Twins snap White Sox's nine-game win streak

Baseball Betting Lines

07/17/2010 - Minneapolis, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Joe Mauer had two hits, including a big two-run single in the eighth inning, as the Minnesota Twins held on for a 7-4 victory and snapped Chicago's nine-game win streak.

Francisco Liriano (7-7) pitched 7 2/3 effective innings for the Twins, giving up two runs on six hits and two walks, while striking out eight. It was a good rebound start from last Friday, when Liriano gave up seven runs in less than two innings against Detroit.

Mauer ended up providing the game-deciding runs in the eighth. His hit, along with an RBI single by Michael Cuddyer, gave the Twins a 7-2 lead heading to the ninth.

The White Sox rallied for two runs off Minnesota closer Jon Rauch, but Jesse Crain entered to record the final two outs and get his first save since 2006.

J.J. Hardy went 3-for-4 with a double and RBI for the Twins, who lost Thursday in the opener of this four-game series. Cuddyer and Orlando Hudson each added two hits.

"Very exciting baseball game," said Twins manager Ron Gardenhire. "Liriano was super, [he] was just exactly what we needed."

Gavin Floyd (5-8) took the loss after allowing four runs in five innings. However, only one of those runs was earned as the White Sox committed four errors. Floyd, who had won his last three starts, allowed seven hits, walked three and struck out five.

Gordon Beckham went 2-for-4 with a double and RBI for Chicago, which took its first loss since July 3.

The Twins surged in front in the fourth inning. A fielding error on third baseman Dayan Viciedo allowed Delmon Young to be safe at first, which loaded the bases with one away. Hardy followed with a single to center to get a run in before Nick Punto struck out.

But the inning kept going when Denard Span hit an infield single to second. The hit plated a run, and Beckham's throwing error on the play allowed Young to score. Hudson made it a 4-0 game with an RBI single before Floyd retired Mauer on a fly out to escape the inning.

Juan Pierre's RBI single in the fifth got Chicago on the board, and in the eighth, Paul Konerko plated a run with a two-out double. Liriano was pulled after that at-bat, while Matt Guerrier came in and got the final out.

The Twins then increased their lead in the home half after loading the bases with one out against Tony Pena. Mauer's single to center got two home and chased Pena, who was replaced on the mound by Scott Linebrink. One out later, Cuddyer hit an RBI single to left.

In the top of the ninth, Beckham came to the plate with runners on first and second with one out, and singled to right to get the White Sox within 7-3. Rauch then walked Pierre to load the bases, and issued another walk to Alexei Ramirez to force in a run.

Crain was brought into the tough spot, but retired Alex Rios on a fly ball before fanning Konerko to end the game.

"It's a testament to the way we're playing, our confidence that we're never out of any game," Beckham said of the rally. "Even after the bottom of the eighth we fought pretty hard to stay in it in the ninth. We didn't come through, but it's tough to score that many runs in the ninth inning."

Game Notes

Liriano got his first win since June 11...The save was just the third of Crain's career...Chicago right fielder Carlos Quentin was scratched from the lineup because of a bruised right hand.

7decks Baseball Betting News

<< Molina, Cardinals hit Dodgers again
St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Yadier Molina belted a two-run homer and drove in four runs as St. Louis again used an offensive display to beat the Los Angeles Dodgers, this time by an 8-4 count at Busch Stadium. Tyler Greene and

<< Astros' Moehler hits DL with groin strain
Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Houston Astros placed right-hander Brian Moehler on the 15-day disabled list Friday with a strained right groin. In addition, fellow righty Felipe Paulino had his right shoulder tendinitis flare

<< Bengie Molina hits for cycle, GS keys Texas win
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Bengie Molina hit for the cycle and clubbed a tie-breaking grand slam in the fifth inning, boosting the Texas Rangers to an 8-4 win over the Boston Red Sox in the continuation of a four-game series. Molina singl

<< Truck race at Gateway postponed due to power outage
Madison, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A power outage at Gateway International Raceway just outside St. Louis forced NASCAR to postpone the 200-mile Camping World Truck Series race until 1:30 p.m. (et) Saturday. Shortly after Kevin Harvick won

<< Mauer helps Twins hold off White Sox
Minneapolis, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Joe Mauer had two hits, including a big two-run single in the eighth inning, as the Minnesota Twins held on for a 7-4 win over the Chicago White Sox in the continuation of a four-game series. Francisco

