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09/05/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim haven't been swept in a series of at least three games by the Oakland Athletics in more than six years, partly due to the success Ervin Santana has produced against the team's American League West rival.
The right-hander will attempt to keep that streak ongoing, while adding to his impressive career numbers versus the A's, when he takes the mound for the Angels this afternoon at the Oakland Coliseum.
Oakland's last three-game sweep of the Angels took place at the Coliseum from June 29-July 1, 2004, but the club is in position to bring out the brooms after claiming the first two tests of this set. After limiting Anaheim's sputtering offense to five hits in an 8-0 triumph in Friday's opener, the Athletics got some more effective pitching to record a 3-1 win yesterday afternoon.
Trevor Cahill (15-6) kept the Angels off the scoreboard over the game's first six innings to notch his 15th victory of the season, even though the young standout issued a career-high six walks and threw only 60-of-116 pitches for strikes.
Anaheim wasn't able to capitalize on its opportunities, stranding eight baserunners on the day and failing to come up with any clutch hits. That's been an ongoing problem for the Angels as of late, as the three-time defending division champs have lost nine of their last 12 contests and scored three runs or fewer in all of those defeats.
Torii Hunter accounted for the Halos' lone run with a solo homer in the eighth inning, with ace Jered Weaver (11-11) stuck with the loss after allowing three runs in seven innings of work.
"We didn't get anything going on the offensive side to help make that game Jered's," Angels manager Mike Scioscia remarked.
Scioscia's squad could fare better this afternoon, provided Santana can deliver his usual results against the A's. The 2008 AL All-Star boasts a tremendous 11-3 record and a 1.99 earned run average over 19 career matchups (17 starts) with Oakland and has been terrific as well at the Coliseum, where he's gone 5-1 with a 1.89 ERA in eight starts and a pair of relief efforts.
That lone loss took place in his most recent visit to Oakland, however. In a June 10 showdown with the Athletics, Santana was reached for five runs (four earned) and lasted just five innings in a 6-1 setback against Cahill.
The 27-year-old does come into today's clash having won four of his last five starts, though, and improved to 14-9 on the year after holding Seattle to two runs over 7 2/3 innings this past Monday at Safeco Field. Santana has pitched at least 6 1/3 innings and permitted three runs or fewer in each victory of that five-game stretch.
Oakland, which closed within eight games of slumping Texas for first place in the AL West with Saturday's verdict, will hand the ball to Vin Mazzaro for the finale. The sophomore hurler will be seeking a rebound from a brutal showing at Yankee Stadium on Tuesday, when he was battered for nine runs (seven earned) and served up three homers before being lifted after 3 2/3 innings.
Since winning six of his first eight decisions to begin the year, Mazzaro is 0-5 over his seven most recent starts and pitched to a 5.09 ERA over that rough stretch. His last victory took place against the Chicago White Sox at the Coliseum on July 24.
Mazzaro has fared well in two previous encounters with the Angels this season, having gone 1-0 and allowing just three runs over a span of 12 innings. He's 1-1 with a 4.95 ERA over four career starts in this series.
Oakland has won six of nine meetings with the Angels at the Coliseum thus far in 2010, as well as eight of 15 overall games between the divisional foes this season.
<< Red-hot Phils attempt season sweep of Brewers
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Philadelphia Phillies shoot for their sixth straight
win and try to complete season sweep of the Milwaukee Brewers this afternoon
at Citizens Bank Park.
The Phillies, who also swept the Brewers in a three-game set back
<< Cellar-dwellers wrap up set at PNC Park
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A pair of struggling one-win pitchers square off today at
PNC Park when the host Pittsburgh Pirates and visiting Washington Nationals
meet in the rubber game of a three-game weekend series.
The Nationals dropped Friday's o
<< Minor shoots for fourth straight win in rubber match with Marlins
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rookie Mike Minor goes for a fourth straight win this
afternoon when the Atlanta Braves play the rubber match of their three-game
series against the Florida Marlins at Sun Life Stadium.
