Exhibition Games Attract Baseball Bettors

Exhibition Games Attract Baseball Bettors

Most bettors know that wagering on exhibition baseball is a bit like throwing a dart at the wall.

But that shouldn’t stop anyone from betting.

betED has lines available for all exhibition baseball games. Go to www.beted.com and place a bet on your top pick.

While many view the exhibition season simply as a way to gauge how teams will fare when the real season starts, there have already been some interesting match-ups in the so-called meaningless games.

This week, Minnesota Twins rookie pitcher Matt Garza went head to head with Boston Red Sox's future hall of famer Curt Schilling, and made a strong early impression toward winning a spot in his team's rotation.

Garza, the Twins' minor league pitcher of the year last season, and Schilling, penciled in as the Red Sox's opening day starter, each pitched two scoreless innings in a 4-4 tie in 10 innings Wednesday night.

"It was a blast," Garza said of pitching against Schilling in both teams' exhibition opener. "There's no pressure on me. I got up (to the majors) in a year. That's more than I can ask for."

Garza, 23, won his first five decisions at Triple-A Fort Myers last season and was a combined 14-4 before making his major league debut on Aug. 11. On Wednesday, he struck out David Ortiz on a slider in the first inning.

"We just want him to do what he did tonight," Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said. "Throw the ball down, attack the hitters and make them swing the bat."

Schilling allowed two hits and the Red Sox led 4-1 before Julian Tavarez allowed a three-run homer in the fifth by Joe Mauer.

"I felt a little stronger than I thought I might be," said Schilling, who threw 19 pitches — 18 fastballs and one slider. "I feel like I'm good to go for a lot more than that right now."

Francona said he didn't think it was worth it to change his plan and send out Schilling, who threw 15 strikes, for a third inning even though he hadn't thrown many pitches.

"He got two innings under his belt and he threw strikes," Francona said.