Baseball wagering favors the Yankees on Wednesday as they host the Minnesota Twins in Grapefruit League action. This game could get a little action in MLB wagering since it can be seen on ESPN television. Baseball wagering even in Spring Training favors the Yankees a lot of the time. New York is the defending World Series champs and they get a lot of respect. The Yankees easily handled the Twins last season in the American League playoffs.
Minnesota is a slight favorite in MLB wagering to win the American League Central this season. The Twins are still trying to decide on a fifth starter but it looks like Francisco Liriano is going to get the job. “I would say Liriano has a big advantage going in right now,” manager Ron Gardenhire said. “He’s the guy we’re looking at to be our fifth starter. I don’t think anybody doubts that. We’ll let them all keep pitching and see what happens. But Liriano, the way he’s throwing the ball, he’s ahead of everyone.”
The Twins may be better off in baseball wagering if Liriano goes into the bullpen for the job of closer. Minnesota lost Joe Nathan for the season due to injury and Liriano is being considered for the job of closer. Liriano is preparing to be a starter for now but the Twins have not made a decision. “I feel like I’ve been throwing the ball pretty good,” Liriano said. “I think I deserve to be the No. 5 starter. So if they give me the opportunity, I’ll be pretty happy with it. I’m pretty comfortable with where I am right now.”
Liriano has 22 strikeouts this spring in 14 innings. Those are closer type numbers that can impact baseball wagering. If the Twins go with Liriano as the closer then the fifth spot in the rotation would go to Brian Duensing. “He’s throwing the ball really well,” Gardenhire said of Duensing. “If we wanted to put him in the rotation, I’ve got no problem with that at all. I like the way he throws the ball.” The Twins are in a tough spot since Liriano is preparing to be a starter but may help the team more as a closer. “Frankie is a rotation guy, not a bullpener,” Gardenhire said, “He’s a rotation guy and then in another week I’ll tell you if he’s still a rotation guy.”