Angels aim to further bury struggling A's

Baseball Betting Lines

07/10/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Oakland Athletics and Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim are set to play the second contest of a three-game weekend series from the Coliseum this evening.

Pitcher Scott Kazmir has fallen far short of expectations for the Angels this season, a major reason that the team continues to trail division-leading Texas in the American League West race. Kazmir is 7-8 with a 5.98 ERA for the year and was torched for seven earned runs in 6 1/3 innings by the White Sox on Monday. The hard-throwing lefty has only struck out 58 batters in 87 1/3 innings while walking 46.

Kazmir did win his only previous start against Oakland this season and is 9-3 lifetime with a 2.85 ERA versus the Athletics.

A's starter Ben Sheets is just 3-8 this season with a 4.89 ERA, but there is reason for optimism in Oakland. The big righty, who takes the mound tonight, allowed three earned runs over a season-high 7 1/3 innings Monday against the New York Yankees, and while that game did end in defeat, Sheets finally feels back to form after missing last season due to elbow surgery.

Sheets has faced the Angels four times in his career, and while his 3.67 ERA against the squad is solid, he has yet to win a game (0-2).

Erick Aybar's leadoff homer in the 10th proved to be the difference in Friday's series opener as the Angels defeated the A's, 6-5, despite squandering three different leads.

Torii Hunter and Bobby Abreu each added a two-run homer for the Angels, who snapped a four-game losing streak. Hideki Matsui added a sacrifice fly in the victory.

"We need to focus on our club, not who we're playing," Angels manager Mike Scioscia said after the game. "We have a lot of things on our club we need to tighten up a little bit, do more consistently. Obviously, out of the batter's box we did a better job tonight and got the win."

Joel Pineiro was in line for the win after allowing three runs in seven solid innings, but the Angels righty had his six-start win streak snapped after Fernando Rodney gave up two runs in the eighth. Kevin Jepsen (1-1) received the win and Brian Fuentes recorded his 16th save by throwing the ninth.

Jack Cust hit a solo home run for the Athletics, who have lost four in a row. Kevin Kouzmanoff finished with two hits and Coco Crisp had an RBI in defeat.

Vin Mazzaro yielded three runs, four hits and three walks in a seven-inning start for Oakland, while Andrew Bailey (0-3) was saddled with the loss after giving up Aybar's game-winning homer.

"You really want to win that first one, especially after getting swept by the Yankees," Bailey said. "It's a tough loss. We have to do our jobs and win the next two."

The Angels have won seven of 11 meetings with Oakland this season and are 11-4 in the 15 most recent contests between the AL West foes.

Horsetacing Baseball Betting News

<< Marlins continue road trip with another test in Arizona
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Former first-round draft pick Ian Kennedy tries again to snap a nearly two-month free-fall when the Arizona Diamondbacks host the Florida Marlins tonight in the third game of their four-game series at Chase Field. The tea

<< Lee set to make Texas debut against Orioles
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Fresh of Friday's acquisition of star pitcher Cliff Lee, the first-place Texas Rangers continue their four-game series against the lowly Baltimore Orioles in Arlington tonight. It appeared that the New York Yankees had a d

<< Still-winless Suppan gets call for Cards against Astros
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Veteran right-hander Jeff Suppan tries again to end a season-long drought when the St. Louis Cardinals visit Minute Maid Park tonight for the second of three weekend games with the Houston Astros. The Cardinals won Friday'

<< Brewers, Bucs resume series between slumping clubs
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Right-hander Dave Bush can beat his hometown team for the second time this season when the Milwaukee Brewers host the Pittsburgh Pirates tonight in the middle game of a three-game series at Miller Park. The Brewers won Fri

<< Rays strive for rebound in latest battle with Indians
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Tampa Bay Rays had a six-game winning streak halted on Friday and will attempt to get back on track tonight, when they continue a four-game series with the Cleveland Indians at Tropicana Field. Lefty Aaron Laffey will

Serbia wins doubles to go up on Croatia in Davis Cup >>
Split, Croatia (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Janko Tipsarevic and Nenad Zimonjic took an easy doubles win Saturday to give Serbia an advantage over Croatia in the best-of-five Davis Cup quarterfinal between the rival nations. Tipsarevic and Zimo

Rockies hoping to gain further ground on sliding Padres >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - With their lead atop the National League's West Division beginning to shrink, the San Diego Padres will be attempting to fend off the hard-charging Colorado Rockies in tonight's middle test of a critical three- game series be

Yankees seeking eighth straight win in Seattle >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The third of four weekend games between the New York Yankees and Seattle Mariners will ensue at Safeco Field tonight, but the contest seems secondary in the headlines to a trade that fell through between the teams yesterday.

