A full and (hopefully) eventful card awaits tonight, and there are plenty of betting opportunities to punt. Often the lesser lights in terms of starting pitcher can make for better value punting and tonight may well be the case.

NEW YORK YANKEES (Rasner 5-8, 5.28) @ MINNESOTA TWINS (Slowey 9-9, 4.07)

If we were to view this is as simply a pitching duel then you would concede that the Twins starter Kevin Slowey has been more impressive so far in his short career date. This is not to say that Daryll Rasner is not going to make it at the top level, because he does have potential.
Just like they did last night, it seems that when push comes to shove at the vital stages of a season, the Yankees will do whatever they can to grind their way towards the post-season. Tonight is another extremely vital match for them as they look to close the gap on AL East leaders Tampa Bay Rays.
Alex 'A-Rod' Rodriguez homered at just the right time as the game was deadlocked at 6-6 into the twelfth innings and the Yankees went on to eventually seal a 9-6 victory. It is the extra nous of the star men in the Yankees offensive that should see the to more wins than defets between now and the end of the season. A-Rod, Derek Jeter, Bobby Abreu, Johnny Damon and Jason Giambi have all been there and done it.
I am in agreement that the odds should be close. The Yankees hold all the keys offensively and the Twins have a marginally better starting pitcher and you can factor homefield advantage in the Twins favour too. I'd make it an even split but the bookies favour the Twins and you should happily take them on.

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Alex Rodriguez (.313, 27 HR, 71 RBI, 16 SB) NY Yankees
Joe Mauer (.316, 7 HR, 56 RBI) Minnesota Twins

RECOMMENDATION - 2.5 Points liability lay of Minnesota Twins @ 1.89 (Betfair )
3 Points stake on First home run of the game being a one-run home run @ 1.83 (Bet365)

SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS (Zito 6-14, 5.55) @ HOUSTON ASTROS (Wolf 7-10, 4.67)

Admittedly Houston go into tonights contest with a 2-0 lead but there is little justification for their ridiculously short price for this contest. If Tim Lincecum hadn't needed to leave last nights game early then it would possibly have been a different story entirely, and on the encounter on Saturday night, the Giants held a narrow lead of 1-0 for a very long time only to get pipped 3-1.
Tonight we see two veterans of the game competing against each other. Barry Zito (a former CY Young winner) has fell from grace a little and is facing grizzly old performer Randy Wolf, who was recently traded from the Padres. The pitchers are very different despite statistical similarity. Zito is a man that can shutout teams completely with terrific guile as he possesses probably the best curveball in baseball, whereas Randy Wolf is more of a consistent yet mediocre performer. It doesn't make for the most easy to predict contest.
The Astros have one man that sends head and shoulders above anyone else in their hitting unit, and that man is Lance Berkman. Berkman's grand slam last night was a fatal wound to the Giants at a crucial stage of the game and he can win games on his own, but you have to consider that he is just one man, not a team. Such matchwinning performances are rare in baseball even for the best, so try not to be too mesmerised by this.
The Giants do not really have any hitters that can hit deep with alarming regularity. What they do have however is an efficient little hitting unit where they like to get base runners on and hit singles and doubles. Aaron Rowand, Fred Lewis and Bengie Molina are probably the best exponents in the line up.
I am not saying that Houston are not valid favourites, I am however saying that a best price of 1.67 is simply not good enough. Barry Zito can do half of the job for the Giants, lets hope the offense can do the rest. Instead of backing the giants to win outright, you should turn to the safety net of the handicap and lay Houston -1.5, which effectively means that you are of course looking for a Giants win but can afford for them to lose by one run.

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Aaron Rowand (.287, 11 HR, 62 RBI, 2 SB) SF Giants
Lance Berkman (.331, 24 HR, 83 RBI, 15 SB) Houston Astros

RECOMMENDATION - 3.5 Points Liability lay of Houston Astros -1.5 HC @ 2..2 (Betfair )

Good luck all.
Crafty Stan