AL West-leading Rangers continue set vs. Twins

Baseball Betting Lines

08/25/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Texas Rangers seem to be cruising to their first American League West title since 1999 and C.J. Wilson is a big reason why. Tonight, the reliever turned starter goes for a 13th win when the Rangers resume a four-game series against the Minnesota Twins at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington.

Wilson won his second straight start and his fifth consecutive decision on Friday in Baltimore, as he came within an out of his first career shutout, holding the Orioles to three hits to improve to 12-5. He also struck out a career-high 12 batters in the win.

"[Wilson] just found the spot in that strike zone and he stayed there," said Rangers manager Ron Washington. "He and the umpire were on the same page all night. He threw some good changeups, spotted his fastball, threw a few breaking balls. But for the most part, he stayed off the middle of the plate and made them work for their at-bats."

Wilson's 12 wins and 3.02 earned run average are both tops among Texas starters who have thrown to a 4.15 ERA this season, the lowest mark for the group since 1992.

However, the Twins have given Wilson some trouble, as he is 0-2 with a 3.41 ERA in 18 games (one start) against them. He lasted six innings in his lone start with Minnesota back on May 28, and was charged with the loss for allowing five runs and four hits.

Texas made it three straight wins on Tuesday, as Michael Young overcame two errors by hitting the go-ahead RBI single in the seventh inning, lifting the Rangers to a 4-3 win. Josh Hamilton belted his 29th homer of the year for Texas, which has won four of five.

"The last two games we've showed the caliber team we are," Hamilton said. "I go back to three things, we can do all three...we can pitch, we can hit and we can play defense. If we consistently do that on a night to night basis, it's going to be hard to beat us."

One night after a near combined-no hitter, the Rangers used four pitchers to edge the AL Central-leading Twins. Colby Lewis allowed seven hits and three runs over 6 1/3 frames. Darren Oliver (1-1) threw 1 1/3 innings and escaped a jam in the top of the seventh to get the victory. Darren O'Day recorded the final out in the eighth inning and Neftali Feliz pitched the ninth for his 32nd save.

Michael Cuddyer stroked a two-run double in the first inning for Minnesota, which has lost back-to-back games for the first time since August 2-3 at Tampa Bay. The Twins are now 3 1/2 games ahead of the White Sox, who beat Baltimore on Tuesday.

Carl Pavano (15-9) threw his sixth complete game of the season and 13th of his career after allowing eight hits and fanning five batters.

Minnesota will turn tonight to their hottest starter in lefty Brian Duensing, who owns a 5-0 mark with a 2.18 ERA in seven outings (six starts) since the All-Star break. Duensing won his third straight start on Friday against the LA Angels of Anaheim, as he allowed run and seven hits in eight innings to push his record on the year to 7-1 to go along with a 1.92 ERA.

Duensing is 1-1 in four games (one start) against the Rangers with a 1.74 ERA.

Minnesota swept the Rangers in a three-game set at Target Field earlier in the year and has won seven of the last 11 matchups in the series.

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SPORTS BETTING: NFL Football Sportsbook Betting

NFL owners, already life's biggest winners, want to try their luck with the lottery.


That was the news out of their meetings last week, where team bosses voted unanimously to allow stamping state and local lottery tickets with franchise logos, if, ahem, any governments wanted to do a deal.

A shocker: Within days the Pats announced they'd be sponsoring the Massachusetts state lottery, the Skins said they'd slap their sticker on Virginia scratch-offs and the Ravens admitted they were talking to Maryland lottery bosses. In all likelihood, it won't be long before every team is a presenting sponsor of scratch-offs or just plain old pick fives. "The change in policy was approved 32-0," said NFL spokesman Greg Aiello. "So you can expect to see more deals soon."

It's a branding opportunity too big for the owners to ignore, and one a couple of dozen baseball franchises have enjoyed for years. The fact the NFL has been slower to act than those slack-brained Seligites is indicative of its complicated relationship with all forms of gambling. Consider this: Last Thursday, as the Pats and the Redskins finalized their new lottery deals, a lawyer representing the NFL argued before Delaware's Supreme Court that the state's newly signed sports betting law should be repealed.

The NFL betting is the face of opposition to sports gambling . And as much as it would like to share that responsibility with other leagues, that's not going to happen as long as more than 40% of all money legally wagered on games is bet on football. That's why the Brewers can do a multi-million dollar deal with a local casino, or the Celtics can make their own pact with the Mass lottery, and the response is, "Sweet, let's play." But when the NFL does it the stakes are higher, and everyone from NPR's Frank Deford to the Associated Press to the guys blogging at Deadspin will line up to play gotcha.

So I asked Aiello, who surely knew there'd be piling on, how the league can rail against being bait for sports bettors, then allow its franchises to be just that for lotteries, the most insidious and addictive form of gambling around. He emailed me this response: "We are not moral crusaders. NFL personnel are permitted to engage in legal forms of gambling, except for betting on NFL games. We are making a distinction here between the spread of gambling on the outcome of our games and supporting state lottery scratch-off games, that have nothing to do with the outcome of our games."

Here's where I should rip him. But, the thing is, he's right. Not to get Obama on you, but this is a complicated, nuanced issue. As much as lotteries are considered a tax on the poor, the NFL isn't a socially obligated government program -- it's just a business. Scratch-off's help the bottom line, sports betting doesn't. Now, it's okay to call the league hypocritical when it releases injury reports, which players have told me only helps bettors … But when it supports other forms of gaming? Big Deal.

Now, it's okay to call the league hypocritical when it releases injury reports, which players have told me only helps bettors. And it's okay to mutter something obscene when the league pretends gambling doesn't help drive TV ratings and fan interest and put money in owners' pockets. But when it supports other forms of gaming? Big Deal. The Bears should put an orange "C" on every deck of cards dealt at Harrah's in Joliet; the Eagles should slap their logo on roulette wheels at the Borgata in Atlantic City; the Dolphins should hold training camp at the El San Juan in Puerto Rico.

Seriously.

The NFL's problem, when it comes to the gambling world, isn't hypocrisy, it's worse: The bosses lack vision. That's why the league is picking unwinnable fights in Delaware and taking pot shots from critics after making smart sponsorship deals. Roger Goodell and his gang are acting and thinking locally rather than globally, which is rare for them, especially compared to their professional (and amateur) counterparts.

The NBA held its All Star game in Las Vegas and David Stern's kingdom didn't crumble (although the town did bring plenty of players to their knees.) I'd say it's 6 to 5 and pick 'em that Lebron will make a road swing through Sin City before his career is over.

Even the NCAA College Football Betting is more progressive on this issue than the NFL. Several years ago Rachel Newman Baker, college sports' gambling czar, opened a dialogue with Vegas bookmakers to learn about how they do business. She's visited Nevada sports books, studied their operations and listened to how they regulate action. Now she knows she can expect a call from bookmakers, who lose money when sports are fixed, if they think something sketchy is going on in NCAA games. She's not in favor of sports betting, but, as she once told me, "I know it's not going away, either."

The NFL can't seem to accept that. And until it can find peace with the idea, it'll get flack, even when it's right.

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