Sadler expects to depart RPM at season's end >>
Joliet, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Elliott Sadler said he does not plan to return to Richard Petty Motorsports for the 2011 Sprint Cup Series season. Sadler spoke with the media on Friday at Chicagoland Speedway. The 35-year-old driver said tha

Nets reach agreement with backup C Johan Petro >>
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) -The New Jersey Nets have reached a contract agreement with center Johan Petro.The Nets did not announce the terms of the deal Saturday, but an NBA official with knowledge of the agreement tells The Associated Press the co

MySportsbook.com: NBA Championship Odds

With the playoffs about two months away, the top two teams in the Western Conference are the clear cut leaders to win the NBA Championship. The Dallas Mavericks have the best record in the NBA (44-9) and have been absolutely scorching since the second week of the season.  What makes the Mavs’ record more impressive is the fact that they dropped their first four games of the season.  Currently they have won 17 out of their last 18 and are MySportsbook.com’s favorite (2-1) to win it all.  Right behind the Mavs are the Pacific leading Phoenix Suns (39-13).  Last season, the Suns lost in the Conference Finals to non-other then the Mavericks four games to two.  Of course the Suns were without center Amare Stoudemire who has is averaging 19.9 PPG and 9.5 RPG since coming back from his knee injury.  Unlike the Mavs, the Suns have struggled a bit lately having lost their last three and four out of their last seven.  Of course the main reason for their three straight loses is due to the absence of two time MVP Steve Nash, who is out with a shoulder injury.  Heads-up, the Mavs have beaten the Suns in both of their meetings this season.

In the Eastern Conference, the Pistons (32-19) are the favorites to win it all at 6-1. The addition of Chris Webber seems to have been a good move for the Pistons.  Since coming over from the 76ers, Webber has averaged 13.1 PPG and 7.3 RPG and the Pistons are 11-4.  Even though the defending champion Heat are currently on the playoff making cusp, they are the Eastern Conference team that is getting the most action to win it all (9-1).  The fact that Shaquille O’Neal is back in the starting lineup after missing 39 games probably has something to do with this.  No doubt, Shaq makes a difference when in the lineup as their winning six out of their last seven would indicate.

Just because it is the All-Star break doesn’t mean that you can’t bet on NBA hoops this weekend.  Be sure to log onto MySportsbook.com to bet on who you think will cut down the nets this July. Also, be sure to check out all of the lines and props for All-Star weekend.  With the highest credit card acceptance rate in the industry, there are plenty of ways to cash in on the NBA this weekend.

MySportsbook.com’s NBA Championship odds:

Atlanta Hawks 1000-1

Boston Celtics 5000-1

Charlotte Bobcats 5000-1

Chicago Bulls 20-1

Cleveland Cavaliers 20-1

Dallas Mavericks 2-1

Denver Nuggets 25-1

Detroit Pistons 6-1

Golden State Warriors 250-1

Houston Rockets 12-1

Indiana Pacers 60-1

Los Angeles Clippers 45-1

Memphis Grizzlies 5000-1

Miami Heat 9-1

Milwaukee Bucks 1000-1

Minnesota T-Wolves 200-1

New Jersey Nets 50-1

New Orleans Hornets 150-1

New York Knicks 150-1

Orlando Magic 75-1

Philadelphia 76ers 1000-1

Phoenix Suns 5-2

Portland TrailBlazers 1000-1

Sacramento Kings 250-1

San Antonio Spurs 9-1

Seattle Sonics 5000-1

Toronto Raptors 35-1

Utah Jazz 20-1

Washington Wizards 25-1

About MySportsbook.com:


MySportsbook.com  is the largest sportsbook and casino on the planet, where millions of adult Americans bet on sports, play poker and enjoy blackjack and other casino games online in a regulated and licensed jurisdiction. Named the "Best online Sports Book" by the industry's top magazine, eGaming Review, MySportsbook.com has been leading the online gaming industry since 1996. Dwarfing its nearest competitors in the US, MySportsbook.com has been the first to achieve every significant industry milestone, from record turnover to active users to number of bets--achieving a peak of fifteen bets per second. As the US online gaming leader, the firm and it's products have been featured on CBS 60 Minutes, CNN, ESPN, Wall Street Journal, Barrons, Financial Times, USA Today and in every major newspaper in the US.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.