Blackburn's strong mound performance guides Twins past Tribe

Baseball Betting Lines

04/24/2009 - Cleveland, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Justin Morneau belted his fourth home run of the season, and Nick Blackburn pitched strong seven innings to lead the Minnesota Twins past the Cleveland Indians, 5-1, in the opener of a three-game series.

Jose Morales went 2-for-4 with an RBI for the Twins, who improved to 1-2 on a five-game road trip. Jason Kubel, who had a double, and Joe Crede also had an RBI. Denard Span went 2-for-5 with a pair of runs scored.

Blackburn (1-1) gave up just one run on six hits with four strikeouts to collect the win. Blackburn, who beat the Indians all three times he faced them last year, improved his ERA to 4.44.

Grady Sizemore went 2-for-4 and had the lone RBI for the Indians, who dropped to 2-2 on a six-game homestand.

Fausto Carmona (1-3) allowed five runs -- four earned -- on eight hits in a six-plus inning start to absorb the loss.

Ahead 3-1, Minnesota added two runs in the seventh to extend its margin. Back- to-back singles from Morales and Nick Punto set up a first and third with no outs. Rafael Betancourt then took over for Carmona on the hill.

A Span single to third loaded the bases. Alexi Casilla grounded into a force play with Morales being thrown out at home. Morneau grounded out, but advanced the runners to score Punto in the process. Following a Kubel intentional walk, Crede singled to shortstop to knock in Span. Michael Cuddyer went down swinging to end the frame.

Jose Mijares and Joe Nathan pitched a scoreless eighth and ninth frame, respectively, to secure the victory for the Twins.

The Twins drew first blood in the opening inning to take an early 1-0 edge. Span, who singled to right to lead off, advanced to second on Casilla's groundout. After Morneau went down on strikes, Kubel doubled to left field to knock in Span. Carmona got Crede to ground out to end the frame.

Cleveland scored a run in the third to deadlock the tilt. Asdrubal Cabrera doubled off the wall in center field with one out. Sizemore's single to center knocked in Cabrera.

Minnesota put two runs on the board in the fourth. Morneau got things started by ripping a Carmona pitch into the seats in right field. With two outs and Crede on first, Delmon Young reached base as a throwing error by DeRosa allowed Crede to advance to third. Crede scored on a Morales single to left.

Game Notes

The Twins went 4-for-11 with runners in scoring position, while Cleveland went 1-for-5 with RISP...Minnesota was 10-8 last season against the Indians, but won just three of the nine games contested in Cleveland.

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Super Bowl 2009 Betting

Super Bowl 2009 Betting propositions

Underdog bettors love the Super Bowl and, history suggests, the underdogs love them back. And the big dogs bite harder.

Even so, there is a warning in store for Super Bowl gamblers who must love dogs: The Arizona Cardinals Super Bowl betting lines might not be enough of a Cinderella to make it worth your while.

Although the Cardinals were widely panned as one of the worst division winners and least playoff-worthy teams in recent memory, their trip to Super Bowl XLIII Jan. 31 in Tampa against the Pittsburgh Steelers Super Bowl betting lines comes with a little more respect from the oddsmakers than you might imagine. They are a 7-point underdog at most sports books.

If you count yourself among those who covet the big dog in the big game, this isn’t exactly great news. You should have been hoping for more points. This is because the facts show that the bigger the dog, the better the bet in the Super Bowl.

Case in point: Over the past 13 seasons, double-figure underdogs in the Super Bowl are 4-0-1 ATS and have won the past three outright. In fact, the last double-digit chalk to do the deed for bettors was the 1995 San Francisco 49ers, who managed to beat the astounding 19-point spot afforded backers of the San Diego Chargers in the 49-26 romp in Super Bowl XXIX.

By contrast, 7-point favorites are 2-1-1 ATS in the same span, the last such contest resulting a cover grinded out by the Colts in their 29-17 win over the Bears two seasons ago in Super Bowl XLI.

In 2004, the Patriots failed to cover the number in their 32-29 triumph over the Carolina Panthers in Super Bowl props while the Rams and Titans gave everyone a refund in 2000 after the Rams posted a 23-16 win as a seven-point favorite.

So while Arizona’s run has included impressive upsets as a 10-point road underdog to the Carolina Panthers and Sunday’s 32-25 win in the NFC championship game to the 4-point favored Philadelphia Eagles, their long-shot story lacks a bit of the David vs. Goliath storyline of past Super Bowl underdogs.

While the seven-point spread represents a significant gap in the perception of strength between the two teams, it is far from monumental. For example, last season the Giants were the wild-card afterthought turned road-warrior buzzsaw, with stunning wins over the Buccaneers, Cowboys and Packers to earn their place in the Super Bowl.

There, they played spoiler to New England’s bid to become the first 19-0 team in NFL history and cemented their place in sports betting lore with a 17-14 win as a 12.5-point underdog.

In other words, the Cardinals appear to have their work cut out for them as a mid-range underdog. But in homage to the spread beaters who have come before them, here is a brief look back at recent colossal upsets in the Super Bowl:

SB XLII -- 2008 -- New York Giants 17, New England Patriots 14 (Giants +12.5) – Eli Manning’s 13-yard touchdown pass to Plaxico Burress in the final minute clinched the historic upset for the Giants, who used a masterful defensive plan to slow down Tom Brady and the previously undefeated New England Patriots.

XXXVI -- 2002 -- Patriots 20, Rams 17 (Patriots +14) – This was the coming out party for the aforementioned Brady, who went from obscure sixth-round draft pick to Super Bowl hero in one fell swoop. He led the game-winning drive in the final minute – eschewing analyst John Madden’s advice to take a knee and play for overtime – leading to Adam Vinatieri’s memorable 48-yard field goal that split the uprights as time expired.

XXXII 1998 Broncos 31, Packers 24 (Denver +12) – The first of John Elway’s two consecutive Super Bowl titles to put an end to his Hall of Fame career was an upset for the ages. The Broncos used the determination of Elway and a 157-yard, three-touchdown performance from Terrell Davis to turn back Brett Favre and the heavily favored Packers.

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