Wilson, Rangers hope to avoid sweep in Minnesota

Baseball Betting Lines

09/05/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Hoping to avoid a series sweep at the hands of the Minnesota Twins, the Texas Rangers may have the right pitcher on the mound today to accomplish that goal.

C.J. Wilson will attempt to register his eighth consecutive winning decision when he gets the call for Texas in Sunday's finale of this three-game series between division leaders from Target Field. The converted reliever has been nothing short of sensational since the All-Star break, having amassed a 7-0 record and a 1.99 earned run average over nine second-half starts, while limiting the opposition to a .196 batting average.

Wilson has posted a 0.90 ERA in winning each of his last four outings, including a 4-3 decision over the Twins on August 25 in which he surrendered three runs (two earned) in six innings. The left-hander backed up that effort by firing 7 2/3 shutout frames to best Kansas City on Monday, with the Royals mustering a mere two hits off of him.

The 29-year-old hasn't lost since July 11, but was dealt a defeat at Target Field back in May after being reached for five runs in six innings. For his career, Wilson is 1-2 with a 3.34 in 19 games against Minnesota, all but two of which have been in relief.

Wilson will also be trying to give the Rangers an elusive first-ever victory at first-year Target Field. After being swept in a three-game set in Minneapolis from May 28-30, Texas has dropped the first two tests of this series and was handed a 12-4 loss to the AL Central front-running Twins yesterday.

Jim Thome socked a pair of home runs, including a milestone three-run shot in the fourth inning, and finished with four RBI in Saturday's rout, while Matt Tolbert knocked in a career-high five runs and tripled twice for Minnesota. J.J. Hardy also had a big day at the plate for the Twins, with the shortstop going 3-for-4 with two RBI.

Thome's two long balls give the veteran slugger 584 over the course of his outstanding career and moved him past Mark McGwire for ninth place on baseball's all-time list for that category. The 40-year-old is now two homers shy of matching Hall of Famer Frank Robinson for seventh place.

"It's very humbling, but the main goal is where we're at as a team," said Thome when asked about passing McGwire. "If you can do something to help the team win as a group, it's about that. It's not about an individual."

The Twins did receive a strong individual performance from pitcher Carl Pavano (16-10) in prevailing for the seventh time in their last nine games. The capable starter threw the first eight innings on Saturday and allowed three runs on eight hits to earn his 16th win of the season.

Texas' Colby Lewis (9-12) wasn't nearly as effective, permitting a whopping nine runs on eight hits before exiting after only 3 2/3 innings.

The Rangers have now lost five of their past seven contests following Saturday's result. Although the club still holds an eight-game advantage on Oakland for first place in the AL West, it fell 3 1/2 games back of the Twins in the league standings, which could factor into playoff positioning in the future.

"We got to play better," said second baseman Ian Kinsler, who went 2-for-4 with a solo homer in yesterday's setback. "[Saturday] was a rough game. We've kind of done this the whole year, and we know we just have to play better."

Minnesota also owns a 3 1/2-game lead on the second-place Chicago White Sox in the AL Central and will send Nick Blackburn to the hill for today's finale. The right-hander had initially been slated to pitch Friday's opener, but was pushed back after being forced into relief during a 13-inning clash with Detroit on Thursday.

Blackburn took the loss in that game after serving up a go-ahead homer to Gerald Laird in his lone inning of work, but was fantastic in his most recent starting assignment. That came in Seattle on August 28, with the 28-year-old allowing only two hits and coming one out away from earning his first career shutout.

This will Blackburn's third start since returning from a near month-long stint in the minors, with his first coming against the Rangers in Arlington on August 23. He gave up three runs over a solid seven innings that night, but didn't get any offensive support in a 4-0 loss.

The Oklahoma native is 0-2 with a 4.26 ERA over three career encounters with Texas, which took three of four meetings from the Twins at Rangers Ballpark last month.

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COLLEGE FOOTBALL BETTING

NCAA Football Betting

Many fans thought it was the best side in the nation by the end of last season. This year, the polls have built on Georgia's momentum and granted it the No. 1 preseason ranking, followed by Ohio State and USC. (The Associated Press has the Buckeyes at No. 2; USA Today took the Trojans.)

"To have people believing we have one of the best teams in the nation going into this thing, it's exciting for us," Bulldogs coach Mark Richt told the AP. "I don't think anything is guaranteed, but we certainly have put ourselves in position where at least the college football world thinks we're pretty good."

Georgia Bulldogs - 9.5 wins

There's no question they're good, but the Bulldogs have one of the toughest 12-game schedules in the nation, mostly because they play in the powerhouse Southeastern Conference. Away games at No. 15 Arizona State, No. 7 LSU and No. 10 Auburn loom large, with contests between the hedges versus No. 24 Alabama and No. 18 Tennessee as well as the World's Largest Cocktail Party in Jacksonville versus No.5 Florida.

Ohio State Buckeyes - 10 wins

Like the Bulldogs, the Buckeyes also have a number of tough road contests in 2008. After two scrimmages dressed up as real games versus Youngstown State and Ohio, it's off to face USC. Other tough away games include No.13 Wisconsin in October and No. 20 Illinois in November. Granted, it should be pretty easy sledding at the Horseshoe. In fact, the only ranked team that travels to Columbus is No. 22 Penn State, in October.

USC Trojans - 10.5 wins

A similarly light schedule awaits the Trojans of Southern California, which is why the oddsmakers' total is one win more and the over is currently commanding -150 odds. Pete Carroll's troops only play three ranked teams in 2008, and all of those games are at home. After what should be an easy trip to Virginia to start things off on Aug. 30, the Trojans get two weeks to prepare for Ohio State in Los Angeles. Their two other ranked opponents, No. 21 Oregon and No. 15 Arizona State, visit in consecutive weeks to start the month of October. After that, the competition eases up. Of course, this is the same highly-touted school that lost to Stanford in 2007 and Oregon State in 2006. And don't discount the fact that USC plays its biggest rivals, Notre Dame and UCLA, back-to-back to close out the regular season. On paper, the Trojans are far superior, but motivation will be high for the Irish and Bruins, especially if their historic foes are in national-title contention.

Odds to Win the Heisman Trophy

Tim Tebow, Florida - 7/2
He won it last year, so it's no surprise he's the favorite to do it again, making him just the second player to go back-to-back. Ohio State's Archie Griffin turned the trick in 1974 and 1975, and Tebow's coach, Urban Meyer, is pretty sure his star quarterback can match the Buckeyes legend.

"There has never been anyone quite like him," Meyer told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "I am very lucky to be his coach."

Chris Wells, Ohio State - 5/1

The man they call "Beanie" was a star recruit out of high school, so it's not like nobody knew who the star tailback was before he rushed for 576 yards as a freshman in 2006 and 1,609 as a sophomore. But perhaps his finest moment came last year versus Michigan when he rumbled for 222 yards and two touchdowns in the Buckeyes' 14-3 victory over the hated Wolverines.

Knowshon Moreno, Georgia - 8/1

If the Bulldogs are to live up to expectations, they'll need a huge effort from their sophomore running back. This might be the last year of college ball for Moreno, who rushed for 1,334 yards and for 14 touchdowns as a freshman, while adding 253 receiving yards on 20 receptions, so expect big things for the man from Belford, N.J.

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