After burning through his entire staff the past few days, Ron Gardenhire is searching for an arm to use in tonight's MLB betting series opener between the Twins and Rangers.
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Target Field will host a potential playoff preview on Friday night when the American League West-leading Texas Rangers (75-58, 32-32 road) travel to meet the leaders of the American League Central, the Minnesota Twins (77-56, 42-22 home). First pitch is scheduled for 8:10 p.m. ET.
Current baseball betting odds have been taken off the board due to the mystery surrounding Minnesota's starting pitcher in the series opener. A wild and long 13-inning loss to the Tigers on Thursday had manager Ron Gardenhire searching for an arm or two to call up from the4 club's Triple-A team.
Both clubs had successful series this week. The Rangers took two of three at Kauffman Stadium from the Kansas City Royals, while the Twins won their set with the Detroit Tigers, missing a sweep with the Thursday loss in extra.
We do know that southpaw Derek Holland (2-2, 4.76 ERA) will take the hill for the Rangers. Holland recently took the fifth spot in the Texas rotation from Rich Harden, who agreed to a role in the bullpen. Texas is 2-3 behind Holland as a starter. Holland last pitched on August 28 in relief of Harden. He allowed one earned run over 4 2/3 innings in a 5-0 Oakland Athletics victory.
Holland last started on August 18, when the Tampa Bay Rays shelled him for five earned runs in 4 1/3 innings. He has not pitched six innings in a game since May. Holland has a spotty history against the Twins. On May 30, he pitched two unsuccessful innings against them at Target Field, surrendering three earned runs. He is 1-1 with a 6.30 ERA against Minnesota. The Twins hit .341 against him.
Righty Nick Blackburn (8-8, 6.02 ERA) was scheduled to take the hill for the Twins but was used in relief Thursday and served up the homer to Gerald Laird that helped the Tigers escape Minnesota with a win. Blackburn will apparently start the series finale on Sunday now.
Minnesota is 11-9 when Blackburn is the starter. Blackburn has been sharp since his return from AAA-Rochester on August 23. He shut out the Seattle Mariners over 8 2/3 innings on August 28, allowing two hits and striking out six. Blackburn is 0-2 against the Texas Rangers in three career starts. His ERA, however, is a respectable 4.26. He faced them on August 23 at Rangers Ballpark, surrendering three earned runs over seven innings of work. Check the Minnesota betting odds here.
Target Field has been kind to Blackburn this season. He is 5-1 with a 4.15 ERA at home. Minnesota is 7-2 against Texas in its last nine home games (six of those were in the Metrodome). When Texas visited earlier in 2010, the Twins swept them out of Target Field. Minnesota is a fantastic home team, while Texas is a mediocre road squad.
The Twins need wins more at this point as they are still in a race for their division. The Rangers, barring a historic collapse, will win the American League West and may be on cruise control at this point.
I like the contest to go ‘under’ the MLB betting odds total, though the eventual number still remains to be seen. Neither club has posted strong offensive numbers recently, and the ‘under’ has been a strong play for both teams over their last 10 games. The ‘under’ has a 4-3 advantage in the series this year.
Wager one-unit on the ‘under.’ I’ll call for a 5-3 win by the Twinkies. Take Minnesota and the ‘under’ for one-unit apiece.
Thanks to yahoo.com, espn.com, and sbrodds.com for all records, trends, and statistics.