A's try to break out the brooms on Angels

Baseball Betting Lines

09/05/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim haven't been swept in a series of at least three games by the Oakland Athletics in more than six years, partly due to the success Ervin Santana has produced against the team's American League West rival.

The right-hander will attempt to keep that streak ongoing, while adding to his impressive career numbers versus the A's, when he takes the mound for the Angels this afternoon at the Oakland Coliseum.

Oakland's last three-game sweep of the Angels took place at the Coliseum from June 29-July 1, 2004, but the club is in position to bring out the brooms after claiming the first two tests of this set. After limiting Anaheim's sputtering offense to five hits in an 8-0 triumph in Friday's opener, the Athletics got some more effective pitching to record a 3-1 win yesterday afternoon.

Trevor Cahill (15-6) kept the Angels off the scoreboard over the game's first six innings to notch his 15th victory of the season, even though the young standout issued a career-high six walks and threw only 60-of-116 pitches for strikes.

Anaheim wasn't able to capitalize on its opportunities, stranding eight baserunners on the day and failing to come up with any clutch hits. That's been an ongoing problem for the Angels as of late, as the three-time defending division champs have lost nine of their last 12 contests and scored three runs or fewer in all of those defeats.

Torii Hunter accounted for the Halos' lone run with a solo homer in the eighth inning, with ace Jered Weaver (11-11) stuck with the loss after allowing three runs in seven innings of work.

"We didn't get anything going on the offensive side to help make that game Jered's," Angels manager Mike Scioscia remarked.

Scioscia's squad could fare better this afternoon, provided Santana can deliver his usual results against the A's. The 2008 AL All-Star boasts a tremendous 11-3 record and a 1.99 earned run average over 19 career matchups (17 starts) with Oakland and has been terrific as well at the Coliseum, where he's gone 5-1 with a 1.89 ERA in eight starts and a pair of relief efforts.

That lone loss took place in his most recent visit to Oakland, however. In a June 10 showdown with the Athletics, Santana was reached for five runs (four earned) and lasted just five innings in a 6-1 setback against Cahill.

The 27-year-old does come into today's clash having won four of his last five starts, though, and improved to 14-9 on the year after holding Seattle to two runs over 7 2/3 innings this past Monday at Safeco Field. Santana has pitched at least 6 1/3 innings and permitted three runs or fewer in each victory of that five-game stretch.

Oakland, which closed within eight games of slumping Texas for first place in the AL West with Saturday's verdict, will hand the ball to Vin Mazzaro for the finale. The sophomore hurler will be seeking a rebound from a brutal showing at Yankee Stadium on Tuesday, when he was battered for nine runs (seven earned) and served up three homers before being lifted after 3 2/3 innings.

Since winning six of his first eight decisions to begin the year, Mazzaro is 0-5 over his seven most recent starts and pitched to a 5.09 ERA over that rough stretch. His last victory took place against the Chicago White Sox at the Coliseum on July 24.

Mazzaro has fared well in two previous encounters with the Angels this season, having gone 1-0 and allowing just three runs over a span of 12 innings. He's 1-1 with a 4.95 ERA over four career starts in this series.

Oakland has won six of nine meetings with the Angels at the Coliseum thus far in 2010, as well as eight of 15 overall games between the divisional foes this season.

Wwwebankinter Baseball Betting News


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MySportsbook.com : Fortune Favors Favorites in March Madness betting?

Just like Day 1 of the “Sweet 16”, Friday’s games are chock full of some of the nation’s elite.  Unlike Thursday’s games, there is a little bit more of a “Cinderella” feel as #7 seed UNLV and #6 seed Vanderbilt will attempt to move on to the Elite Eight.  With powerhouses Florida, UNC and Georgetown looking to continue their momentum against lesser known teams, it isn’t surprising that once again the “betting public” is backing most of the favorites.  As the early coin rolls in, 56% of Sportsbook.com bettors prefer Georgetown (-7.5) as they take on Vanderbilt; 84% of the early money is backing Oregon (-3) as they square off against UNLV; and a slight majority (52%) of the early cash is on Florida (-10.5) against Butler as the Gators continue their quest for another National Title. The only favorite the public don’t seem confident in is UNC, as 59% of the cash is backing the underdog Trojans (+8).

