Twins close out homestand with Royals

Baseball Betting Lines

09/08/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Minnesota Twins will close out another successful home stand this evening, when the American League Central leaders take aim at a series sweep of the Kansas City Royals at Target Field.

The Twins have gone 7-1 thus far on this nine-game residency and delivered their fifth consecutive win with last night's 10-3 triumph over the non- contending Royals. With second-place Chicago losing at Detroit on Tuesday, Minnesota now owns a 4 1/2-game advantage on the White Sox for the Central's top spot.

The victory was also the 18th in the Twins' last 21 contests at first-year Target Field, where the reigning division champions are an AL-best 47-23 over the course of this season.

"They are a good team -- they're not leading this division for nothing," Royals manager Ned Yost said of the Twins after last night's game. "They swing the bat, they catch the ball and they throw strikes."

Minnesota did indeed swing the bats on Tuesday, pounding out 13 hits and knocking out Kansas City starter Brian Bannister in the third inning. Delmon Young led the ouburst with a 3-for-4, four-RBI performance at the plate, while J.J. Hardy drove in three runs in the rout.

Jim Thome added a solo home run for the Twins, the 586th of the veteran slugger's career. He is now tied with Hall of Famer Frank Robinson for eighth place on baseball's all-time list in that category.

Francisco Liriano (14-7) did his part as well for Minnesota, with the standout pitcher holding the Royals to two runs over the first seven innings to remain unbeaten over the second half of this season. The left-hander is now 7-0 in 10 starts since the All-Star break.

Bannister (7-12) wasn't nearly as effective as his counterpart, surrendering seven runs and eight hits before being removed after only 2 2/3 innings.

Josh Fields went 2-for-4 with a solo homer for Kansas City, losers of five of its last six games.

The Royals will send out their top pitcher in hopes of averting a sweep of this three-game set, although Zack Greinke hasn't fared well at all in previous matchups with Minnesota this season. The 2009 AL Cy Young Award recipient is 0-3 with a bloated 10.29 earned run average in three starts against tonight's opponent so far in 2010, with the Twins batting a robust .365 off of him.

In Greinke's most recent encounter with the Twins, he was battered for eight runs and eight hits in four innings of a 19-1 loss in Kansas City on July 26.

The right-hander has pitched better as of late, having compiled a 1-0 record with a 2.72 ERA over his last five starts. He was reached for four runs in 6 1/3 innings against Detroit this past Friday, however, registering a no- decision in an eventual 9-5 Royals' setback.

Greinke, who's lost in each of two prior visits to Target Field this season, is just 3-7 with a 4.94 ERA over 18 career appearances (14 starts) against Minnesota.

The Royals also haven't had much success in this season series as a team. Minnesota has prevailed in the last six meetings between the divisional foes and is 11-3 against Kansas City this season, while taking six of eight bouts held in Minneapolis.

Kansas City figures to face another tough test tonight, considering how well Brian Duensing has pitched for the Twins this season. The versatile left- hander sports a 7-2 record with an excellent 2.09 ERA in 48 games and is 4-1 with a 2.33 ERA in eight starts since being inserted into the rotation in late July.

Duensing hasn't started since allowing three unearned runs in a 6 2/3-inning no-decision against Detroit on August 31, but was forced into an emergency relief role in a home clash with the Tigers on Thursday. In a game that lasted 13 innings, the former University of Nebraska star gave up a run on four hits over a pair of frames.

The 27-year-old owns a sensational 1.30 ERA in 25 Target Field appearances (three starts) and is 3-0 with a 4.26 ERA through nine career games (two starts) against Kansas City. Duensing defeated the Royals in a July 28 start at Kauffman Stadium by tossing six innings of two-run ball.

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Mayweather picked to beat De La Hoya
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA -- Golden Boy Oscar De La Hoya and his rival Floyd Mayweather Jr. arrived at the MGM Grand here Wednesday amid the pomp and pandemonium befitting two of the biggest stars in the sport who are about to duke it out for the WBC super welterweight crown this Saturday (Sunday in Manila).

As of Wednesday, MySportsbook.com closed its book with Mayweather a favorite to defeat De La Hoya at -170 (a $100 bet wins $70), while De La Hoya is a +140 underdog (a $100 bet wins $140).

Mayweather arrived at about 11:30 a.m. on a big truck with his face and a big "World's Best Pound-for-Pound" sign scribbled across the vehicle. He was accompanied by his entourage made up of rappers and his training team.

A crowd of close to 3,000 eager fans packed the MGM Grand lobby, with their cameras in tow, all trying to vie for position to get a good angle at Mayweather, who is acknowledged as the world's best fighter pound-for-pound.

Eric Gomez, Golden Boy Promotions vice-president, described the fan turnout as "amazing" and swore he had never seen anything quite like this event.

