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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Albert Pujols to be This Year's Home Run Champ Says Online Sportsbook

Barry Bonds is a 50-1 long shot to be this year's home run champ odds.  The favorite to be this year's home run champ is none other than Albert Pujols, however.

Now that Barry Bonds is signed and in Giants camp, it is on to his pursuit of all of sports most prestigious records: the all-time home run mark. Bonds sits just 21 homers shy of tying Hank Aaron for the career mark at 755. Word out of Giants’ camp is that Bonds is the healthiest he has been in a few years. Bonds is just two seasons removed from his injury riddled 2005 campaign where he played in only 14 games and hit only 5 home runs. He did come back last year and had a solid season hitting .270 with 26 bombs. All eyes will be on Bonds this spring and summer not only because of his home run chase but his highly publicized steroid abuse allegations. If and when Bonds breaks the record, he surely will not get the positive attention one should for breaking a record that was once thought of as “unbreakable”. Despite Bonds decent season last year, he is just 50-1 at MySportsbook.com to lead the MLB in long balls this season.

Not surprisingly, the favorites to go deep the most times this season are Albert Pujols 5-1, Ryan Howard 6-1, David Ortiz 8-1 and Alex Rodriguez 12-1. With 49 homers, Pujols finished second in the National League behind Howard (58). Pujols is considered the favorite due to the consistent power numbers that he has posted since breaking into the league in 2001. Also one must consider the fact that he played in 16 fewer games then Howard did due to an injury. Howard smashed 58 homers in his first complete season of big league play en route to the National League MVP odds award. He silenced his critics by successfully hitting left-handed pitching. Howard also displayed the ability to use his power to the opposite field. Two attributes which should keep Howard amongst the league leaders in long balls for years to come. From the American League representatives, David Ortiz leads the field. Ortiz was second in the majors last year with 54 home runs. Except for 1999 when he only played in 10 games, Ortiz has improved on his home run numbers each year he has been in the majors (1997).

Be sure to log onto online sports betting site MySportsbook.com to check out the odds for who will lead the MLB in home runs this season. Below is just a sample of the players listed. With the highest credit card rates in the industry, MySportsbook.com is the place to bet on baseball this summer.

World Series odds

Adam Dunn 15-1

Albert Pujols 5-1

Alex Rodriguez 12-1

Alfonso Soriano 15-1

Andruw Jones 25-1

Barry Bonds 50-1

Carlos Delgado 40-1

David Ortiz 8-1

Jermaine Dye 40-1

Ken Griffey Jr. 100-1

Lance Berkman 40-1

Manny Ramirez 20-1

Richie Sexson 40-1

Ryan Howard 6-1

Travis Hafner 20-1

Vladimir Guerrero 40-1

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