Saturday’s Betting Tips
By Covers.com
Weather to watch
St. Louis Cardinals at Kansas City Royals – 17 mph winds are expected to blow out to left field.
San Francisco Giants at Oakland Athletics – 16 mph winds are expected to blow out to right-centerfield.
Who’s hot
MLB: Under is 8-1-1 in Randall Delgado’s last 10 starts for Atlanta.
MLB: Tampa Bay Rays are 59-28 in their last 87 vs. a team with a losing record.
MLB: Chicago White Sox are 49-24 in their last 73 interleague games.
WNBA: Minnesota Lynx are 44-21 ATS in their last 65 games overall.
Who’s not
MLB: Cubs are 1-6 in Paul Maholm's last seven starts.
MLB: Angels are 5-13 in Ervin Santana's last 18 starts.
MLB: Colorado Rockies are 2-12 in their last 14 overall.
MLB: Phoenix Mercury are 2-10 ATS in their last 12 games overall.
Key stat
3 – Oakland A’s starter Travis Blackley and reliever Ryan Cook combined to hold the Los Angeles Dodgers to three hits Thursday, marking the third consecutive game that the staff allowed no more than three hits.
Injury that shouldn’t be overlooked
Epiphanny Prince, Chicago Sky – Prince suffered a broken foot last weekend and will be out of action indefinitely. Prince was leading the WNBA with 22.3 points per game. Chicago is set as a 14-point underdog at Minnesota.
Game of the day
Spain (-139) vs. France (+360), Draw (+235)
Notable quotable
“There is no conflict. There were words exchanged after the game. There was a reaction. Some players were very angry. That is true. Certain things were said. We acted on those. People are worked up and angry after a defeat and there were raised voices. It did delay us in terms of when we could start preparing for the game with Spain but you have priorities that have to be dealt with.”- France head coach Laurent Blanc about the team trying to get past a dressing room altercation that ensued after the club’s disappointing loss to Sweden.
Notes and tips
Spain has yielded more than one goal in just one of their last 25 Euro and World Cup matches, but the one team that did was France when it downed Spain 3-1 in the 2006 World Cup. However, France would love to get Karim Benzema on track. He has attempted 17 shots in the tournament, the most of anyone without a goal.
Minnesota Twins slugger Joe Mauer could return to the lineup Saturday after sitting out a few games with a bruised thigh. Mauer was available to pinch hit Friday and is hitting .314 with three homers and 37 RBI.
Minnesota Vikings coach Leslie Frazier has named Christian Ponder the Vikes' starting quarterback, according to a report by Fox Sports North late Thursday. Ponder replaced Donovan McNabb as the VIkes' starting QB last October and went on to complete over 54 percent of his 291 passes for 1,853 yards, 13 touchdowns and 13 interceptions. Those numbers were still noteworthy, particularly with the loss of No. 1 running back Adrian Peterson to injuries, as well as back-up wide receiver Michael Jenkins (knee injury) and tight end Visanthe Shiancoe's struggles.