Angels ready for key series with visiting Blue Jays

Baseball Betting Lines

08/13/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - After getting swept by the dreadful Baltimore Orioles early last week, the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim have responded in a positive way.

Still a long way off from a playoff berth, the Angels look to keep the drive going when they open a three-game series versus the Toronto Blue Jays tonight at the "Big A". They took two of three meetings in Detroit following the sweep by Baltimore and most recently won all three of their matchups with Kansas City.

Bobby Abreu continued to swing a hot bat for Anaheim since hitting from the leadoff spot, and he belted the game-winning home run in the bottom of the 10th inning of Wednesday's 2-1 victory over the Royals. Abreu, who's known for his patience at the plate and ability to work the count, owns two homers, three doubles and six runs batted in since switching to leadoff.

"It was a changeup, and he left it up," Abreu said of his 14th home run off of Jesse Chavez. "I wasn't looking for a home run, but I'll take it."

Erick Aybar had a sacrifice fly and Maicer Izturis recorded a team-best three hits for the Angels, who are 7 1/2 games behind Texas for the lead in the American League West Division. Anaheim is 11 games off the pace in the Wild Card standings.

Angels starter Jered Weaver pitched eight innings of one-run ball and struck out 11 batters in the no-decision. Kevin Jepsen hurled a scoreless ninth inning before closer Brian Fuentes fanned two in the 10th for the win.

Scott Kazmir hopes to duplicate Weaver's performance in Friday's series opener and will make his second start since coming off the disabled list due to arm fatigue. He previously pitched in last Saturday's 10-1 pounding of the Tigers at Comerica Park and gave up one unearned run in five innings. It was Kazmir's first start since July 10 at Oakland and he ended a personal four-game losing streak in the process.

The left-hander, who is 8-9 with a 6.57 ERA in 18 overall starts this season, has plenty of experience with Toronto from his days with the AL East's Tampa Bay Rays. Kazmir is 4-4 with a 3.86 ERA in 14 career starts against the Jays.

Toronto will begin a nine-game road trip against the Angels, Athletics and Red Sox tonight and has won six of its last nine games. It salvaged the finale of a three-game series versus Boston with yesterday's 6-5 victory, thanks to a four-run explosion in the bottom of the ninth inning.

Jose Bautista belted his major league-leading 36th home run of the season to lead off the ninth and Vernon Wells followed with a double before scoring on Adam Lind's ensuing single to center field. DeWayne Wise then came on as a pinch runner for Lind and later came around to score the game-tying run on a double by Edwin Encarnacion.

Fred Lewis then plated Aaron Hill, who reached on a single after Lind's hit, with the game-winning run with a sacrifice fly.

Brad Mills started for the Blue Jays and did not figure in the outcome, allowing four runs and seven hits in 4 1/3 innings. Kevin Gregg was credited with the win for tossing a scoreless ninth inning.

"Everybody did their part (Thursday)," Hill said of the comeback win. "We made some plays in the field, Brad hung in there, the bullpen pitched steady and it's always nice to start off a ninth (inning) with a home run,"

Toronto's Marc Rzepczynski will make his third start of the season tonight and is 0-1 with a 7.15 ERA in four games this season. He last pitched in the majors on July 21 at Kansas City and was dealt the loss for permitting five runs and nine hits in 4 2/3 innings.

Rzepczynski faced the Angels on August 21 of last season in a 5-4 win and earned the victory with 6 1/3 innings of one-run ball.

The Angels have taken five of six matchups with Toronto this season and won twice against the Blue Jays in a three-game series at home from May 24-26.

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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

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