Twinkies will take it – Tampa Bay Rays vs. Minnesota Twins

MLB BETTING

Tampa Bay Rays vs. Minnesota Twins
Game Match-Up 4/29 — 8:10 ET

On Wednesday night, a pair of teams hoping to kick start their sluggish 2009 seasons square off in the Metrodome for a rubber match when the Tampa Bay Rays (8-13, -$635) match wits  with the Minnesota Twins (10-11, -$188). In Tuesday night’s sports betting affair, the Rays rallied from deficits of 2-0 and 3-2 to knot the game in the 9th inning with a pinch-hit homer from RF Ben Zobrist off of Minnesota closer Joe Nathan, but LHP JP Howell couldn’t retire the side without giving up the winning run in the bottom of the inning. The loss assured the Rays will close out their nine-game road trip with a losing record, but the winner of this series is still to be decided.

You can find Tampa Bay at -135 and a ‘total’ of 8 over -120 at BetOnline Sportsbook right now!

Things always get interesting for Tampa Bay bettors when LHP Scott Kazmir is on the mound. His last outing against Oakland was of the fantastic variety, as he threw six shutout innings and gave up only two hits and three walks. The problem was that he threw 96 pitches in those six frames, making it the 21st straight start where the lefty failed to complete seven innings of work. Though those numbers could be a disaster for a bullpen, Kaz almost always leaves the game with his team in a position to pick up a victory. He has only had one miserable outing this year (six runs in 4.0 innings against the White Sox on 4/18), and as a result, is 3-1 for baseball bettors (+$172). Kazmir is also one of just three pitchers to be 4-0 for ‘over’ bettors. Tampa Bay’s southpaw is only 2-3 in his career against the Twinkies, but he did throw six shutout innings in his lone start against them last season. That day, the Rays clinched their first playoff birth in team history.

Minnesota will counter with RHP Nick Blackburn. Blackburn has only faced the Rays once in his career, and he’d much rather forget the outing. The righty conceded six runs in just 1.1 innings of Minnesota’s 11-1 loss at Tropicana Field. The 27-year old has been the epitome of consistency so far this season. In four starts, he has allowed four runs three times, but his most recent start was clearly his best where he gave up just one run on six hits in Cleveland last Friday to secure his first victory of the season.

After another long day of work yesterday, the Tampa Bay bullpen simply has to be exhausted. James Shields and Matt Garza are the only pitchers to complete seven innings in a start for the Rays this season, and only once all year has a pitcher thrown into the 8th inning (Shields on 4/23, 7.1 innings @ Seattle). This is a road-weary squad that has only played seven home games this season and hasn’t had a day off since 4/20 (its only off day of the season to date). It’s hard to see why the oddsmakers’ made them the choice in this game.

Rose’s Recommendation: 3* Minnesota Twins +115

(Rating Scale: 1* – 5*)