07/25/2008 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A battle for second place in the American League West begins tonight at Oakland's McAfee Coliseum, where the Athletics take on the hard-hitting Texas Rangers in the first of three consecutive clashes.
The A's and Rangers are currently separated by only a half-game in the division standings, although both teams are well behind the front-running Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Oakland occupies second place for the time being with a 52-49 record, but is 10 games in back of the Angels in the race for the top spot.
Texas has had the upper hand in this year's season series, though. The Rangers have won six of nine matchups with the Athletics in 2008 and took two of three tests at the Coliseum in early May.
That string of success could continue if Vicente Padilla duplicates his most recent performance in tonight's opener. The Texas right-hander returned from a stint on the disabled list and promptly fired seven shutout innings to defeat Minnesota on Sunday. Padilla limited the Twins to three hits and walked two in the Rangers' 1-0 win.
Sunday's triumph at the Metrodome moved Padilla to 8-2 in 12 road starts this season, and Texas has emerged victorious in 10 of those outings. That includes a 4-3 decision in Oakland on May 2 in which the native Nicaraguan yielded three runs -- one earned -- over 5 2/3 innings to get the win.
Padilla owns a 4-1 record with a 4.26 earned run average in 10 lifetime appearances against the A's, eight of which have been starts.
Recent addition Sean Gallagher takes the mound tonight for Oakland and will be making his third start for the Athletics since being acquired as part of the July 8 deal that sent standout pitcher Rich Harden to the Chicago Cubs.
Gallagher shined in his Oakland debut, allowing two runs and just two hits while fanning seven over seven innings to beat the Angels on July 11. The rookie then struck out seven in five frames against the Yankees on Saturday, but received a no-decision after giving up a pair of runs in his team's 4-3 defeat.
This will be the first career start against Texas for Gallagher, who is a combined 4-4 with a 4.20 ERA in 14 games (12 starts) between the Cubs and A's.
Oakland enters this series having lost seven of its last eight contests and was handed a 4-3 defeat by Tampa Bay in Wednesday's rubber match of a three- game set from Tropicana Field.
Emil Brown and Carlos Gonzalez belted back-to-back solo homers for the Athletics in the second inning, but Oakland mustered just four other hits on the day. Brown knocked in another run with a ninth-inning sacrifice fly.
Oakland starter Greg Smith (5-9) took the loss after permitting four runs on five hits over the first six-plus innings. The rookie lefty was hurt by giving up homers to Jonny Gomes and Ben Zobrist during Tampa's three-run fifth.
Texas will try to rebound from Wednesday's 10-8 loss in Chicago, where the White Sox rallied for five runs in the bottom of the eighth inning to forge ahead.
Chicago went in front on Carlos Quentin's three-run homer off Rangers closer C.J. Wilson, who had just entered the game in place of an ineffective Eddie Guardado.
Guardado (1-2) started the bottom of the eighth with Texas holding an 8-5 lead, but the veteran lefty gave up three hits and walked one while recording only two outs. He was charged with four of the five runs allowed in the inning.
Michael Young went 2-for-5 with a homer and two RBI for the Rangers, losers of two straight, while Jarrod Saltalamacchia contributed a two-run single on the afternoon.
<< Ichiro, Mariners open series at Toronto
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ichiro Suzuki closes in on a significant milestone this
evening when the Seattle Mariners open a three-game series with the Toronto
Blue Jays at Rogers Centre.
Suzuki enters tonight's opener just five hits s
<< Surging Yankees pay a visit to rival Red Sox
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Boston Red Sox expect to have David Ortiz back in the
lineup this evening when they start a three-game series against their hated
rivals, the New York Yankees, at Fenway Park.
Ortiz hasn't played since May 31 be
<< Padres, Pirates resume series at PNC
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Pittsburgh southpaw Zach Duke tries to end a seven-start
winless skid tonight when the Pirates host the San Diego Padres in game two of
a four-game series at PNC Park.
Duke, a 20th-round draft pick in 2001, was 4-4 on th
<< Tulsa shoots for second C-USA title since '05
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Since joining Conference USA in 2005,
Tulsa has won 18 of 26 league games, and after crushing Bowling Green 63-7 in
the GMAC Bowl, the Golden Hurricane are the prohibitive favorites to pick up
their second
Bills T Peters a holdout >>
Pittsford, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Buffalo Bills Pro Bowl left tackle Jason
Peters is officially a holdout.
The 26-year-old tackle was not present when the team opened training camp on
Friday. Peters also missed all of Buffalo's volunt
Lee shoots for win No. 14 against Twins >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Runs have been quite hard to come by for the Minnesota
Twins during the club's current losing streak. A matchup with Cleveland
Indians ace Cliff Lee likely won't help matters.
The struggling Twins take their swings again
Angels send Saunders to hill at Baltimore >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Joe Saunders goes after win No. 13 this evening when the
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim kick off a 10-game road trip with the first of
three games against the Baltimore Orioles at Camden Yards.
However, in a year whe
Stumbling Phils return home to battle Braves >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Philadelphia Phillies will try to regroup against
another familiar foe this evening, as they kick off a three-game series
versus the NL East-rival Atlanta Braves at Citizens Bank Park.
Philadelphia just dr
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.
Chiefs' Treen Green out for Sunday's game
How long Trent Green will remain sidelined is unknown. Coach Herm Edwards said Monday he will miss a second straight start Sunday when the Chiefs host the San Francisco 49ers.
A two-time Pro Bowler, Green was going into a feet-first hook slide when he was knocked unconscious by a thunderous, head-snapping hit from Cincinnati's Robert Geathers.
Oddsmakers at online sportsbook MySportsbook.com currently have the Chiefs listed as 7-point favorites versus the 49ers.
The 49ers got beat by Philadelphia 38-24 as a 6.5-point underdog last week. The combined score went OVER the posted over/under total (42.5).
Alex Smith completed 27-of-46 passes for 293 yards with a touchdown. Michael Robinson rushed for 29 yards and a pair of touchdowns on five carries.
The Chiefs lost 9-6 to Denver last week as an 11-point underdog. The combined score was well UNDER the posted over/under total (38).
Larry Johnson rushed for 126 yards on 27 carries. Damon Huard completed 17-of-23 passes for 133 yards with no touchdowns and no interceptions.
To visit this online sports book got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs.
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