07/04/2009 - Minneapolis, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ryan Raburn's RBI single in the 16th proved to be the game-winner as the Detroit Tigers took an 11-9 win over the Minnesota Twins in a 16-inning contest to open a three-get set at the Metrodome.
Placido Polanco went 3-for-8 with three RBI and two runs scored and Marcus Thames had a two-run home run in the win for the Tigers, who had dropped four of six coming into the game.
Lucas French threw 4 2/3 innings in the start for Detroit and was charged with two runs on six hits with two walks and three strikeouts. Freddy Dolsi (1-0) got the win for throwing three innings and giving up two runs -- one earned -- on four hits.
"It was an exciting game, obviously," said Tigers manager Jim Leyland. "Two really good teams going at it bunched up at the top of the division. Give them a lot of credit (for) battling back, being down like they were. It wasn't the best of games, but we won it, and there was a lot of good things in the game and some bad things."
Denard Span went 5-for-8 with two RBI and a run scored while Joe Crede and Delmon Young each hit a solo home run in the loss for the Twins, who had won three of four coming into the game.
Kevin Slowey started on the mound for Minnesota, but was pulled after just three innings as he was tagged for six runs on five hits. R.A. Dickey (1-1) was tagged with the loss as he gave up four runs on nine hits over three innings of work.
"I think more than anything it's concerning because it's in my right wrist," Slowey, who was placed on the 15-day disabled list following the game with a strained right wrist, said. "It's in a pretty significant area, and we'll look at it Monday and go from that. It was something that affected how I held onto the ball. It was very uncomfortable."
In the top of the 16th with one out, Ramon Santiago singled and Curtis Granderson followed with a double. Polanco then put the Tigers ahead with an RBI and, after Miguel Cabrera fouled out, Raburn singled to right for a two- run lead. Magglio Ordonez then singled to center to score Polanco for an 11-8 lead.
The Twins got a run in the bottom of the frame on a RBI groundout off the bat of Michael Cuddyer, but that was the second out of the inning and Crede grounded out to end the game.
Detroit jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the second inning on a two-run triple by Josh Anderson followed by a sacrifice fly from Gerald Laird.
The Tigers tacked on three more runs in the third inning. Granderson led off with a single and came around home on a double by Polanco. Thames later smacked a pitch over the left field wall for a 6-0 lead.
Minnesota got a run in the bottom of the third on an RBI single from Justin Morneau, but Detroit got it back in the fourth on a solo home run off the bat of Laird.
Young made it a 7-2 game in the bottom of the fourth thanks to a solo home run, his third of the year.
In the sixth, the Twins rallied in to tie the game. Crede started the inning by launching a pitch over the wall in left. With men on first and second, Span legged out a triple and then came home when Brendan Harris followed with a triple.
After Fu-Te Ni took the mound, a sacrifice fly off the bat of Joe Mauer made it a 7-7 game.
In the top of the 14th, Laird led off with a single and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt from Santiago. After Granderson flied out, Polanco laced a single up the middle to give Detroit a one-run lead.
However, the Twins didn't go quitely in the bottom of the frame as back-to- back singles from Joe Mauer and Morneau to start the frame was followed by a single from Michael Cuddyer that went off the glove of third baseman Brandon Inge to tie the game. On the play, Morneau was thrown out at third and Dolsi retired the final two batters to keep the game going.
Game Notes
This was the longest game of the season for both teams...Despite the loss, Minnesota still leads the season-series, 4-2...There was a total of 35 hits in the game...Detroit left 10 men on base while Minnesota stranded 12...To replace Slowey in the rotation, the team recalled pitcher Anthony Swarzak from Triple-A Rochester.
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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.
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