Zito sparkles, Giants blank Mets again >>
San Francisco, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Giants starter Barry Zito tossed eight brilliant innings to outduel fellow southpaw Jonathan Niese, as San Francisco blanked the light-hitting New York Mets again, 1-0, at AT&T Park. Zito (8-4)

Weaver helps Angels edge Hernandez, Mariners >>
Anaheim, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jered Weaver pitched seven innings of two-run ball, as the Angels held off the Mariners, 3-2, in the second test of a four- game series. Weaver (9-5), who gave up six hits, snapped a two-start skid. The righ

Calvillo leads Als to win at BC >>
Vancouver, BC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Anthony Calvillo completed 30-of-46 passes for 297 yards to lead the Montreal Alouettes to a 16-12 victory over the British Columbia Lions at Empire Field in Vancouver. Avon Cobourne finished with 1

Headley, Padres crush Diamondbacks >>
San Diego, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chase Headley went 3-for-4 with a double and home run, helping the San Diego Padres to a 12-1 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks in the teams' second-half opener. Jon Garland (9-6) gave up just one

Former Penn St. RB Warner set to rush into Hall >>
Curt Warner stopped when he came across his shiny new plaque during a tour of the College Football Hall of Fame.Opposing linebackers rarely had such luck halting the tailback during his record-setting career at Penn State.Those achievements in Happy

Football Betting Sportsbook Accepts Credit Cards

Michael Vick is back, Brett Favre isn't and the NFC East remains the best division in the NFC, maybe in all of football.

As players start to gather for the start of another season, some things change and some stay the same in the world of the NFL.

Bet 2010 Super Bowl Odds

The NFC East has been the dominant division in the National Conference for a while, despite limited playoff success, save for the New York Giants surprise Super Bowl win two seasons ago.

Hell, there's a generation of kids in Texas who have never seen the Cowboys win a playoff game (last win was in 1996).

But collectively, the Giants, Eagles, Cowboys and Redskins (well, maybe not so much the Redskins) are as good as a division gets in an NFC conference that has struggled to stay competitive with the AFC side.

Sports bettors have both acknowledged the NFC East's dominance, as one glance at the NFL future odds menu will show.

Looking over the NFL betting odds at online sports book MySportsbook.com we see the top three teams listed to win the NFC Championship are all from the NFC East:

Dallas Cowboys - 7 - 1

Philadelphia Eagles - 13 - 2

New York Giants - 9 - 2

Slotting in behind these three are two teams from the NFC North: the Minnesota Vikings (15-2) and the Chicago Bears (10-1).

Again, despite the lack of recent playoff success, the Dallas Cowboys are popular with the sports betting community, as they hold 14% of all the money wagered on who will win the NFC Championship.

So far, the New York Giants are the bettors' favorite to represent their conference in the Super Bowl, as they have 24% of the overall NFC Championship betting volume.

And what about the Philadelphia Eagles? For the most part, the Eagles had a very productive offseason, the kind that could bring them back to the top.

They had a good draft adding the likes of WR Jeremy Maclin and RB LeSean McCoy.

Unfortunately, the team received a blow when long-time defensive coordinator Jim Johnson passed away on Tuesday.

But this team will make a real run at the division title this year. Going into the regular season, Philly is listed at +240 to win the division.

Last season the Eagles were 9-6-1 SU and 10-6 ATS.

Teams from the NFC East will play teams from the AFC West in the regular season and the Eagles haven't really been a good bet in the last 20 games against the likes of San Diego, Oakland, K.C. and Denver, only going 8-12 ATS.

Two seasons removed from that Super Bowl title, the New York Giants see themselves listed as the odds-on favorite in NFC East championship futures at +162.

Plaxico Burress is gone and with him all the bad publicity surrounding the gun in the sweatpants incident, but can they replace him in the offense?

Last season the Giants were a very reliable bet going 12-4 ATS.

In the Giants' last 20 games against fellow teams from the NFC East; they are 13-7 ATS.

Dallas is listed at +240 to win the division.

Dallas went 9-7 SU and 7-9 ATS last season and with the amount of talent the Cowboys have, a similar performance won't do.

The Cowboys have been atrocious against divisional rivals, going 6-14 ATS in their last 20.

The Washington Redskins are longshots to win the division at +550.

RSS Sports Betting Odds Feeds

Visit MySportsbook.com for free sportsbook odds RSS feeds go to MySportsbook.com for all your betting football needs.