles, the team is still a solid 15-11 this month (+220) and a fantastic 54-30 in May the past three years ($2,730).  Texas has also had a difficult time this season when facing opponents with a winning record, tallying a 4-11 record (-920) this season.  The Rangers have lost eight of their last nine on the road, currently sitting at 8-14 away from Arlington this season overall.

Continue reading “ESPN Sunday Night Baseball Betting Preview”

Today we spotlight a great matchup in each league before the focus turns to interleague baseball this weekend.

Minnesota Twins at Boston Red Sox

Minnesota is 2-4 on its current road trip, after dropping Wednesday night’s game, 3-2, to the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park.  The Twins now have a 6-7 record against the American League East, their only losing record against a division this season (15-8 vs. Central, 3-1 vs. West).  Ending the current road trip in winning fashion may prove difficult, with the team now having lost six straight games at Fenway Park to the Red Sox.   However, they do find themselves in a favorable position on Thursday, facing a left-handed starter.  The Twins are 9-3 (+620) versus southpaws during the 2010 season and the opposing starter has yet to pick up a career win against them in his career.  Minnesota is batting .295 overall against left-handers – good for second in the majors to only the New York Yankees.  C Joe Mauer (.390) and Justin Morneau (.382) lead the way in that category.

Continue reading “Thursday MLB Betting Preview”

I don’t want to talk about the Lawrence Taylor issue much because it’s just not worth spending much time on. I just can’t resist commenting on one aspect of the case, though. It has come out today that Taylor claimed that he thought the girl was 19, not 16 – as if that was a defense he was offering. So let me get this straight, LT – your defense is that you admit that you paid to have sex with a seedy prostitute who was there against her will and was high at the time despite the fact that you are married, but that’s all okay because she wasn’t 16. Classy. So much for your claims that you didn’t do anything wrong.

Continue reading “Twins, Braden and A-Rod Feud”

Well, I hadn’t been too excited about baseball for a while now, but that all changed yesterday afternoon. What a freaking ball game that was! It was like watching a boxing match – punch and counter-punch all night long. It’s been a long while since I have enjoyed a game so much. Now it will be interesting to see what happens tonight in New York. The Yankees have been handed tonight’s game on a silver platter – an emotionally and likely physically exhausted team with nasty travel and a depleted bullpen. They will be humiliated if they can’t take advantage of it.

Continue reading “Wednesday Notes”

A little football, then a little baseball today:

First, the football. That was a very interesting game last night. I wasn’t particularly excited about it – fatigue over the Favre hype. In the end, though, it ended up being interesting for a number of reasons. First, and most troubling for Green Bay, that is one terrible offensive line they have there. Jared Allen is a nice player, but not nearly that nice. He absolutely decimated Aaron Rodgers and the Packers, and gave them little chance of success. The Packers were a team I was very keen on coming into the season, but they stand little chance of doing anything meaningful until they find a way to offer even a little bit of protection. That was pathetic. On the other side, Minnesota’s offensive line performance was very mixed. On one hand, Favre had all of the time in the world to do whatever he wanted, and he made the most of it. On the other hand, though, Adrian Peterson was contained in a very surprising and uncharacteristic way. The final piece of interest out of this game is the question of just how good they Vikings are. They are 4-0 and will be hyped up significantly after this high profile win, but I still don’t feel like we have seen them really be tested. The first two wins against the Browns and the Lions prove nothing. The San Francisco game probably should have been a loss if it wasn’t for the fluky last second pass. The Packers weren’t a particularly real test either given that offensive line. Next up is the Rams, too, so this team will be 5-0 without a true test. This team is good, but we won’t know how good until we see them play the Ravens in week six. In my eyes this is a very tough team to assess right now.

Continue reading “Looking Back, Then Looking Ahead”

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