Angels, Rockies hope to make some noise in Anaheim
Baseball Betting Lines
06/25/2010 -
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A pair of 2009 postseason participants seeking to get back
to the top of their respective divisions square off in a three-game series
that begins tonight at Anaheim's Angel Stadium, where the defending American
League West-champion Angels play host to the Colorado Rockies.
Neither club is in first place at the moment, but both remain in striking
distance in their division standings. The Rockies sit fourth in the
competitive National League West, four games back of front-running San Diego,
while the second-place Angels are currently 4 1/2 games behind the scorching
Texas Rangers in the AL West.
Anaheim has lost ground to the Rangers, a team riding an 11-game winning
streak, despite having prevailed in five of their past seven contests. The
Angels took the first two tests of their just-completed series with the
slumping Los Angeles Dodgers before being dealt a 10-6 defeat by their
crosstown rival last night.
The Dodgers rocked Angels starter Scott Kazmir (7-6) for five runs in the top
of the fourth inning to end a string of four consecutive winning efforts for
the left-hander. Kazmir also walked three and hit a batter before exiting
after only 3 2/3 frames.
"My fastball command wasn't there, but I had a good feel with other pitches,"
Kazmir said. "Hitting [James] Loney and walking [Russell] Martin in the fourth
was big. You can't give guys free bases."
Bobby Abreu went 2-for-3 with two RBI for Anaheim, with Howie Kendrick and
Kevin Frandsen each collecting a pair of hits and scoring twice in the loss.
Despite failing to come up with a sweep, the Angels have still won five of
their past seven series and are 15-6 since June 2.
Colorado is also 5-2 over its past seven games and enters this series off a
strong showing against visiting Boston. The Rockies handed the surging Red Sox
back-to-back losses on Tuesday and Wednesday before coming up short in an
extra-inning slugfest in last night's finale. Boston claimed a 13-11 verdict
on Dustin Pedroia's two-run homer off Huston Street with two outs in the top
of the 10th.
The Rockies sent the contest into extra frames by scoring three times during
the eighth and ninth innings. Jason Giambi's pinch-hit single in the eighth
brought Colorado within 11-9, while Brad Hawpe delivered a two-RBI hit with
one out in the ninth to tie the score.
"That's some game, that's some series," Colorado manager Jim Tracy said
afterward. "Obviously I haven't been around here since the inception of this
ballpark (Coors Field), but I think you might be hard-pressed to find a better
three-game series that was played between two clubs."
Hawpe also had a two-run single in his first at-bat, with both Todd Helton and
Ian Stewart contributing two RBI for the Rockies. Jonathan Herrera paced
Colorado's 18-hit attack by going 3-for-5 with two runs scored.
The heavy-hitting Rockies will take their swings tonight off Jered Weaver,
who's been one tough customer on the Angel Stadium mound this season. The
standout right-hander sports a 1.85 earned run average along with a 2-1 record
in six home assignments thus far in 2010, with opponents hitting just .212
off him in those games.
Weaver also owns a 2-0 mark and 2.37 ERA in three interleague starts this year
and is coming off a dominating performance over NL Central member Chicago last
Saturday. The former first-round pick limited the Cubs to a mere two hits over
seven shutout innings and struck out 11 batters, bringing his AL-leading total
to 107 for the season.
The 27-year-old, who's never previously faced the Rockies, has won three of
his last four starts and has gone 7-3 with a 3.04 ERA in 15 outings this year.
Jeff Francis gets the call for Colorado and will be taking the hill for the
eighth time since missing the season's first month-and-a-half while recovering
from shoulder surgery. The left-hander has been pitching well as of late,
working into the seventh inning in three straight starts and posting a 3.10
ERA over that time frame.
Francis has registered a win and two no-decisions over that three-game
stretch. He defeated Toronto on June 19 after surrendering three runs (two
earned) on five hits over seven innings, then allowed four runs (three earned)
in 6 1/3 frames while not factoring in the final outcome of Saturday's 8-7 win
over Milwaukee.