Midwest

#1 Florida vs. #5 Butler

The defending National Champs have been on a mission since last April.  Joakim Noah and Al Horford turned down millions of dollars for one reason, to REPEAT.  After a late season hiccup which saw them lose three out of four, the Gators have won six straight by an average of 20.3 points. More importantly, they covered in five of those six games.  Behind their stymie defense that yields only 56.9 PPG, Butler has been a very pleasant surprise this season.  As their 20-11 ATS record will indicate, “surprise teams” like Butler are often good bets for gamblers.  Playing in an average conference, Butler wasn’t and underdog too often but when they were, they covered (6-0 ATS).  Butler’s defense will have its hands full against a Gators offense which averages 80.1 PPG on an amazing 52.9% shooting from the field.  With Florida’s tournament experience over the last few years, it isn’t surprising that they are 5-1 ATS this season, 20-4 ATS over the last three seasons and 38-20 since 1997 in tournament action.

#3 Oregon vs. #7 UNLV

As a #7 seed, UNLV is the closest thing to a “Cinderella” we have this year.  If you bet on UNLV this season with any regularity, you most likely cashed in. Behind their guard oriented attack, the Rebels are an impressive 20-11 ATS this season.  As an underdog they covered in 8 out of their ten games which isn’t surprising since they are 52-30 ATS as a ‘dog since 1997. The Rebels have been a consistent cover during the month of March as well.  This March they are 6-0 ATS, 11-3 ATS over the last three seasons and 24-11 since 1997. Their impressive ATS trends don’t end there; versus teams with a winning record they are 15-6 ATS this season and 41-21 over the last three seasons.  Although Oregon hasn’t been as generous to gamblers as UNLV this season, they have been covering consistently as of late.  There is no question that they are playing their best ball of the season having won their last 8 straight up (SU) by an average of 14.5 points. Not surprising they covered in 7 of those games.  It is interesting to note how similar these teams are in regards to scoring and scoring defense. UNLV averages 75 PPG while giving up 66.5 PPG and Oregon scores 75.8 PPG while yielding 65.5 PPG.

East

#6 Vanderbilt vs. #2 Georgetown

“Hoya Paranoia” is officially back! After a decent start, Georgetown has rolled through the second half of the season.  Over their last 18 games, they are 17-1 SU.  They have definitely improved ATS as the season has progressed as well. After opening the season 1-4-1 ATS, the Hoyas have covered 78.3% of their games.  With their great interior play of Jeff Green and Roy Hibbert, the Hoyas as a team shoot 50.5% from the field.  Like the Georgetown teams from years ago, they also excel on defense.  Hoya opponents averaged only 56.8 PPG on 38.2% shooting from the field and an extremely low 30.4% from beyond the arc.  The last stat could be of some concern to Vanderbilt considering they shoot 37.7% from long-range.  Ranking second to last in the SEC in rebounding margin, Vanderbilt will have its work cut out for them against the Hoya trees. As far as covering is concerned, Vanderbilt has been almost a “sure thing” (7-1 ATS) versus good defensive teams that allow less than 64 PPG.

#1 UNC vs. # 5 USC

The Tar Heels are as talented and as deep as any team in the country.  Going ten deep and chock full of HS All-Americans, UNC averages 86.1 PPG and scored 100+ seven times.  Led by All-American forward, Tyler Hansbrough (18.6 PPG 7.9 RPG) UNC has a very balanced attack which can kill you on the inside as well as on the perimeter.  UNC only real concern is their youth as eight of their rotation players are either sophomores or freshmen.  UNC was a reliable cover this season going 20-13 ATS.  An intriguing covering trend for the Tar Heels in recent years has been how they fared after non-conference games.  This season they are 11-3 ATS after non-conference games and over the last three seasons they are 31-13 ATS.  USC is also a pretty deep team which is loaded with swingman types.  An match-up to keep an eye on will be freshman forward Taj Gibson (12.1 PPG, 8.6 RPG) as he squares off against the AA Hansbrough.  USC has been a covering machine this season achieving a 21-10 record ATS.  They have thrived in the underdog role, having covered 10 out of 12.  When playing a team with a winning record, the Trojans are an incredible 20-6 ATS. Keep in mind, USC dedicated their season to former star to Ryan Francis who passed away before the season so as they get closer to the ultimate goal, emotion could definitely be on their side.

With Friday -105 juice on Basketball betting, MySportsbook.com is the place to bet on all of the “March Madness” action.  Don’t forget to monitor who the public is backing at this sportsbook “Betting Trends”.  By doing so, you have the best chance of predicting a possible line change, thus getting the best value for your wager.

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