Bonser tosses six strong innings as Twins blank Royals again

Baseball Betting Lines

04/12/2008 - Kansas City, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Boof Bonser threw six shutout innings, and Jason Kubel went 2-for-4 with a homer, as Minnesota shut out Kansas City for the second straight night, 2-0.

Bonser (1-2) scattered three hits and two walks, while striking out four for the Twins, who beat the Royals, 5-0, in the opener of this three-game series.

Minnesota, which has also won three in a row overall, took 2-of-3 from Kansas City earlier this season. The Twins' first five hitters were a combined 1- for-21 with no walks and three strikeouts, but the bottom four -- Kubel, Brendan Harris, Denard Span, and Nick Punto all had two hits each.

Brett Tomko (1-1) was solid in six innings of work, giving up two runs on six hits. He also walked one and struck out one, but the Royals went on to lose their third straight, and have scored just once in that span. Ross Gload had one of Kansas City's five singles and walked.

Tomko and Bonser met this past Sunday, with Tomko coming out the winner in the Royals' 3-1 triumph. But Bonser was more effective on Saturday, working a pair of one-two-three innings, and allowing just two base runners through the first four innings.

Kubel staked his starter to a one-run lead in the second inning, with his third homer of the season. It was an eight-pitch at-bat, and he took Tomko's final throw and lofted the ball to right field, just inside the foul pole.

The Twins added another run in the seventh, starting the inning with three consecutive singles. Span had the third, which plated Kubel, and chased Tomko from the game.

Minnesota continued to rally, and had the bases loaded after Punto bunted his way on base. But Ramon Ramirez struck out Carlos Gomez, and Ron Mahay came in to get the final two outs, ending the threat by fanning Joe Mauer.

The Twins bullpen shut down the Royals the rest of the way, with Pat Neshek setting down Kansas City in order in the eighth, and Joe Nathan getting Miguel Olivo to ground into a double play to end the game, and earn his fourth save.

Game Notes

Alberto Callaspo, Billy Butler, Alex Gordon, and Joey Gathright also singled for the Royals...Sunday's finale pits the Royals' Brian Bannister (2-0) against Minnesota's Francisco Liriano, in Liriano's season debut.

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Albert Pujols to be This Year's Home Run Champ Says Online Sportsbook

Barry Bonds is a 50-1 long shot to be this year's home run champ odds.  The favorite to be this year's home run champ is none other than Albert Pujols, however.

Now that Barry Bonds is signed and in Giants camp, it is on to his pursuit of all of sports most prestigious records: the all-time home run mark. Bonds sits just 21 homers shy of tying Hank Aaron for the career mark at 755. Word out of Giants’ camp is that Bonds is the healthiest he has been in a few years. Bonds is just two seasons removed from his injury riddled 2005 campaign where he played in only 14 games and hit only 5 home runs. He did come back last year and had a solid season hitting .270 with 26 bombs. All eyes will be on Bonds this spring and summer not only because of his home run chase but his highly publicized steroid abuse allegations. If and when Bonds breaks the record, he surely will not get the positive attention one should for breaking a record that was once thought of as “unbreakable”. Despite Bonds decent season last year, he is just 50-1 at MySportsbook.com to lead the MLB in long balls this season.

Not surprisingly, the favorites to go deep the most times this season are Albert Pujols 5-1, Ryan Howard 6-1, David Ortiz 8-1 and Alex Rodriguez 12-1. With 49 homers, Pujols finished second in the National League behind Howard (58). Pujols is considered the favorite due to the consistent power numbers that he has posted since breaking into the league in 2001. Also one must consider the fact that he played in 16 fewer games then Howard did due to an injury. Howard smashed 58 homers in his first complete season of big league play en route to the National League MVP odds award. He silenced his critics by successfully hitting left-handed pitching. Howard also displayed the ability to use his power to the opposite field. Two attributes which should keep Howard amongst the league leaders in long balls for years to come. From the American League representatives, David Ortiz leads the field. Ortiz was second in the majors last year with 54 home runs. Except for 1999 when he only played in 10 games, Ortiz has improved on his home run numbers each year he has been in the majors (1997).

Be sure to log onto online sports betting site MySportsbook.com to check out the odds for who will lead the MLB in home runs this season. Below is just a sample of the players listed. With the highest credit card rates in the industry, MySportsbook.com is the place to bet on baseball this summer.

World Series odds

Adam Dunn 15-1

Albert Pujols 5-1

Alex Rodriguez 12-1

Alfonso Soriano 15-1

Andruw Jones 25-1

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Carlos Delgado 40-1

David Ortiz 8-1

Jermaine Dye 40-1

Ken Griffey Jr. 100-1

Lance Berkman 40-1

Manny Ramirez 20-1

Richie Sexson 40-1

Ryan Howard 6-1

Travis Hafner 20-1

Vladimir Guerrero 40-1

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