The native Canadian also got a no-decision in his lone career matchup with
Anaheim, which took place at Angel Stadium in 2006. Francis gave up two runs
over 6 2/3 innings that night.
Colorado took two of three from the Angels in that 2006 series, but Anaheim
returned the favor with two wins in three bouts against the Rockies at the Big
A last season.
<< Red-hot Rangers go for a dozen in clash with Astros
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Texas Rangers and Josh Hamilton both try to continue
impressive streaks this evening, when the team opens a three-game set against
the Lone Star State-rival Houston Astros at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington.
Hamilton has
<< No shortage of storylines in opener between Diamondbacks and Rays
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - There are plenty of storylines to choose from this evening
when the Arizona Diamondbacks and Tampa Bay Rays begin a three-game set at
Tropicana Field.
Edwin Jackson will be facing the Rays for the first time since being de
<< Orioles, Nationals open set at Camden Yards
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The woeful Baltimore Orioles enter the weekend with
momentum - sort of - when they begin a three-game interleague series with the
nearby Washington Nationals tonight at Camden Yards.
Baltimore, which has five fewer wins th
<< With Valentine rumors swirling, Marlins open set with Padres
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The first-place San Diego Padres continue their early-
summer tour of Florida tonight when they venture to Miami to open a three-game
set with the Marlins at Sun Life Stadium.
Leading by 2 1/2 games over the San Francisco
<< Clijsters, Henin among third-round winners at Wimbledon
Wimbledon, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kim Clijsters and Justine Henin were
each third-round winners on Friday at Wimbledon and will meet next Monday in
the round of 16 at the All England Club.
The eighth-seeded Clijsters rolled to a
Pelfrey tries to pitch Mets past Twins at Citi Field >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Mets have shown signs of cooling off over the past week
and that includes starter Mike Pelfrey.
Pelfrey will try to begin a new win streak and win his 10th game of the season
this evening in the opener of a three-ga
Greinke to go for Royals in opener with Cards >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Reigning AL Cy Young Award winner Zack Greinke can only
hope to finish his 2010 campaign with a winning record, considering the way
things have gone this season. With a ledger six games below .500, Greinke will
try to get clo
Brewers to host Mariners in matchup of surging teams >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Milwaukee Brewers got their homestand off to a great
start and will shoot for a season-high fifth straight win tonight in the
opener of a three-game series versus the Seattle Mariners at Miller Park.
Milwaukee just com
A's seek to end slide at Pirates' expense >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Oakland Athletics' chances of ending its current slide
just got a little better with the Pittsburgh Pirates in town for a three-game
set that starts with tonight's series opener at the Coliseum.
Oakland was just swept
Yanks make anticipated trip to LA to face Torre-led Dodgers >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Yankees have won five world championships in
the past 14 seasons. Four of them were led by the man who will be sitting in
the opposing dugout when the Bronx Bombers visit Los Angeles for a high-
profile three-gam
MySportsbook.com: NFL draft - The NFC South
In part two of MySportsbook.com’s draft preview, we’ll take a look at a division that was extremely disappointing last season: the NFC South. Many “experts” predicted the Panthers to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl, of course they could not even make the playoffs in an extremely weak NFC. The Saints definitely made up for the disappointing seasons of their NFC South brethren by exploding out of no where en route to the NFC Championship game. For the avid NFL gambler, it is imperative to pay attention to the NFL draft. Although free agency gets a ton of publicity, the successful franchises build their teams around the draft.
1. New Orleans Saints
Who would have thought this time last year that the Saints would be the favorites to win the NFC South for the 2007 campaign? New Orleans is loaded with firepower on the offensive side of the ball but with the exodus of Joe Horn they will most likely look to draft a WR on Day 1. Despite having the NFL’s 3rd ranked pass defense last season, the Saints will most likely upgrade their CB’s with one of their first two picks. Other possibilities for the Saints will be TE and DT. Because of where they will be selecting (27th), the Saints could go the “best available player” route which could net a LB.
