08/26/2008 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim pitcher John Lackey attempts to continue a long personal undefeated streak when he faces an Oakland Athletics squad he's dominated over the course of his career tonight, when the two American League West rivals continue a three-game set at Angel Stadium.
Lackey owns a stellar 13-3 record and a 2.77 earned run average over 24 lifetime starts against Oakland, the right-hander's most wins against any single opponent. He improved that mark with an excellent outing versus the A's on June 6, with Lackey yielding just one run and four hits through seven innings of a 3-1 Anaheim win.
The 2007 All-Star has also won his last five decisions to run his season record to 10-2, and hasn't lost in nine starts since a July 5 setback to Toronto.
Lackey has garnered no-decisions in three of his four recent mound trips, but he pitched well enough to win against Minnesota last Thursday. The 29-year-old limited the Twins to one run and five hits over eight innings.
He'll be aiming to avenge the Angels' narrow loss to the Athletics in Monday's series opener. Dallas Braden and two Oakland relievers teamed up on a seven- hitter as Oakland edged Anaheim by a 2-1 score.
Braden (4-3) worked the first seven innings and allowed the one run and seven hits, with Joey Devine and Brad Ziegler each following with perfect frames to seal the victory.
Daric Barton had a solo home run for the A's, who will be trying to record back-to-back wins for the first time since July 10-11 tonight.
Angels starter Jered Weaver (10-10) was hung with a hard-luck loss after surrendering just two runs and three hits while striking out eight over seven frames. Mike Napoli accounted for Anaheim's lone run with a solo homer off Braden in the bottom of the sixth.
The Angels have now dropped eight of their last 12 contests but still hold a sizeable 16-game lead on second-place Texas in the AL West.
Greg Smith takes the mound for Oakland this evening and seeks a repeat of his strong last start, when the rookie fired six shutout innings to defeat Seattle on Thursday. That halted a string of six straight losing decisions for the young lefty, who is just 6-12 during his debut campaign despite a solid 3.75 ERA.
Smith has allowed two or less runs in each of his last four starts, having compiled an impressive 2.08 ERA over that span. However, he's lost two of those matchups due to poor run support.
The 24-year-old will be making his fourth start against Anaheim this season and is 1-2 with a 2.70 ERA versus the Angels in 2008. The last time he faced the Halos, Smith tossed a complete-game four-hitter at Angel Stadium to lead Oakland to a 6-1 win on June 30.
The Angels have won eight of the 14 meetings between these AL West foes in 2008, with the teams having split eight games in Anaheim so far this year.
<< Rangers, Royals play second of three in KC
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Right-hander Zack Greinke will try to replicate the
effort, but not the result of an early season meeting when the Kansas City
Royals host the Texas Rangers in the second test of a three-game series at
Kauffman Stadium.
<< Tampa Bay Buccaneers 2008 Season Preview
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The defending NFC South champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers won't
be entering the 2008 season with history on their side.
Since the NFL adopted the current eight-division format in 2002, no NFC South
team that captured the title
<< New Orleans Saints 2008 Season Preview
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - When it comes to the New Orleans Saints, expect the
unexpected.
A franchise that has seen its share of dark days hit rock bottom in 2005, when
the Saints stumbled their way through a miserable 3-13 campaign that saw the
t
<< Celtics sign first round pick
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Boston Celtics signed guard J.R. Giddens to
an undisclosed contract Tuesday.
Giddens, the team's first round draft pick out of New Mexico, was the Mountain
West Conference co-Player of the Year as a senior
Atlanta Falcons 2008 Season Preview >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - As co-founder and former CEO of Home Depot, Atlanta Falcons
owner Arthur Blank knows a thing or two about remodeling jobs. That's a good
thing, since his team is currently in need of a makeover even Ty Pennington
and his crew
Mets put NL East lead on line in Philly >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Phillies trailed the Mets by seven games in mid-
September of last season before rallying to capture the National League East
title. Needless to say, they are trying to keep it closer this year.
Trailing th
Cubs try to overpower Pirates once again >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago Cubs try to continue their season-long mastery
of the Pittsburgh Pirates this evening, when the National League Central
rivals resume their three-game series at PNC Park.
Chicago, which leads the major
Marlins resume road trip against battered Braves >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Florida Marlins will resume a nine-game road trip this
evening with the first of three straight meetings with the National League
East-rival Atlanta Braves at Turner Field.
The Marlins are 3-3 so far on the trek a
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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