After getting a no-decision in his b
<< Yanks should have A-Rod back for finale with Jays
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Yankees have put together their longest
winning streak of the season without the presence of Alex Rodriguez in their
lineup. The All-Star third baseman hopes to provide the American League East
leaders a further
Wilson, Rangers hope to avoid sweep in Minnesota >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Hoping to avoid a series sweep at the hands of the
Minnesota Twins, the Texas Rangers may have the right pitcher on the mound
today to accomplish that goal.
C.J. Wilson will attempt to register his eighth consecutive winni
Giants, Dodgers play rubber match at Chavez Ravine >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Hiroki Kuroda nearly threw a no-hitter in his last trip to
the hill. Tonight, the Los Angeles Dodgers will settle for a win, as they
play the rubber match of their three-game set against the San Francisco Giants
at Dodgers St
Rockies try to pin 10th straight loss on reeling Padres >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The San Diego Padres try to avoid their worst losing streak
in more than 16 years this afternoon when they play the finale of their three-
game series with the Colorado Rockies at Petco Park.
San Diego has been baseball's
Happ goes for Astros in the desert >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Newly-minted Astro lefty J.A. Happ can make it five wins in
seven decisions with Houston today when they visit Chase Field to close out a
three-game weekend series with the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Arizona won Friday's opener
MySportsbook.com and Kentucky Derby Offer Bonuses
The 2008 Kentucky Derby has announced a $1-million bonus for this weekend’s 134th ‘Run for the Roses’ and MySportsbook.com is doing the same.
Well, not quite $1 million, but MySportsbook.com is offering a 75% rebate for Kentucky Derby lines. Check out the exclusive horse racing bonus for all the details.
According to MySportsbook.com, the favorites for Saturday’s Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky are: Curlin (+250); Street Sense (+500); Scat Daddy (+700); Circular Quay (+750); and Nobiz Like Shobiz (+800).
Derby organizers announced this week that there will be a $1-million bonus at the 2007 Kentucky Derby odds if the first-place horse wins by more than 6 1/2 lengths – the margin of Barbaro's victory last year. The bonus would be divided Saturday among the winning trainer, jockey, owner and a charity, with each receiving 25 percent. The designated charity is the Barbaro Memorial Fund.
''It's certainly creative, it's certainly fun and it has something for the horsemen, which we always want to embrace,'' Churchill Downs president and chief executive Robert Evans said at a news conference. ''What's really cool is it will force us to remember Barbaro.''
Meanwhile, the Derby favorite – Curlin – is going against the odds this year. It's been 125 years since Apollo won after skipping his 2-year-old season, and not since Regret in 1915 has such a lightly seasoned horse worn the blanket of red roses.
Arkansas Derby winner Curlin – unbeaten in three career races – tries to overcome both those obstacles in Saturday's 133rd Derby.
''We're not running against history,'' trainer Steve Asmussen said Monday. ''We're running against who they load up.''
Six other horses have run in the Derby without benefit of 2-year-old races and with three or fewer starts. The best any of them managed was a sixth-place finish by Showing Up last year.
Asmussen dismissed suggestions that Curlin's lack of racing experience could keep him from the winner's circle.
”He exudes confidence and he's got a great presence about him,'' the trainer said. ''I feel great about the position we're in. He's not worried about anything, why should you be?''
The Kentucky Derby is at 4:04 p.m., ET Saturday.
For complete odds on the Kentucky Derby, visit MySportsbook.com. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.
(This is an update of a sportsbook for the May 4th issue of ESPN The Magazine).
The Kentucky Derby's post-position draw happened on Wednesday. And, as is always the case, shortly afterwards, a buzz raced around Churchill Downs. It was a low rumble at first, nothing that the squares in the mint julep crowd pick up right away. But by the time the sun set over the twin spires, the chatter was impossible to ignore. Everyone -- sharps, trainers, owners -- was talking about one thing: the wise guy horse, the pre-draw long shot us mopes didn't have on our radar until it was too late.
