posted April 15, 2008 at 16:24 in MLB Betting Trends

BetUS MLB baseball betting odds: Detroit -140, Minnesota +120, Total 9 (Over -120, Under - Even)

The Minnesota Twins (6-7) will attempt to get to the .500-mark on Tuesday night when they tackle the sputtering Detroit Tigers (3-10) in American League action with the first pitch coming at 7:05 PM ET at Comerica Park in the Motor City (natural turf).

Southpaw Scott Baker (2-0, 4.63 ERA) of Minnesota will face off against right-hander Nate Robertson (0-1, 7.84 ERA) of the Tigers.

At BetUS Sportsbook, Detroit is listed as a -140 favorite (Minnesota is +120), with a total of nine runs (Over is -120, Under is even money.

Here are some of the MLB Baseball betting trends as they relate to this matchup:

(NOTE: These trends may also revert back to the 2007 season)

* MINN has won three of its last five games

* MINN has played three of its last four games UNDER the total

* DET has played four of its last six games UNDER the total

* DET has lost six of its last seven home games

* DET has lost seven of its last eight games as a favorite

In the HEAD-TO-HEAD MLB betting trends:

* DET has won 10 of the last 11 meetings

* DET has won four of the last five meetings as the home team

* Seven of the last 10 meetings have gone UNDER the total

The pitch count on Nate Robertson thus far is 198 in just 10-1/3 innings. In an era where pitchers don't seem to be able to throw all that much, Robertson would seem overworked. He has had very little success in stopping people, and the Tigers have lost both of his starts, even though they have scored five and six runs in those two games, which in the early going has been unusual for a team averaging 3.3 runs a game.

That's disappointing for Robertson, who finished last season with four quality starts in a row. Maybe there's some encouragement in the fact that he did a good job in solving the Twins' lineup in 2007, going seven innings in each of his four outings, with a 1.92 ERA and 0.96 WHIP ratio.

The Tigers are nothing if not wildly inconsistent on offense. They were shut out on both Saturday and Sunday by the White Sox, leading to a post-game dressing-down by manager Jim Leyland. Then they laid into the Twins on Monday night, scoring 11 runs in a win. Scott Baker had three pretty decent outings against Detroit last season; in one of them (July 1), he gave up one run and three hits in eight innings.

No one expects Detroit, which comes into this one having won just three of 13 games, to remain down throughout the season. But they're inconsistent and run-starved right now, and even though Robertson has had stellar performances against the Twins team, we have a concern as to how far he can really go. This may be an opportunity to grab a price with Minnesota, the +120 underdog in the BetUS Major League Baseball betting odds.

JAY'S PLAY: MINNESOTA (+120)

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(Charles Jay of http://www.eBookies.com touches all the bases as a regular contributor to the BetUS Locker Room)