AL West-leading Rangers aim to snap skid in Baltimore

Baseball Betting Lines

08/19/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Texas Rangers try to snap a three-game losing streak this evening when they open a four-game series with the Baltimore Orioles at Camden Yards.

After splitting a two-game set with the New York Yankees, then taking two of three from the Boston Red Sox, the Rangers' recent success against the American League East ran out this week, as they were swept in three games by the Tampa Bay Rays, falling 8-6 in Wednesday's finale at Tropicana Field.

Mitch Moreland clubbed a two-run homer and Taylor Teagarden contributed a solo shot for the AL West-leading Rangers, who have dropped five of seven and sit eight games in front of both Anaheim and Oakland in the division.

Derek Holland (2-2), who was recalled from Triple-A Oklahoma City prior to the game to make the start in place of Rich Harden, yielded five runs on six hits with four walks and struck out eight over 4 1/3 innings.

A series against the woeful Baltimore Orioles could be just what the Rangers need. However, it was the Orioles who handed Texas its longest losing streak of the year earlier in the season when it swept a four-game set in Arlington just before the All-Star break.

Texas is actually just 4-12 against teams from the AL East on the road with all four victories coming at Fenway Park.

Hoping to avoid another four-game slide for the Rangers tonight will be righty Colby Lewis, who has lost his last four decisions. Lewis' latest setback came on Saturday against the Red Sox, despite a solid effort that saw him surrender a run and six hits in 6 2/3 innings of a 3-1 loss. Lewis also struck out nine, but still fell to 9-9, while lowering his earned run average to 3.28.

"It is what it is," Lewis said. "You just roll with the punches. I'm used to one-run games. Last year I was 11-9 in Japan with a [2.96] ERA. That's the way it goes. If you do what you can to keep your team in the game, you're doing your job. That's the way it is."

Lewis will be making his second start against the Orioles and is 0-1 in three appearances against them with a 6.75 ERA.

Baltimore will counter with young lefty Brian Matusz, who is 4-12 with a 5.28 ERA. Matusz absorbed the loss on Saturday against the Rays, who battered him for five runs and nine hits in just four innings.

Matusz has faced the Rangers three times and is 1-1, despite a 10.95 ERA.

The Orioles enter tonight's opener on the heels of dropping two of three to the Seattle Mariners, culminating with a 6-5 loss in Wednesday's rubber match.

Matt Wieters hit a two-run homer and Luke Scott added a two-run single for the Orioles, who have dropped five of seven. Jeremy Guthrie (7-12) was charged with six runs -- five earned -- on eight hits over eight innings.

"It came down to a couple of pitches," Guthrie said. "It's unfortunate on a night like this that I couldn't pitch better."

Still and all, the Orioles are 10-6 in 16 games under new manager Buck Showalter, the team's best stretch of baseball since 2008.

Baltimore has won six of its last eight meetings with the Rangers.

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COLLEGE FOOTBALL BETTING

NCAA Football Betting

Many fans thought it was the best side in the nation by the end of last season. This year, the polls have built on Georgia's momentum and granted it the No. 1 preseason ranking, followed by Ohio State and USC. (The Associated Press has the Buckeyes at No. 2; USA Today took the Trojans.)

"To have people believing we have one of the best teams in the nation going into this thing, it's exciting for us," Bulldogs coach Mark Richt told the AP. "I don't think anything is guaranteed, but we certainly have put ourselves in position where at least the college football world thinks we're pretty good."

Georgia Bulldogs - 9.5 wins

There's no question they're good, but the Bulldogs have one of the toughest 12-game schedules in the nation, mostly because they play in the powerhouse Southeastern Conference. Away games at No. 15 Arizona State, No. 7 LSU and No. 10 Auburn loom large, with contests between the hedges versus No. 24 Alabama and No. 18 Tennessee as well as the World's Largest Cocktail Party in Jacksonville versus No.5 Florida.

Ohio State Buckeyes - 10 wins

Like the Bulldogs, the Buckeyes also have a number of tough road contests in 2008. After two scrimmages dressed up as real games versus Youngstown State and Ohio, it's off to face USC. Other tough away games include No.13 Wisconsin in October and No. 20 Illinois in November. Granted, it should be pretty easy sledding at the Horseshoe. In fact, the only ranked team that travels to Columbus is No. 22 Penn State, in October.

USC Trojans - 10.5 wins

A similarly light schedule awaits the Trojans of Southern California, which is why the oddsmakers' total is one win more and the over is currently commanding -150 odds. Pete Carroll's troops only play three ranked teams in 2008, and all of those games are at home. After what should be an easy trip to Virginia to start things off on Aug. 30, the Trojans get two weeks to prepare for Ohio State in Los Angeles. Their two other ranked opponents, No. 21 Oregon and No. 15 Arizona State, visit in consecutive weeks to start the month of October. After that, the competition eases up. Of course, this is the same highly-touted school that lost to Stanford in 2007 and Oregon State in 2006. And don't discount the fact that USC plays its biggest rivals, Notre Dame and UCLA, back-to-back to close out the regular season. On paper, the Trojans are far superior, but motivation will be high for the Irish and Bruins, especially if their historic foes are in national-title contention.

