Bourjos, Abreu homer in Angels' win over Twins

Baseball Betting Lines

08/21/2010 - Minneapolis, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Peter Bourjos and Bobby Abreu clubbed back- to-back homers in the second inning, as the Los Angeles Angels went on to beat Minnesota, 9-3, in the second portion of a three-game series at Target Field.

Bourjos added an RBI triple for the Angels, who had dropped four of five coming in. Trevor Bell gave up three runs on four hits and a career-high six walks in 4 1/3 innings. Francisco Rodriguez (1-3) limited the Twins to one hit in 2 2/3 innings of relief to pick up the win.

Michael Cuddyer stroked a two-run single in a three-run first for Minnesota, which had won 10 of its last 11 home games. The Twins began the day with a 4 1/2-game lead over the Chicago White Sox in the American League Central. Chicago is scheduled to play a double-header against Kansas City on Saturday.

Twins starting pitcher Kevin Slowey (11-6) departed after three innings because of discomfort in his right triceps. Slowey will be further examined by doctors on Monday. He gave up four runs on seven hits versus Los Angeles, one outing after tossing seven hitless innings against Oakland.

The Twins spotted Slowey a three-run lead in the first inning. Denard Span led off with a walk and swiped second before Joe Mauer drew a one-out walk. Both runners came home on Cuddyer's two-out single. Cuddyer took second on a walk to Jim Thome and scored on Delmon Young's base hit.

Los Angeles quickly countered with a four-spot in the second. Back-to-back singles by Hideki Matsui and Erick Aybar put runners on the corners to start the inning. Mike Napoli followed with a sacrifice fly. One out later, Bourjos tied the game with a blast to left field for his first career major league home run. Abreu's 15th home run of the season put the Angels in front.

A two-out RBI triple by Bourjos extended the lead to 5-3 in the fifth.

Minnesota loaded the bases with one out in the bottom of the inning, but Jason Kubel was gunned down at the plate attempting to score on Young's fly ball to center.

The Angels tacked on two more runs in the sixth. Jeff Manship, who replaced Slowey on the mound, was lifted in favor of Ron Mahay with two outs and a runner on first. Matsui then hit a ball to center that couldn't be reeled in by Span. Torii Hunter scored easily and Matsui wound up on third because of the error. Aybar followed with an infield single to plate Matsui for a 7-3 Los Angeles advantage. Mahay was injured on the play and left the game.

Jeff Mathis tripled home Napoli in the ninth and scored when Minnesota shortstop J.J. Hardy misplayed a grounder off the bat of Bourjos.

Game Notes

Abreu joined Alex Rodriguez and Vladimir Guerrero as the only active players with at least 15 home runs in each of the last 13 seasons (1998-2010)...Howie Kendrick and Aybar both had three hits for the Angels...The Twins still lead the season series, 4-2.

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Betting the NFL preseason

Rule No. 1 in the gamblers' handbook states, "Avoid sports betting on meaningless games."

When you're drowning in a sea of baseball monotony, however, things change. Even a hint of pro football betting can persuade the most disciplined bettor to break a few rules. 

The NFL preseason is around the corner, with a tempting Hall of Fame match kicking off on Sunday. But bettors must stay vigilant. Wagering on NFL exhibition games is an entirely different beast than the regular season. Most fans don't recognize the players on the field because starters get as much action in August as Warcraft fans get on Prom night.

The only certainty about the NFL this time of year is uncertainty – and yet there are some who say betting in August can be a gold mine.

“I actually feel the NFL preseason presents solid profit opportunities for sharp bettors and handicappers,” Sports Expert Steve Merril explains. “My experience has been that the sportsbooks fear the preseason, which is evident by lower limits and massive moves.”

The line moves are attributed to the limited knowledge available regarding playing-time distribution. One team’s top unit out on the field for one more series has an impact on the pointspread. Setting lines in the preseason often is a shot in the dark.

“We base the betting lines mostly on public perception,” Pete Korner, founder of the Sports Club in Las Vegas, says. “It’s very tough to predict, almost a guessing game.”

The preseason is all about figuring out who’s in and for how long.

“It becomes a race between bettors and oddsmakers to find out how long the quarterbacks are going to stay in,” Korner admits. “If a sharp gets the information first, he could exploit an early line. I’m a full believer in moving the line in the preseason if the books find out something late in the week.”

Determining what each team’s motive is can help bettors handicap. To do this you must pay close attention to the philosophies head coaches employ in exhibition play.

“You need to know what a coach is trying to accomplish,” says Covers Expert Bryan Leonard. “Sometimes a new coach will want to instill a winning attitude. Others just want to make sure their starters don’t get hurt."

So how do you distinguish who’s playing scared and who’s playing for keeps?

“Head coaches on the hot seat or new coaches trying to implement a winning attitude usually try harder to win in the preseason,” Merril says.

Cleveland Browns head coach Romeo Crennel fits this criteria. He’s entering his third season as the sideline boss and has yet to lead the Browns to more than six wins.

Cleveland is an enticing bet as well because of the unresolved quarterback situation. General manager Phil Savage sacrificed the Browns’ first-round pick in next year’s draft for Brady Quinn, but the former Notre Dame quarterback hasn’t signed or reported to training camp yet.

Charlie Frye and Derek Anderson split time at QB last season and it looks like either player (or even Quinn) could be the opening-day starter.

“If a team has quarterback depth and the pecking order hasn’t been decided, it’s a big advantage,” Leonard says.

Even in the third week of the preseason when starters generally play the most, the final outcome of the game is in the hands of fringe players. A team's talent, all the way down to the last man on the roster, is something to consider.

The New England Patriots have long been considered one of the deeper teams in the NFL and coach Bill Belichick has said in the past he’s unafraid of stars getting hurt in games with nothing on the line. He shocked his colleagues in 2003 by playing some of his starters on special teams in the preseason.

“We want to have the team ready to play a tough, physical game and preparation has to go into that and I imagine a certain amount of injuries go with it,” Belichick told the Providence Journal in August 2003.

Bettors can only hope to find more teams that share the Pats' business-like approach to the preseason (New England is 17-9-3 against the spread since 2000) and take advantage of teams who detest the exhibition schedule.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your bet on football needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.