"You think you're hearing the scoop," says handicapper Lane Gold. "Then you get to the window, the odds are short, and you missed it."
Recognizing a wise-guy horse early is as hard as picking a Derby bonnet. That's because handicappers don't like hype (see ya, I Want Revenge). They want Thoroughbreds who look good losing prep races like the Santa Anita Derby. They eye horses who ate up the field after starting wide or made an easy transition from synthetic tracks to dirt. They look for ponies who showed muscle gain race to race and those who ran hard after several weeks' rest.
"A wise guy," says John Avello, a bookmaker at Wynn Las Vegas, "looks for a horse who can improve."
When I first wrote Horse Betting for The Mag, which I turned in a three weeks before Wednesday's draw, I predicted these three horses had wise guy potential:
CHOCOLATE CANDY (15-1 in mid-April, currently 20-1 according to Avello): His second-place finish at Santa Anita, following a seven-week layoff, proved two things: He can run after resting, and -- by losing a high-profile prep race -- he wouldn't be overhyped.
DESERT PARTY (15-1; 15-1): He was upset in the UAE Derby by a horse he had beaten twice. The public remembers his loss, but the wise guys his wins.
PIONEEROF THE NILE (8-1; 4-1): The big favorite at Santa Anita struggled to win, so he initially got less hype than Quality Road and I Want Revenge.
You may have noticed that the odds on Pioneerof the Nile have been cut in half, from 8-1 to 4-1. Which means the wise guys took a shine to him long before the post-position draw. But, to be honest, this is one of those years with four elite horses getting everyone's attention, squares and sharps alike.
"You're not gonna get a lot of chatter about a horse that isn't in that group, which includes Pioneer, I Want Revenge, Dunkirk and Friesan Fire," Avello told me Wednesday. "We don't have a group of horses behind those top four who look like real legit contenders."
Come Derby week, the final two elements in picking a wise guy horse are how he's working out and what gate he's coming out of.
(By the way, picking a Preakness favorite is a whole different bale of hay, partially based on how horses finish in the Derby. You can see my analysis of who has the best shot at Pimlico on Insider Sunday morning.)
Well, early in the week I Want Revenge, Pioneerof the Nile and Friesan Fire were working out better than anyone. Some thought Friesan Fire, currently 6-1, might have run too fast, burning a five-furlong run in :57 4/5. "When you are running that fast you have the sense that it took something out of him," says Gold. "The Derby is longer than any horse has run, and if they need that extra surge you worry they won't have it because they burned it in the workout."
But, Gold points out, Friesan Fire's trainer is Larry Jones, Two years ago his horse Hard Spun did a five-eighths workout in :57 3/5 and then went on to finish second, behind Street Sense, in the Derby. "Every trainer has different methods," says Gold. "And clearly he knows what he's doing."
Now, as for starting position, Gold says to remember this: Churchill Downs traditionally has 14 starting gates. For the Derby, it brings out auxiliary gates and between the original 14th gate and the new 15th gate, there is a little more space than there is between gates 1-14. "That 15 position will give you a precious second or two to sort out what's happening to your inside," says Gold. "Sixteen is also okay because you can follow the horse in front of you."
Dunkirk, one of the race favorites, is coming out of gate 15. In 16 is Baffert's Pioneerof the Nile. I Want Revenge drew 13, where Smarty Jones won from in 2004, and Friesan Fire picked the sixth position. "He doesn't have a lot of speed to the inside of him," says Gold. "So he will get a clear shot to be near the front."
All the jibber-jabber means this: Pioneerof the Nile has leapfrogged from 8-1 to being the second favorite, along with Dunkirk, behind I Want Revenge. Meanwhile, Friesan Fire, with a good trainer, a strong week of training and a decent post position, is still at 6-1. "By Saturday, it's possible he could go from fourth to the favorite," says Gold.
In other words, meet Friesan Fire, your 2009 wise guy horse.
"Now," says Avello, "it's time for action."
To visit this horse betting site go to MySportsbook.com for all your horse racing betting needs.
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