Odds to Win the Heisman Trophy

Tim Tebow, Florida - 7/2
He won it last year, so it's no surprise he's the favorite to do it again, making him just the second player to go back-to-back. Ohio State's Archie Griffin turned the trick in 1974 and 1975, and Tebow's coach, Urban Meyer, is pretty sure his star quarterback can match the Buckeyes legend.

"There has never been anyone quite like him," Meyer told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "I am very lucky to be his coach."

Chris Wells, Ohio State - 5/1

The man they call "Beanie" was a star recruit out of high school, so it's not like nobody knew who the star tailback was before he rushed for 576 yards as a freshman in 2006 and 1,609 as a sophomore. But perhaps his finest moment came last year versus Michigan when he rumbled for 222 yards and two touchdowns in the Buckeyes' 14-3 victory over the hated Wolverines.

Knowshon Moreno, Georgia - 8/1

If the Bulldogs are to live up to expectations, they'll need a huge effort from their sophomore running back. This might be the last year of college ball for Moreno, who rushed for 1,334 yards and for 14 touchdowns as a freshman, while adding 253 receiving yards on 20 receptions, so expect big things for the man from Belford, N.J.

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Big Ten Conference odds

Teams that should be in: Michigan State, Indiana
Work left to do: Illinois, Purdue, Michigan, Iowa

Behind the big two, the pecking order might be in a bit of flux. Has Michigan State passed Indiana after handling the Hoosiers in East Lansing? Where is Illinois in that mix? What looked like a four-big league last week could be morphing into five -- and even six is not unthinkable at this point if everything breaks right.

Should be in:

Michigan State [21-8 (8-6), RPI: 20, SOS: 15] The Spartans made it four-for-four on the homestand, a gigantic accomplishment that leaves them in extremely good shape. MSU is only 1-6 on the road and is at Michigan and at Wisconsin to close things out, meaning the date with the Wolverines on Tuesday looms very, very large. Beating Texas early will hold up well, as will the rout of Bradley and the win over BYU, but will 8-8 be enough? It very well could be, as the computer numbers are good, but why chance it?

Indiana [18-9 (8-6), RPI: 24, SOS: 32] Hmm ... good thing the last two are at Northwestern and home to Penn State, because IU might want to get both to feel completely safe after dropping its third in the last four, fading after halftime at Michigan State. Who knew the best nonconference win would be over Southern Illinois, which is a gift that keeps on giving for the Hoosiers. The win over Wisconsin also looks good on the mantel.

Work left to do:

Illinois [21-9 (9-6), RPI: 31, SOS: 25] A good performance at Penn State leaves the Illini in pretty good shape. Can they go to Iowa and take care of business to really look on their way? That's a huge game, as there is a possible cluster of teams that will end at 9-7. Illinois beat Bradley, but has lost to Xavier. A 9-7 mark and a semifinals trip in Chicago could be enough with the computer profile hanging in there, but it would be better not to mess around, clinching at least a tie for third.

Purdue [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 47, SOS: 28] Couldn't get it done at Iowa, but did win at Northwestern to put 9-7 squarely in sight. Where does that leave the Boilermakers, though? Even if they beat Minnesota and Northwestern at home, that won't help the computer numbers. Nonconference wins over Virginia, DePaul and Oklahoma are solid, but not spectacular. The Boilers very well might need an upset in the B10 quarters to have a legit claim.

Michigan [19-10 (7-7), RPI: 55, SOS: 53] Well, Michigan did what it needed to do, winning at Minnesota to take control of its fate. The Wolverines have Michigan State and an already-wrapped-up-the-league Ohio State at home to close, so the chances are there. Win both and we can talk. There is no marquee win yet in the profile, and the Wolverines were splattered in several games against name opponents. A mediocre computer profile fueled by a lack of road wins isn't helping, either.

Iowa [16-12 (8-6), RPI: 80, SOS: 64] For the sake of being complete, we'll add Iowa, this season's Stanford. It's plausible that the Hawkeyes could get to 10-6 (at Penn State, vs. Illinois left), but where does that leave them after a gruesome nonconference performance where the best win was over ... Toledo? Iowa State? Cornell?? If they get to 10-6, we can start to look at what they need to do in the B10 tourney, although my gut sense is that they would need to make the final and have knocked off Ohio State or Wisconsin on the way to have any real claim.

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