Royals continue set with Orioles in Kansas City

Baseball Betting Lines

07/30/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Baltimore Orioles hope a flurry of changes can help lead to more results like the team produced on Thursday.

The revamped club will set its sights on a second straight victory over the Kansas City Royals, who'll be out to put an end to a five-game losing streak in tonight's clash between the teams from Kauffman Stadium.

Baltimore announced prior to Thursday's game it had hired Buck Showalter to serve as the team's new manager, although the former Yankees, Diamondbacks and Rangers skipper won't officially take over until the Orioles return from their current road trip on Tuesday. Baltimore fired field general Dave Trembley on June 4, with interim manager Juan Samuel having gone 17-31 since assuming those duties.

Showalter won't have Miguel Tejada to put in his lineup, however, as the Orioles traded the former American League MVP to San Diego on Thursday in exchange for minor league pitcher Wynn Pelzer.

Baltimore did just fine without Tejada in last night's opener of this four- game series, rallying for a 6-5 extra-inning victory to stop a five-game slide. Ty Wigginton, another Orioles player rumored to be on the trading block, drove in the winning run with a sacrifice fly in the top of the 11th inning.

The Orioles trailed 5-3 after five innings, but scored single runs in both the sixth and eighth frames to draw even. Corey Patterson knotted the score with a solo homer off Royals reliever Robinson Tejeda with two out in the top of the eighth.

"Going over the scouting report on him, we knew he had a good fastball," Patterson said of Tejeda. "So I told myself to just say 'heater.' In the back of my mind, I thought he was going to throw me something off-speed and I kept fouling them. He didn't and obviously during that at-bat, when you see the same pitch, you're going to get a pretty good track on it."

In the 11th, Cesar Izturis worked a leadoff walk against Kansas City's Blake Wood (0-2) and moved to third on a Brian Roberts single before crossing the plate on Wigginton's fly ball to left.

"It just boils down to a leadoff walk," said Wood afterward. "You just can't do that [with the] game tied like that. I was just trying to be a little too fine."

Both Wigginton and Patterson finished with two RBI and Nick Markakis added a solo homer for Baltimore, which received a combined 7 2/3 scoreless innings from its relief corps after starter Brian Matusz was rocked for five runs over the first 3 1/3 frames. David Hernandez (5-7) picked up the win by shutting out the Royals in the ninth and 10th.

Kansas City, which has now lost 14 of its last 17 contests, received two hits and an RBI out of Yuniesky Betancourt in its most recent setback.

The Royals will be trying to get back in the win column tonight, as well as enabling the recently-acquired Sean O'Sullivan to notch his first victory with his new team. Tonight the young right-hander will be making his second start since being obtained by Kansas City from the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim last week as part of a trade that sent infielder Alberto Callaspo to the Halos.

O'Sullivan's Royals debut did not go well, as the 22-year-old was tagged for five runs and a pair of homers over five innings in a road loss to the New York Yankees on Sunday. Ironically, he defeated the defending world champions in Yankee Stadium in his final start as a Angel, tossing six innings of two- run ball and logging four strikeouts back on July 20.

The San Diego native made two starts against Baltimore as a rookie last season and received a no-decision both times, although he allowed 10 runs and 16 hits over a combined 9 2/3 innings of work.

Rookie Jake Arrieta gets the call for the Orioles tonight and will be out to improve upon a pair of shaky starts to begin the second half. The highly- regarded righty surrendered five runs in a 5 1/3-inning no-decision against Tampa Bay on July 20, then followed up by permitting five runs and walking four batters while lasting only four frames in Sunday's 10-4 loss to Minnesota.

Both of those outings took place at home, so perhaps leaving the hitter- friendly confines of Camden Yards will work to Arrieta's benefit. He's done well in limited action on the road, having compiled a 2-1 record and a 3.18 earned run average in four away assignments.

In nine overall starts since being promoted from the minors in June, Arrieta has gone 3-3 with a 5.40 ERA.

These teams split a pair of meetings in Baltimore back in May, as well as a four-game series held at Kauffman Stadium last season.

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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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