Angels try to avoid rare sweep at hands of Indians

Baseball Betting Lines

09/08/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Angels haven't been swept by Cleveland at home in more than a decade. They'll try to avoid that distinction tonight in the finale of a three-game series from the Big A.

Anaheim was previously swept in this series from August 9-11, 1999 and suffered a 6-1 drubbing in Tuesday's second portion of this set. Trevor Bell earned the start for the Halos and suffered the loss for allowing the first two runs on four hits and three walks over 5 1/3 innings. Francisco Rodriguez was reached for four runs in the sixth inning.

"Trevor never got into a rhythm," said Angels manager Mike Scioscia. "We had one bad inning, and they were patient and got the home run. We have to clean some stuff up."

Reggie Willits had three hits and Torii Hunter cracked his 21st home run of the season for the Angels, losers in five straight at home and 15 of the past 21 games overall. LA, which is still 9 1/2 games behind Texas for the American League West lead, hasn't dropped six in a row as the host since 2002.

Since winning four consecutive starts in June, Angels starter Scott Kazmir has dropped three straight and eight of his previous nine trips to the hill with a 7.74 earned run average over that period. Kazmir will take the mound tonight and is coming off Friday's 8-0 loss at Oakland in which he tossed 5 2/3 innings of two-run ball and walked a season-high six batters.

The lefty is 8-13 with a 6.19 ERA in 23 starts this season and hasn't fared too well at home, going 2-7 in nine starts at the Big A. Kazmir is 1-2 with a 7.07 ERA in six career starts against the Tribe.

Cleveland has won two in a row and four of its last six games, and hasn't recorded a sweep since taking all four meetings with Detroit from July 16-18. In Tuesday's five-run victory over the Angels, Lou Marson hit a grand slam to highlight a five-run sixth inning and Travis Hafner led off the frame with a solo shot for the Indians.

Justin Masterson got the start for Cleveland and posted the win by holding Los Angeles to a run on six hits and two walks with five K's in seven frames.

"I had good control with my mechanics," Masterson said. "I kept the ball down in the zone, and I had some good defense. Things are coming together."

Rookie Josh Tomlin gets the starting nod for the Tribe tonight and he's aiming for his third straight victory. He defeated Seattle last Thursday at Safeco Field and hurled six innings of three-run ball while striking out five batters. The right-hander improved to 3-3 in seven starts with a 4.14 earned run average.

Tomlin is 1-2 in four away appearances this season and has never faced the Angels.

Anaheim took two of three at home over the Indians back in April and has won six of the last 10 overall meetings.

Lasveggas Baseball Betting News

<< Injury-riddled White Sox resume set in Detroit
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Injuries are starting to pile up for the Chicago White Sox. Today, the short-handed White Sox will continue their push towards the postseason, as they play the third installment of a four-game series against the

<< Orioles aim for rare sweep of Yanks in the Bronx
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Baltimore Orioles have been the worst team in the American League all season. Today, though, the Orioles will have a chance to do something against the best team in baseball that they haven't done in more than 2

<< Red Sox, Rays ready for rubber match at Fenway
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tim Wakefield gets the call on short notice this evening when the Boston Red Sox and Tampa Bay Rays play the rubber match of their three-game series at Fenway Park. After getting blown out in the opener of this set

<< Mets to wrap up long trip with matinee against Nats
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Apparently, winning four straight games just isn't the Washington Nationals' thing. After failing to win more than three games in a row for the seventh time this season, Washington instead seeks a series victory over the N

<< Stampeders and Eskimos meet for second time this week
Edmonton, AB (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Friday night brings out the best and the worst in the Canadian Football League as the slumping Edmonton Eskimos entertain the high-flying Calgary Stampeders in a Western Division showdown at Commonwealth Stadium.

Astros, Cubs wrap set at Wrigley Field >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Houston Astros have to be thinking about returning home for an extended period of time. But first they have to take care of business in the Windy City, as the Astros shoot for a series win over the Chicago Cubs tonight in

Rangers hope to lasso win over Jays up north >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Texas Rangers are doing their best to give away the lead in the American League West. Luckily for them, though, nobody else seems to want it. Tonight, the Rangers try to snap a five-game losing streak when they co

Twins close out homestand with Royals >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Minnesota Twins will close out another successful home stand this evening, when the American League Central leaders take aim at a series sweep of the Kansas City Royals at Target Field. The Twins have gone 7-1 thus far

Rockies continue late playoff push against Reds >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - With the Colorado Rockies making a belated push for a playoff spot, Carlos Gonzalez has been enhancing his credentials for a possible National League MVP Award with his performance over the past few weeks. Gonzalez puts a

Padres go for sweep of LA >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The San Diego Padres were in serious danger of falling out of first place in the National League's West Division, but a couple of games against the fading Los Angeles Dodgers seems to have gotten the surprising squad back on

SPORTS BETTING: NFL Football Sportsbook Betting

NFL owners, already life's biggest winners, want to try their luck with the lottery.


