Orioles shoot for series win over A's

Baseball Betting Lines

05/26/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Manager David Trembley saw his Orioles put together one of their best games of the season that, funny enough, came against an Athletics club that they have struggled against over the last few seasons.

Baltimore will try to make it two in a row this evening versus Oakland and pick up its first series win over the franchise since 2007 in the middle contest of a three-game series at Camden Yards.

Behind six innings of one-run ball from Jeremy Guthrie and a home run by slugger Nick Markakis, the Orioles took Tuesday's opener 5-1 to halt a two- game slide and win for the third time in 10 games. The victory was also just Baltimore's third in its last 16 contests against Oakland, a team it hasn't won a series against since taking two of three on July 20-22, 2007.

Miguel Tejada scored a pair of runs and Markakis ran his hitting streak to eight games. He is hitting .400 (12-for-30) on his run with three homers and eight RBI.

"I've been feeling good at the plate lately," said Markakis. "I just try to go up there with a good approach."

The Orioles were without designated hitter Luke Scott, who is hitting .273 with nine homers and 20 RBI this year but was a late scratch on Tuesday due to a left shoulder strain. His status for this game is unknown and was replaced in the lineup on Tuesday by Garrett Atkins.

Baltimore also caught a break last night when Oakland starter Dallas Braden departed after four innings due to an injured ankle. He gave up just an unearned run and three hits prior to his exit.

"I sprained my ankle a few weeks ago in Texas, and it became sore on the mound tonight," said Braden. "[Our coaching staff] saw me favoring it, and I was honest with them and agreed that leaving the game was probably the right thing to do."

Mark Ellis had the lone RBI for the Athletics, who were coming off a three- game home sweep of San Francisco but lost their sixth straight on the road in the opener of a 10-game swing.

In addition to Braden's injury, the Athletics will likely be without Coco Crisp again due to a strained side muscle. Crisp is likely to land back on the disabled list after being activated on Friday. He had been out because of a fractured left pinky.

That could be helpful for Baltimore rookie Brian Matusz, who is going through some growing pains right now and will look to win for the first time in seven starts this evening.

The 23-year-old is 0-4 over is last six starts, all Baltimore losses, and he has sandwiched a pair of dreadful outings around one stellar start. After allowing six runs over just 3 2/3 innings in a loss at Minnesota on May 9, he limited the Indians to seven hits over seven scoreless innings in a no- decision six days later.

However, Matusz took a step back again on Thursday, giving up a season-high seven runs over just 2 1/3 frames in Texas for his shortest outing of the season. Trembley, though, isn't worried about his young lefty.

"He's not Warren Spahn yet, he's not Sandy Koufax," Trembley said on Baltimore's website. "He's a young guy that's learning. He'll take something from this and the next time he faces them you'll see a much better outing."

Matusz is now 2-4 with a 5.26 ERA on the year and hasn't won since an April 18 victory in Oakland. Facing the Athletics for the first time, he gave up three runs over 6 1/3 innings of an 8-3 victory.

Starting for the Athletics tonight will be 22-year-old Trevor Cahill, who is coming off a victory over the Giants on Friday that evened his season record at 2-2 to go along with a 3.68 ERA.

Cahill pitched 6 2/3 innings of one-run, six-hit ball and did not allow a homer for the second time in his five 2010 starts. He was slammed for 27 homers in 32 starts as a rookie last year and gave up another three in his season debut this year on April 30.

"I threw my sinker a lot," Cahill told Oakland's website after besting San Francisco "I was able to mix that in with the breaking ball and changeup and really just tried to keep the ball down."

The right-hander, who joined Oakland from the minors as an injury replacement on April 30, is 0-2 with a 5.60 ERA in three road starts this year. He went 1-1 with a 3.46 ERA in two starts against Baltimore last year as a rookie.

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Kurt Warner to start, Matt Leinart to watch

Despite the debate that's swirling , Kurt Warner will remain the starting quarterback for the Arizona Cardinals, coach Dennis Green said today. The Arizona Cardinals are the +7 point underdog at online sportsbook MySportsbook.com for this Sunday's game.

Green's comment came in a statement released by the team following an ESPN report that Green decided that rookie Matt Leinart would replace Warner as starter for Sunday's game at Atlanta.

"Generally talking about the starting lineup is not something we do," Green told the AP. "However, given the speculation that was out there we want to make it clear. We're disappointed after last week, but we still expect to be a playoff football team and we fully expect Kurt Warner to be the quarterback that leads us. That has not changed."

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your bet on football needs.

Albert Pujols to be This Year's Home Run Champ Says Online Sportsbook

Barry Bonds is a 50-1 long shot to be this year's home run champ odds.  The favorite to be this year's home run champ is none other than Albert Pujols, however.

Now that Barry Bonds is signed and in Giants camp, it is on to his pursuit of all of sports most prestigious records: the all-time home run mark. Bonds sits just 21 homers shy of tying Hank Aaron for the career mark at 755. Word out of Giants’ camp is that Bonds is the healthiest he has been in a few years. Bonds is just two seasons removed from his injury riddled 2005 campaign where he played in only 14 games and hit only 5 home runs. He did come back last year and had a solid season hitting .270 with 26 bombs. All eyes will be on Bonds this spring and summer not only because of his home run chase but his highly publicized steroid abuse allegations. If and when Bonds breaks the record, he surely will not get the positive attention one should for breaking a record that was once thought of as “unbreakable”. Despite Bonds decent season last year, he is just 50-1 at MySportsbook.com to lead the MLB in long balls this season.

Not surprisingly, the favorites to go deep the most times this season are Albert Pujols 5-1, Ryan Howard 6-1, David Ortiz 8-1 and Alex Rodriguez 12-1. With 49 homers, Pujols finished second in the National League behind Howard (58). Pujols is considered the favorite due to the consistent power numbers that he has posted since breaking into the league in 2001. Also one must consider the fact that he played in 16 fewer games then Howard did due to an injury. Howard smashed 58 homers in his first complete season of big league play en route to the National League MVP odds award. He silenced his critics by successfully hitting left-handed pitching. Howard also displayed the ability to use his power to the opposite field. Two attributes which should keep Howard amongst the league leaders in long balls for years to come. From the American League representatives, David Ortiz leads the field. Ortiz was second in the majors last year with 54 home runs. Except for 1999 when he only played in 10 games, Ortiz has improved on his home run numbers each year he has been in the majors (1997).

Be sure to log onto online sports betting site MySportsbook.com to check out the odds for who will lead the MLB in home runs this season. Below is just a sample of the players listed. With the highest credit card rates in the industry, MySportsbook.com is the place to bet on baseball this summer.

World Series odds

Adam Dunn 15-1

Albert Pujols 5-1

Alex Rodriguez 12-1

Alfonso Soriano 15-1

Andruw Jones 25-1

Barry Bonds 50-1

Carlos Delgado 40-1

David Ortiz 8-1

Jermaine Dye 40-1

Ken Griffey Jr. 100-1

Lance Berkman 40-1

Manny Ramirez 20-1

Richie Sexson 40-1

Ryan Howard 6-1

Travis Hafner 20-1

Vladimir Guerrero 40-1

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.