"The crowd was fantastic. Everybody was just too eager to see the two fighters," said ALA manager Michael Aldeguer, who was among those who waited at the lobby together with his ward Rey "Boom Boom" Bautista and AJ Banal.

De La Hoya made his own grand entrance at the hotel lobby at around 12:30 p.m. accompanied by GBP chief executive officer Richard Schaefer and trainer Freddie Roach.

The same group of fans who trooped to see Mayweather also lingered around to get a close look at De La Hoya, who has been secretly working out at a Las Vegas gym for days after arriving from his main training camp in Puerto Rico.

The golden boy then took part in a closed-door afternoon workout with Bautista and Banal. The two, along with Aldeguer and wife Christine, as well as an HBO crew were the only ones allowed inside the gym.

De La Hoya and Mayweather take part in today's final press conference before the official weigh-in this Friday.

Ring Magazine, the acknowledged bible of boxing, reported in its June 2007 issue that 12 out of 20 boxing experts it interviewed have favored Mayweather to defeat De la Hoya, with only 8 favoring the latter.

But Filipino ring icon Manny Pacquiao said in a recent interview with The Freeman's Emmanuel Villaruel that De La Hoya will win by unanimous decision over Mayweather.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your bet on boxing needs.

2007 Academy Award Betting : Oscars odds

The 79th Annual Academy Awards odds , which will air February 25th, is sparking an interest throughout the nation with the announcement of its nominees. As the public chooses their favorites, sportsbooks are creating odds for one of the biggest entertainment betting nights of the year.

Whether its at a “Oscar Party” or in an on line sportsbook, entertainment gambling on award shows represent a huge increase in betting. As the public speculation mounts, MySportsbook.com, the largest and most respected sportsbook on the web, posted odds on who is going home with a “Golden Best Friend.”

“ We see a majority of our entertainment wagers come from the Academy Awards,” said MySportsbook.com spokesperson, Tim Dalton. “This is a competition that applies to everyone. These are the people that entertain us on a daily basis and you want to see them win.”

MySportsbook.com posted the following odds for Academy Awards:

Odds to win the Achievement in Directing:

Alejandro González Iñárritu "Babel": 8/1

Martin Scorsese "The Departed": 2/17

Clint Eastwood "Letters From Iwo Jima: 4/1

Stephen Frears "The Queen": 12/1

Paul Greengrass "United 93": 15/1

Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role:

Leonardo DiCaprio in "Blood Diamond": 11/1

Ryan Gosling in "Half Nelson": 20/1

Peter O’Toole in "Venus": 16/5

Will Smith in "The Pursuit of Happyness": 16/1

Forest Whitaker in "The Last King of Scotland": 1/11

Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role:

Penélope Cruz in "Volver": 18/1

Judi Dench in "Notes on a Scandal": 15/1

Helen Mirren in "The Queen": 1/50

Meryl Streep in "The Devil Wears Prada": 10/1

Kate Winslet in "Little Children": 20/1

Best Animated Feature Film:

"Cars": 1/3

"Happy Feet": 2/1

"Monster House": 20/1

Best Foreign-Language Film of the Year:

"Water" – Canada: 22/1

"The Lives of Others" – Germany: 7/2

"After the Wedding" - Denmark: 24/1

"Days of Glory (Indigenes)" – Algeria: 23/1

"Pan's Labyrinth" - Mexico: 1/10

Odds to win the Best Live-Action Short Film:

"Binta and the Great Idea (Binta Y La Gran Idea)": 6/5

"Eramos Pocos (One Too Many)": 7/2

"Helmer & Son": 5/2

"The Saviour": 6/1

"West Bank Story": 7/2

Odds to win the Best Original Screenplay:

"Babel": 7/4

"Letters From Iwo Jima": 3/1

"Little Miss Sunshine": 21/20

"Pan's Labyrinth": 11/4

"The Queen": 5/4

Best Motion Picture of the Year:

"Babel": 11/4

"The Departed": 1/2

"Letters from Iwo Jima": 15/2

"Little Miss Sunshine": 17/10

"The Queen": 20/1

Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role:

Alan Arkin in "Little Miss Sunshine": 11/10

Jackie Earle Haley in "Little Children": 10/1

Djimon Hounsou in "Blood Diamond": 9/1

Eddie Murphy in "Dreamgirls": 2/5

Mark Wahlberg in "The Departed": 5/1

Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role:

Adriana Barraza in "Babel": 14/1

Cate Blanchett in "Notes on a Scandal": 11/1

Abigail Breslin in "Little Miss Sunshine": 2/1

Jennifer Hudson in "Dreamgirls": 1/8

Rinko Kikuchi in "Babel": 11/1

Film To Win Most Oscars:

Dreamgirls: 2/3

Pans Labyrinth: 6/5

The Departed: 6/1

The Queen: 11/1

Babel: 15/1

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest: 11/1

Little Miss Sunshine: 15/1


Additional sports and entertainment odds can be found at: www.MySportsbook.com

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.