Angels send Weaver to mound in finale with Royals

Baseball Betting Lines

06/03/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jered Weaver can get the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim back to .500 this afternoon when they go for a series win in the finale of their four-game series against the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium.

Anaheim, which spent all of May below the break even mark, won for the fourth time in five tries on Wednesday, as Torii Hunter went 3-for-5 with a homer and drove in three runs, helping the Angels to a 7-2 win.

Scott Kazmir was charged with five hits and a run over 5 2/3 innings and won for just the second time in his last seven starts.

All the news was not good for the Angels, though, as outfielder Juan Rivera was forced to leave the game in the fifth inning after fouling a ball off his foot the inning before. X-Rays taken after the game were inconclusive and he is listed as day-to-day.

Kyle Davies (4-4) allowed eight hits and six runs over four-plus innings for the Royals, who lost for the fourth time in five games overall.

"I keyholed myself a little bit," Davies said. "I tried to be perfect the rest of the game and I never got in synch. Command never got to where it was supposed to be and they hit me pretty good."

David DeJesus had a pair of hits and drove in a run for Kansas City, which has lost 11 of its last 13 games against the Angels.

Weaver, meanwhile, is winless in his last four starts and comes into today's finale sporting a 4-2 mark to go along with a 3.01 ERA. Weaver allowed just an unearned run in seven innings in his last trip to the hill on Saturday against Seattle, but did not factor in the decision of his team's 5-1, 10-inning win.

The 27-year-old righty is 3-4 in seven starts against the Royals with a 3.35 ERA in seven starts.

Kansas City's hopes rest on the right arm of reigning American League Cy Young Award winner Zack Greinke, who has lost his last two starts and is just 1-6 on the year with a 3.39 ERA. Greinke pitched well in Boston on Saturday, surrendering a run and five hits in six innings, but his team could not muster a run in the 1-0 setback.

Greinke, who has allowed three runs or less in all but two of his 11 starts this season, is just 1-3 lifetime against the Angels with a 3.89 ERA in six games (five starts).

The Angels have dominated this series of late, having won 14 of their 17 most recent matchups with the Royals. They also have just three losses in their last 13 trips to Kansas City.

Wfodors Baseball Betting News

<< Rangers aim for rare road sweep of White Sox
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Texas Rangers take aim at their first three-game sweep in Chicago in 24 years this evening when they wrap up their set against the White Sox at U.S. Cellular Field. Texas moved to the brink of a sweep on Wednesday

<< Mariners go for series win over Twins
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - One day after the best player in the history of their franchise called it a career, the Seattle Mariners will try for a series win when they close out a four-game set against the Minnesota Twins tonight at Safeco

<< Sizzling Braves head out west to battle Dodgers
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The National League East-leading Atlanta Braves bring their rags to riches story to the west coast and will begin an 11-game road trip tonight with the first of four straight meetings with the Los Angeles Dodgers at Chavez Ra

<< Astros try for series win over Nationals
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Houston Astros hope to post their second winning series in more than a month when they close out a four-game set Thursday afternoon versus the Washington Nationals at Minute Maid Park. After losing the opener of this s

<< Brewers' Capuano concludes long road back to majors vs. Marlins
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - There isn't anything that strikes fear into pitchers more than the words Tommy John. The former major leaguer is more known for having a ligament replacement procedure in his name rather than 20-plus years of service and 2

Summer Bird retired from racing >>
Stanton, DE (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Champion colt Summer Bird has been retired from racing and will enter stud service. Trainer Tim Ritchey made the announcement Thursday at Delaware Park. Ritchey said that the four-year-old has been retired b

Redskins make offer to RB Westbrook >>
Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Washington Redskins have reportedly made a formal contract offer to running back Brian Westbrook. According to The Washington Post, Redskins head coach Mike Shanahan confirmed the team made an o

Ravens sign PK Graham >>
Owings Mills, MD (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Baltimore Ravens made it official Thursday and signed kicker Shayne Graham to a one-year contract. The 32-year-old had been with Cincinnati since the 2003 season and was a 2005 Pro Bowl selection

Former Hofstra coach Joe Gardi dies >>
Hempstead, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Former Hofstra University football coach Joe Gardi died Wednesday following a stroke suffered last week. He was 71 years old. Gardi compiled a 119-62-2 record in 16 seasons at Hofstra from 1990 to 2005. Both

Men's semis set for Friday in Paris >>
Paris, France (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The men's French Open semifinals will be staged on Friday, as second-seeded Spanish star Rafael Nadal will take on 22nd-seeded Austrian Jurgen Melzer and fifth-seeded Swede Robin Soderling will face 15th-seed

Credit Card Betting: Sportsbook accepts U.S. credit cards

Online Sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard

MySportsbook.com is the best at processing US credit cards for deposits. Welcome to the most player friendly online sportsbook on the planet!

The principals behind MySportsbook are obviously a management group that understands the players needs as evidenced by their commitment to provide easy depositing with their high credit card acceptance rate and free weekly $10 bets they offer to clients with active betting accounts.

The perks don't end there! MySportsbook offers casino, poker and horses as well. Twice named Best Sportsbook by eGaming Review, this place is rock solid financially so you don't ever have to sweat the payout as you may with some other online bookies operating with less betting volume and client base.

