Indians seek seventh straight win in finale at Minnesota

Baseball Betting Lines

07/21/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - One of the American League's worst teams during the season's first half, the Cleveland Indians, have suddenly become one of baseball's hottest clubs since the All-Star break. The red-hot Tribe will attempt to lock down a seventh straight victory and record a three-game sweep of the Minnesota Twins when the two AL Central inhabitants face one another today at Target Field.

Cleveland has won each of its first six contests of the second half, its longest win streak since a seven-game tear from September 15-22, 2008. The surge has come against pretty good competition as well, as the Indians won all four meetings with contending Detroit before their back-to-back bestings of the defending AL Central champion Twins.

"We're playing really good baseball," designated hitter Travis Hafner said after last night's 4-3 victory over Minnesota. "Our starting pitching has been really good, and our bullpen has been lights out. It seems like we're able to get some key hits, a lot of two-out RBI."

Hafner came up with a big hit on Tuesday, an RBI double off Twins reliever Jose Mijares (1-1) in the top of the eighth inning that snapped a 3-3 deadlock. Joe Smith then held Minnesota scoreless in the bottom of the frame before closer Chris Perez finished off the win with a 1-2-3 ninth.

Minnesota had knotted the score at 3-3 on consecutive run-scoring singles by Denard Span and Orlando Hudson in the seventh. Both hits came against Rafael Perez (3-0), who came on in relief of Indians starter Justin Masterson and wound up with the win despite failing to protect his team's lead.

Masterson was charged with three runs allowed over 6 1/3 innings and struck out seven batters in an otherwise-solid performance. Shelley Duncan had a two- run single for Cleveland, with both Hafner and rookie catcher Carlos Santana collecting a pair of hits on the evening.

Minnesota is tied with the Tigers at 3 1/2 games behind Chicago for first place in the AL Central after Tuesday's setback. The Twins had won three straight meetings with the White Sox over the weekend prior to this series.

Coming off very encouraging last start, Francisco Liriano will attempt to enable Minnesota to avert a series sweep when he takes the mound this afternoon.

Liriano recorded four losses and a no-decision over a rough five-start stretch to finish out his first half, while compiling a poor 6.75 earned run average during that period. A few extra days of rest seemed to benefit the talented southpaw, however, as he returned to the win column with a sharp performance against the division-leading White Sox this past Friday.

Chicago managed just two runs and six hits in 7 2/3 innings against Liriano, with the Minnesota hurler registering eight strikeouts in the 7-4 verdict. The strong effort lowered the Dominican native's ERA to 2.83 in nine starts at Target Field, where he's posted a 4-3 record thus far at the first-year park.

In his final outing prior to the break, Liriano was rocked for seven runs in 1 2/3 innings of a July 9 defeat at Detroit.

The 26-year-old owns a 4-3 mark with a 3.61 ERA over 10 career appearances (eight starts) against Cleveland, and bested the Indians twice earlier this season. In an April 21 clash at Target Field, Liriano fired eight scoreless innings in leading the Twins to a 6-0 win.

Jake Westbrook gets the call for Cleveland today and like Liriano, had a successful showing in his first start after the All-Star break. The veteran righty held Detroit to two runs and struck out five batters through 5 2/3 effective innings on Friday for his fourth victory in six decisions.

After making a mere five starts over the past two seasons due to Tommy John surgery, Westbrook has put up decent numbers for the last-place Indians and drawn interest from contending teams as the trade deadline approaches. The 32- year-old improved to 6-5 with a 4.67 ERA in 19 starts with Friday's result.

Westbrook will be facing the Twins for the first time since the 2008 campaign today and is 7-9 with a 3.62 ERA in 23 career encounters (17 starts) with Minnesota.

These divisional foes have now split eight overall matchups so far in 2010, with the Indians having won three of the five games played between the clubs at Target Field.

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Super Bowl XLIV Odds

Super Bowl XLIII isn't even a week old yet and oddsmakers have already released Super Bowl XLIV odds.

Despite the Pittsburgh Steelers winning Super Bowl 43, the New England Patriots are 8/1 favorites to win Super Bowl 44.

Bet Super Bowl XLIV Future Odds

With their 27-23 victory over the Arizona Cardinals in Super Bowl XLIII, the Steelers became the latest NFL champion. But believe it or not, oddsmakers from online sports book MySportsbook.com don't have the Steelers the favorites to win Super Bowl XLIV next season.

That honor belongs to the New England Patriots, who are 8/1 favorites to win despite not even qualify for the postseason in 2008. The Pats also have a major decision to make regarding what to do with Matt Cassel, who played well in Tom Brady's (knee surgery) absence last year but is also a free agent this offseason.

Ironically, the Steelers aren't even oddsmakers second choice to win Super Bowl 44, as the Dallas Cowboys are listed right behind the Patriots at 9/1 despite not making the playoffs themselves. Clearly oddsmakers think the public will hop back on the Cowboys' bandwagon considering the immense talent they have and the opening of a brand new stadium.

After Dallas, then comes Pittsburgh at 10/1, but they share those odds with the New York Giants, who won Super Bowl XLII. The Indianapolis Colts and San Diego Chargers round out the top six teams at 12/1, while the Baltimore Ravens (14/1), Tennessee Titans (16/1), Carolina Panthers (18/1) and Philadelphia Eagles (18/1) complete the top 10.

The NFC Champion Arizona Cardinals got no love from oddsmakers as they were established as a 30/1 long shot to win next year's Super Bowl. They share those same odds with the Chicago Bears and Tampa Bay Buccaneers – two teams that didn't even qualify for the postseason. Other long shots are the Kansas City Chiefs (100/1), Detroit Lions (100/1), St. Louis Rams (75/1) and Oakland Raiders (75/1).

To see a complete list of all the team's odds to win Super Bowl XLIV, check below.

NFL TEAM FUTURE ODDS TO WIN SUPER BOWL XLIV

New England Patriots 8/1

Dallas Cowboys 9/1

New York Giants 10/1

Pittsburgh Steelers 10/1

Indianapolis Colts 12/1

San Diego Chargers 12/1

Baltimore Ravens 14/1

Tennessee Titans 16/1

Carolina Panthers 18/1

Philadelphia Eagles 18/1

New Orleans Saints 20/1

Atlanta Falcons 25/1

Denver Broncos 25/1

Green Bay Packers 25/1

Jacksonville Jaguars 25/1

Minnesota Vikings 25/1

New York Jets 25/1

Arizona Cardinals 30/1

Chicago BearS 30/1

Tampa Bay Buccaneers 30/1

Buffalo Bills 35/1

Houston TexaNS 35/1

Miami Dolphins 35/1

Washington Redskins 35/1

Seattle SeahawkS 50/1

Cleveland Browns 55/1

Cincinnati Bengals 60/1

San Francisco 49ers 60/1

Oakland Raiders 75/1

St. Louis Rams 75/1

Detroit Lions 100/1

Kansas City Chiefs 100/1

Odds as of: 2/2/09

Bet Super Bowl XLIV Future Odds

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