That was the news out of their meetings last week, where team bosses voted unanimously to allow stamping state and local lottery tickets with franchise logos, if, ahem, any governments wanted to do a deal.

A shocker: Within days the Pats announced they'd be sponsoring the Massachusetts state lottery, the Skins said they'd slap their sticker on Virginia scratch-offs and the Ravens admitted they were talking to Maryland lottery bosses. In all likelihood, it won't be long before every team is a presenting sponsor of scratch-offs or just plain old pick fives. "The change in policy was approved 32-0," said NFL spokesman Greg Aiello. "So you can expect to see more deals soon."

It's a branding opportunity too big for the owners to ignore, and one a couple of dozen baseball franchises have enjoyed for years. The fact the NFL has been slower to act than those slack-brained Seligites is indicative of its complicated relationship with all forms of gambling. Consider this: Last Thursday, as the Pats and the Redskins finalized their new lottery deals, a lawyer representing the NFL argued before Delaware's Supreme Court that the state's newly signed sports betting law should be repealed.

The NFL betting is the face of opposition to sports gambling . And as much as it would like to share that responsibility with other leagues, that's not going to happen as long as more than 40% of all money legally wagered on games is bet on football. That's why the Brewers can do a multi-million dollar deal with a local casino, or the Celtics can make their own pact with the Mass lottery, and the response is, "Sweet, let's play." But when the NFL does it the stakes are higher, and everyone from NPR's Frank Deford to the Associated Press to the guys blogging at Deadspin will line up to play gotcha.

So I asked Aiello, who surely knew there'd be piling on, how the league can rail against being bait for sports bettors, then allow its franchises to be just that for lotteries, the most insidious and addictive form of gambling around. He emailed me this response: "We are not moral crusaders. NFL personnel are permitted to engage in legal forms of gambling, except for betting on NFL games. We are making a distinction here between the spread of gambling on the outcome of our games and supporting state lottery scratch-off games, that have nothing to do with the outcome of our games."

Here's where I should rip him. But, the thing is, he's right. Not to get Obama on you, but this is a complicated, nuanced issue. As much as lotteries are considered a tax on the poor, the NFL isn't a socially obligated government program -- it's just a business. Scratch-off's help the bottom line, sports betting doesn't. Now, it's okay to call the league hypocritical when it releases injury reports, which players have told me only helps bettors … But when it supports other forms of gaming? Big Deal.

Now, it's okay to call the league hypocritical when it releases injury reports, which players have told me only helps bettors. And it's okay to mutter something obscene when the league pretends gambling doesn't help drive TV ratings and fan interest and put money in owners' pockets. But when it supports other forms of gaming? Big Deal. The Bears should put an orange "C" on every deck of cards dealt at Harrah's in Joliet; the Eagles should slap their logo on roulette wheels at the Borgata in Atlantic City; the Dolphins should hold training camp at the El San Juan in Puerto Rico.

Seriously.

The NFL's problem, when it comes to the gambling world, isn't hypocrisy, it's worse: The bosses lack vision. That's why the league is picking unwinnable fights in Delaware and taking pot shots from critics after making smart sponsorship deals. Roger Goodell and his gang are acting and thinking locally rather than globally, which is rare for them, especially compared to their professional (and amateur) counterparts.

The NBA held its All Star game in Las Vegas and David Stern's kingdom didn't crumble (although the town did bring plenty of players to their knees.) I'd say it's 6 to 5 and pick 'em that Lebron will make a road swing through Sin City before his career is over.

Even the NCAA College Football Betting is more progressive on this issue than the NFL. Several years ago Rachel Newman Baker, college sports' gambling czar, opened a dialogue with Vegas bookmakers to learn about how they do business. She's visited Nevada sports books, studied their operations and listened to how they regulate action. Now she knows she can expect a call from bookmakers, who lose money when sports are fixed, if they think something sketchy is going on in NCAA games. She's not in favor of sports betting, but, as she once told me, "I know it's not going away, either."

The NFL can't seem to accept that. And until it can find peace with the idea, it'll get flack, even when it's right.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your Sportsbook accepts MasterCard needs.