Key additions: Eric Johnson TE, Troy Evans LB, David Patten WR
Key loses: Joe Horn WR,
Team needs: CB, WR, TE, LB, DT
Possible draftees: Aaron Ross CB Texas, Darrelle Revis CB Pitt, Ted Ginn Jr. WR OSU, Paul Posluszny LB PSU, Chris Houston CB Arkansas, Greg Olsen TE Miami
2. Carolina Panthers
Carolina was one of the biggest disappointments in the NFL last season. With the signing of David Carr, expect the very first quarterback controversy to come out of Carolina if Jake Delhomme doesn’t rebound quickly from an average 2007 season. With veteran safety Mike Minter getting up there in age, they will look to draft a safety on Day 1 but probably not in the first round. LB is another need with the loss of Chris Draft to go along with Dan Morgan’s concussion problems. If TE Greg Olsen is still on the board, he might be too good to pass up despite their needs on the defensive side of the ball.
Key additions: David Carr QB
Key loses: Chris Draft LB
Team needs: LB, TE, S, OT
Possible draftees: Greg Olsen TE Miami, Patrick Willis LB Ole Miss, Paul Posluszny LB PSU, Levi Brown OT PSU
3. Atlanta Falcons
The Falcons were another NFC South team to have a disappointing 2007 season. The Falcons have been plenty busy during the off season with plenty of players coming and going including a new head coach. The Falcons were able to improve their draft position with the trade of coveted backup QB Matt Schaub. High on the list of Day 1 needs will be a defensive end to replace Patrick Kerney and a hard hitting safety since Lawyer Milloy is nearing the end of his career. With an additional 2nd round pick, the Falcons could attempt to trade up to acquire local product WR Calvin Johnson.
Key additions: Joey Harrington QB, Toniu Fonoti OG, Joe Horn WR
Key loses: Justin Griffen RB, Patrick Kerney DE, Matt Lehr OG, Ashley Lelie WR, Matt Schaub QB
Team needs: DE, S, OT, WR, DT
Possible draftees: LaRon Landry S LSU, Amobi Okoye DT Louisville, Levi Brown OT PSU, Jamaal Anderson DE Arkansas, Alan Branch DT Michigan
4. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Age really caught up to the Bucs last season. The Bucs still have plenty of household names on defense in Ronde Barber, Simeon Rice and Derrick Brooks but the one thing those three have in common is unfortunately age. It is imperative for the Bucs to get much younger, especially on the defensive side of the ball. Despite having bigger needs on the defensive side of the ball, WR Calvin Johnson is the most likely pick if he is still available when the Bucs pick at the four spot. This would suit Bucs’ faithful just fine as Johnson is widely considered the top talent in the draft and it is a position of need for the Bucs.
Key additions: Jeff Garcia QB, Kevin Carter DE, Torrie Cox CB, Cato June LB
Key loses: Dewayne White DE, Sean Mahan OG
Team needs: WR, LB, DE, CB (Youth on defense!)
Possible draftees: Calvin Johnson WR Georgia Tech, Gains Adams DE Clemson, Jamaal Anderson DE Arkansas
It is never too early to start betting on the NFL. Log on to MySportsbook.com to checkout all of the NFL futures for the upcoming season. On the clock: the NFC North
Odds to win the NFC South:
New Orleans Saints 8-5
Carolina Panthers 2-1
Atlanta Falcons 12-5
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 9-2
Odds to win the NFC:
New Orleans Saints 13-2
Carolina Panthers 7-1
Atlanta Falcons 20-1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 25-1
Odds to win the Super Bowl:
New Orleans Saints 18-1
Carolina Panthers 20-1
Atlanta Falcons 50-1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 75-1
To visit this sportsbook get to MySportsbook.com for all your online sportsbook needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.
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