Orioles, Nationals open set at Camden Yards

Baseball Betting Lines

06/25/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The woeful Baltimore Orioles enter the weekend with momentum - sort of - when they begin a three-game interleague series with the nearby Washington Nationals tonight at Camden Yards.

Baltimore, which has five fewer wins than any team in the majors and has won just 12 times in 35 home games, picked up a rare 'W' on Thursday night when it downed Florida, 11-5, to wrap up a three-game series.

Miguel Tejada hit a three-run homer and finished with four RBI and three runs scored as the Orioles avoided a sweep.

Craig Tatum posted three hits, two runs scored and an RBI while Julio Lugo scored twice with an RBI for the Orioles, who put the brakes on a three-game skid. Adam Jones homered and Luke Scott drove in two runs in the victory.

Kevin Millwood (2-8) started for Baltimore and picked up the win after he tossed five innings and allowed four runs on eight hits.

Precocious right-hander Jake Arrieta, who turned 24 in March, makes the fourth start of his brief major-league career for the Orioles, who trail the first- place New York Yankees by 25 games in the American League's East Division.

A fifth-round draft pick in 2007 out of Texas Christian, Arrieta debuted on June 10 against the Yankees and picked up a 4-3 win after allowing four hits and three runs in six innings.

He made it two straight with an interleague road win at San Francisco five days later, before losing for the first time on June 20 at San Diego after allowing five hits and six runs in just three innings.

Overall, in 16 big-league innings, Arrieta has walked nine and struck out nine while surrendering 12 hits and nine earned runs.

Washington, which has won 13 times in 37 road tries, counters with 27-year-old righty J.D. Martin, who made 15 starts as a rookie last season and is still seeking win No. 1 in 2010.

The California native was 5-4 with a 4.44 earned run average in his 2009 unveiling, allowing an opposition batting average of .279 and striking out 37 batters in 77 innings.

He reached the rotation this season on May 29 against San Diego and dropped a 4-2 verdict, and has since lost two of three with a no-decision in spite of allowing only 10 earned runs in 25 1/3 innings and walking one batter with 18 strikeouts.

Martin, who's been charged with two road losses in three starts, has never faced the Orioles.

On Wednesday, Jose Guillen's single in the fifth inning scored David DeJesus with the only run of the game, as the Kansas City Royals defeated Stephen Strasburg and the Nationals, 1-0, in the finale of a three-game interleague series.

Adam Dunn had two of the six hits for the Nationals, who despite winning the series, have dropped seven of nine.

Strasburg (2-1) was saddled with his first major league loss in his fourth career start. The rookie right-hander worked six innings, allowing one run on nine hits and fanning nine without issuing a walk. He threw 95 pitches, 75 for strikes.

The former No. 1 overall pick lowered his earned run average to 1.78 and has now struck out 41 batters in 25 1/3 innings this season.

Washington took two of three from the O's earlier in the year.

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Pacific-10 Conference odds

Teams that should be in: Stanford

Oregon and USC get their tickets punched after taking care of business this weekend. Yes, the Trojans' computer numbers aren't great, but there's no way the third-place team in this league is getting nixed. Grudgingly, I added Arizona after consultation with our Bracketologist. I don't know that Arizona will lose its last three (including a Pac-10 quarterfinal game), and even if the Cats do, I still can't see how they'd be left out, given the overall profile. That said, it bears watching, as three more L's would leave them at 18-12 (9-9) and on a 6-11 skid entering the Dance. It would be nice to see the Wildcats get at least one W in the Bay Area next week, as Cincinnati (albeit without Armein Kirkland and with a worse profile) was axed after a similar slide last season. I just couldn't rationalize having some of the other teams as locks and not having Arizona in that category -- there just aren't enough good teams behind the Cats to threaten their spot, it seems. Stanford has its fate in its own hands with the Arizona schools coming to the Farm to close out the regular season next weekend.

Should be in:

Stanford [17-10 (9-7), RPI: 40, SOS: 21] No shame in not getting a win in L.A., but that makes the home game against Arizona State a must-win ahead of what could be an intriguing meeting with Arizona should the Cats lose at Cal. Getting to 11 Pac-10 wins would make Selection Sunday much more comfortable, but 10's probably more than enough this season. The Cardinal have nonconference wins over Texas Tech and at Virginia to lean on, although they also lost badly to Air Force and Santa Clara at home.

Southeastern Conference odds
Work left to do: Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, Mississippi State

It looks more and more possible that no one from the SEC West will make the NCAAs. How weird is that? Tennessee and Vandy move into the locks category after more good work this weekend. Kentucky stays there, although it would be smart for the Cats to handle Georgia at home Wednesday ahead of a trip to the Swamp. Could a disaster scenario (two more L's and a first-round SEC tourney exit) somehow dislodge the Cats despite their incredible computer numbers? Still unlikely, but not worth chancing it.

Work left to do:

Alabama [19-9 (6-8), RPI: 43, SOS: 47] The tough L at Tennessee was understandable, and even created some hope. Unfortunately, that hope was dashed by a home loss to Auburn, which leaves the Tide in some real trouble. There's still no signature win on the profile (no, Kentucky doesn't count), and the computer profile is weakening rapidly. The Tide conceivably could beat Ole Miss and win at Miss. State to get to 8-8 and clinch at least a share of the West crown, but that's probably not enough right now. The Tide will need to do some work in the SEC tourney.

Georgia [16-10 (8-6), RPI: 52, SOS: 23] This is the team with the best chance to make it from this section right now. The Bulldogs rebounded from a terrible performance at Ole Miss to beat down Miss. State. Now they are at Kentucky (king of the RPI 51-100 win) and home to Tennessee. That would be worth a lot of computer points to get both (which is doable), as both teams are in the top 11 in RPI. Finishing at least 9-7 is an absolute must, and I would feel much better about the Dawgs' chances if they got both to get to 10 SEC wins. They also beat Gonzaga, but lost to ACC bubblers Georgia Tech and Clemson.

Mississippi [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 63, SOS: 79] Like everyone else in this division, Ole Miss gacked up a chance to stake a claim, losing by double figures at South Carolina. Even 9-7 likely is not nearly enough with a nonconference profile devoid of anything notable.

Mississippi State [16-11 (7-7), RPI: 66, SOS: 37] With a chance to get in the mix, these Bulldogs were leashed by their Georgia counterparts. Could they get to 9-7? I guess -- although winning at Arkansas, then beating Alabama is no lock -- but would that mean all that much for a team with this overall profile? Probably not. There's nothing of note (on the good side) in the nonconference profile.

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