Santana, Twins open set with Blue Jays

Baseball Betting Lines

07/23/2007 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Standout left-hander Johan Santana looks to begin another win streak tonight when the Minnesota Twins visit Rogers Centre for the first game of a three-game series with the Toronto Blue Jays.

A 19-game winner last season, Santana had won five straight starts between June 19 and July 13 before dropping a 3-2 nod to Detroit on July 18. In that start, he allowed three runs on five hits in eight innings.

Santana has faced Toronto nine times in his career, going 2-3 with a 4.15 earned run average in 43 1/3 innings.

Right-hander Shawn Marcum will attempt to snap out of a skid that's seen him lose two of three starts. The 25-year-old allowed five hits and three runs over six innings in his last outing, but lost a 6-1 decision to the New York Yankees.

He defeated the Boston Red Sox one start earlier, allowing three earned runs and seven hits in six innings.

Marcum has faced the Twins twice in his career, going 0-1 with a 3.46 ERA in 13 innings.

On Sunday in Toronto, Roy Halladay pitched a three-hit shutout as the Blue Jays blanked the Seattle Mariners, 8-0, in the finale of a three-game set.

Halladay (11-4) was dominant throughout, needing just two hours, seven minutes to dismiss the Mariners. He struck out three and walked one.

Troy Glaus hit a three-run homer while Gregg Zaun and Aaron Hill also went deep for Toronto, which has won three of its last four contests.

Zaun scored three times, and Alex Rios finished with two RBI.

In Minnesota, Joe Saunders hurled seven solid innings, and Garret Anderson homered as the LA Angels of Anaheim downed Minnesota, 7-2, in the finale of a three-game set at the Metrodome.

Jeff Cirillo and Justin Morneau each had an RBI for the Twins, who have lost four of six.

Matt Garza (1-2) allowed four runs -- three earned -- on seven hits in 5 1/3 innings of work en route to the loss.

Minnesota and Toronto are meeting for the first time this year at the Rogers Centre. The teams have clashed seven previous times in 2007 at Minnesota, with the Twins holding a slim 4-3 edge.

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Football Betting

NFL Football Betting Online

The San Francisco 49ers (5-11 SU, 5-10-1 ATS in 2007; 1-1 SU & ATS in pre-season) found some offensive life last week, and they will try to build some momentum on Thursday night as they travel to the Windy City to take on the Chicago Bears (7-9 SU & ATS in 2007; 0-2 SU, 0-1-1 ATS in pre-season) in an NFL matchup that is set to get underway at 8 PM ET at Soldier Field (natural turf) in Chicago.

Thursday, August 21

NFL betting odds: CHICAGO -3 (-120), Total 37

NOTABLE STAT: San Francisco was last in points, last in total offense in 2007
KEY NFL BETTING TREND: SF has lost its last seven SU on pre-season road

In the BetUS NFL pre-season football betting odds, the Bears are listed as a three-point favorite (laying -120), with the total posted at 37 points.

Here are some NFL football betting trends as they relate to this matchup (reflecting numbers going into the 2008 season):

* SF has lost 11 of its last 14 games SU
* SF has covered three of its last 11 games
* SF has lost six of its last seven road games SU
* SF has covered one of its last seven road games
* CHI has covered five of its last eight games
* CHI has played five of its last seven games OVER the total
* CHI has covered four of its last 13 home games
* SF has lost its last seven pre-season road games SU
* CHI has covered two of its last seven home pre-season games

Well, I guess we should congratulate the Bears on making their quarterback choice for the season's opening game, as they have designated Kyle Orton the starter against Indianapolis. The Bears obviously have lost patience with Rex Grossman, and what they do with him at this point is anybody's guess. But suffice it to say that there isn't a quarterback competition anymore, at least in training camp.

Meanwhile, the quarterback competition may also be settled in San Francisco, where the Niners bounced back from a lackluster 18-6 loss to the Raiders, in which they turned the ball over four times, to execute a 34-6 rout of the Packers last Saturday. However, coach Mike Nolan has stopped short of saying that, insisting that the job is still open. But J.T. O'Sullivan, the longshot of the trio of Niner signal-callers who opened camp, will start his third straight pre-season game here. Against Green Bay, O'Sullivan was only 8-for-17, and was intercepted, but he also threw for 9.1 yards an attempt, which included a 59-yard TD pass to Josh Morgan. The others struggled.

Some offensive cohesion is badly needed, in light of the Niners' dismal 2007 campaign, in which they were dead last in the NFL in scoring, with just 13.7 points a game. And O'Sullivan is the guy who is most familiar with offensive coordinator Mike Martz's exacting system, because he learned it last year in Detroit. O'Sullivan will go at least the entire first half and may even last longer. He'll be relieved by Alex Smith, with Shawn Hill doing the mop-up work. Three receivers who were out last week - Bryant Johnson, Ashley Lelie and Arnaz Battle - will miss this game too.

That may hurt a little here, especially since the Bears will be using a lot of their defensive starters. And it's the defense that has been keeping the Bears in games thus far. In fact, the defense and special teams were responsible for the first 19 points Chicago scored against Seattle last time out, as the offense really struggled with Grossman at the controls. But maybe the first-team offense has a chance to settle a little bit as it works more with Orton at the helm.

Certainly we have concerns about the Bears' offensive line, but we like the scenario for them here, especially if O'Sullivan doesn't make some bis plays. The Niners may have nowhere else to turn right now, and they have lost seven straight road games in the pre-season. Let's take Chicago, the three-point favorite in the NFL football betting odds.

CHICAGO -3 (-120) **
(Graded on a scale of 1-4 stars)

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