Sign up today and grab your share of a 10% bonus that is added instantly to your betting account. Enjoy 52 risk free bets throughout the year as well!

Reasons to Play There: You have to see their no hitter, cycle hitter and slaughter rule promos for baseball. Worth a laugh and probably a few bucks throughout the MLB season. They offer supersized bonuses of 15% if you up your minimum deposit to $500 or more. Lay -105 on Friday NBA! Contests during the NFL football season!


COLLEGE FOOTBALL BETTING

NCAA Football Betting : USC's reward: Top spot in Top 25

NEW YORK (AP) -By staying away from the cupcakes, Southern California earned itself a slim new ranking.

No. 1 always seems to fit USC.

Southern California jumped two spots to No. 1 in The Associated Press Top 25 on Tuesday, rewarded by voters for opening the season with a dominant performance on the road against a BCS conference opponent.

Georgia and Ohio State, the preseason Nos. 1 and 2, respectively, started their seasons with glorified scrimmages at home against FCS (formerly I-AA) teams. USC, however, traveled across country to face Virginia and could not have been more impressive in a 52-7 victory.

Georgia fell to No. 2 and Ohio State to No 3.

"We realize that rankings so early in a season are certainly fluid. But rankings do help establish a pecking order for things later in the season," USC coach Pete Carroll said in a statement. "As for moving into the No. 1 spot, it's nice to know that people think highly of our team."

Since reaching No. 1 on Dec. 7, 2003, the final-regular season AP poll of that season, USC has been No. 1 in 39 polls, by far the most of any team during that time.

"Some have said the voters are taking our schedule into consideration," Carroll said. "Our philosophy has always been to schedule outstanding opponents. We need to play challenging games like we just did, traveling across the country to open the season at Virginia. Games like that bring out our best and make us stronger as a team."

The latest voting was close. USC received 21 first-place votes and 1,539 points from the 65-member media panel. Georgia had 20 first-place votes and 1,506 points. Ohio State got 15 first-place votes and 1,497 points.

"I'd say we've evolved as pollsters," said Stewart Mandel of SI.com, who moved USC up to No. 1. "In the past, voters just kind of automatically moved teams up and kept teams where they were if they won."

Georgia beat Georgia Southern 45-21 on Saturday and Ohio State opened with a 43-0 win over Youngstown State.

"There's a bit of a growing backlash for the amount of teams that open with I-AA cupcakes," said Mandel, whose book "Bowls, Polls and Tattered Souls" chronicles college football's controversies. "To see a team [USC] go on the road and play a New Year's Day bowl team from last season, and not only play them but destroy them, how could you not reward that team?"

USC also jumped past Georgia to No. 1 in the USA Today coaches' poll, which has the same top five as the AP poll.

"It's definitely a privilege to be No. 1. But it's not heartbreaking to me if we drop," Georgia offensive lineman Josh Davis said. "It doesn't matter right now what we're ranked. What matters is our next game and right now, that's Central Michigan. The only time the polls matter is in December. That's when the polls matter."

While the Bulldogs opened easy, their schedule ultimately should be as difficult as any team's. Georgia's big nonconference test is at No. 15 Arizona State on Sept. 20. The Bulldogs also face six Southeastern Conference rivals that've been ranked in the first two polls.

As for Ohio State, the Buckeyes play at USC on Sept. 13 before getting into the Big Ten schedule.

But of the teams in this week's top 10, USC and Texas are the only ones that don't play an FCS opponent, and the Trojans are the only team that doesn't play a team from a non-BCS conference.

Get the latest 2009 BCS Championship odds at MySportsbook.com.

The last team to drop from No. 1 after a victory was USC last season. LSU jumped from No. 2 to No. 1 when it beat Tulane 34-9, the same week the Trojans edged Washington 27-24 on the road.

The last preseason No. 1 team to lose the top spot after winning its opening game was Florida in 2001. The Gators beat Marshall 49-14, but preseason No. 2 Miami opened with a 33-7 victory over Penn State and the Hurricanes jumped to No. 1 with Florida slipping to second.

The next four teams in the new Top 25 stayed the same: No. 4 Oklahoma (two first-place votes), No. 5 Florida (five first-place votes), No. 6 Missouri (one first-place vote), No. 7 LSU (one first-place vote) and No. 8 West Virginia.

No. 9 Auburn and No. 10 Texas each moved up a spot, taking advantage of Clemson's big drop. Clemson, ninth in the preseason, fell out after losing 34-10 to Alabama on Saturday.

Also falling out after losses were Virginia Tech, Pittsburgh and Tennessee.

Moving into the rankings were No. 21 Fresno State, No. 22 Utah, No. 23 UCLA and No. 24 South Carolina.

Alabama moved up 11 spots after its big victory over Clemson.

The second 10 started with No. 11 Wisconsin, followed by Texas Tech, Alabama and Kansas. BYU and Arizona State were tied for 15th. Rivals BYU and Utah are both ranked for the first time since 1996.

South Florida was No. 17, ahead of Oregon, Penn State and Wake Forest at No. 20.

The final five were all the teams to move into the ranking, except for Illinois, which dropped four spots and tied South Carolina for No. 24.

Get free Sports Betting lines RSS feeds from top rated online sportsbook MySportsbook.com