Angels ready for key series with visiting Blue Jays

Baseball Betting Lines

08/13/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - After getting swept by the dreadful Baltimore Orioles early last week, the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim have responded in a positive way.

Still a long way off from a playoff berth, the Angels look to keep the drive going when they open a three-game series versus the Toronto Blue Jays tonight at the "Big A". They took two of three meetings in Detroit following the sweep by Baltimore and most recently won all three of their matchups with Kansas City.

Bobby Abreu continued to swing a hot bat for Anaheim since hitting from the leadoff spot, and he belted the game-winning home run in the bottom of the 10th inning of Wednesday's 2-1 victory over the Royals. Abreu, who's known for his patience at the plate and ability to work the count, owns two homers, three doubles and six runs batted in since switching to leadoff.

"It was a changeup, and he left it up," Abreu said of his 14th home run off of Jesse Chavez. "I wasn't looking for a home run, but I'll take it."

Erick Aybar had a sacrifice fly and Maicer Izturis recorded a team-best three hits for the Angels, who are 7 1/2 games behind Texas for the lead in the American League West Division. Anaheim is 11 games off the pace in the Wild Card standings.

Angels starter Jered Weaver pitched eight innings of one-run ball and struck out 11 batters in the no-decision. Kevin Jepsen hurled a scoreless ninth inning before closer Brian Fuentes fanned two in the 10th for the win.

Scott Kazmir hopes to duplicate Weaver's performance in Friday's series opener and will make his second start since coming off the disabled list due to arm fatigue. He previously pitched in last Saturday's 10-1 pounding of the Tigers at Comerica Park and gave up one unearned run in five innings. It was Kazmir's first start since July 10 at Oakland and he ended a personal four-game losing streak in the process.

The left-hander, who is 8-9 with a 6.57 ERA in 18 overall starts this season, has plenty of experience with Toronto from his days with the AL East's Tampa Bay Rays. Kazmir is 4-4 with a 3.86 ERA in 14 career starts against the Jays.

Toronto will begin a nine-game road trip against the Angels, Athletics and Red Sox tonight and has won six of its last nine games. It salvaged the finale of a three-game series versus Boston with yesterday's 6-5 victory, thanks to a four-run explosion in the bottom of the ninth inning.

Jose Bautista belted his major league-leading 36th home run of the season to lead off the ninth and Vernon Wells followed with a double before scoring on Adam Lind's ensuing single to center field. DeWayne Wise then came on as a pinch runner for Lind and later came around to score the game-tying run on a double by Edwin Encarnacion.

Fred Lewis then plated Aaron Hill, who reached on a single after Lind's hit, with the game-winning run with a sacrifice fly.

Brad Mills started for the Blue Jays and did not figure in the outcome, allowing four runs and seven hits in 4 1/3 innings. Kevin Gregg was credited with the win for tossing a scoreless ninth inning.

"Everybody did their part (Thursday)," Hill said of the comeback win. "We made some plays in the field, Brad hung in there, the bullpen pitched steady and it's always nice to start off a ninth (inning) with a home run,"

Toronto's Marc Rzepczynski will make his third start of the season tonight and is 0-1 with a 7.15 ERA in four games this season. He last pitched in the majors on July 21 at Kansas City and was dealt the loss for permitting five runs and nine hits in 4 2/3 innings.

Rzepczynski faced the Angels on August 21 of last season in a 5-4 win and earned the victory with 6 1/3 innings of one-run ball.

The Angels have taken five of six matchups with Toronto this season and won twice against the Blue Jays in a three-game series at home from May 24-26.

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MySportsbook.com favors Buckeyes, Fighting Irish and Golden Bears in this weekend's big games.

NEW YORK, NY, Sept. 21 - My Sportsbook NCAA football fans: things are beginning to get really interesting on college football's national stage. Following last weekend's "Separation Saturday", which included five teams ranked in the top 15 dropping games, the BCS Championship picture is beginning to take shape - with Ohio State leading the charge. And, according to odds makers at MySportsbook.com, the number-one-ranked Buckeyes will continue their winning ways this weekend.

Revenge will be the name of the game in Columbus this Saturday, as Ohio State looks to even the score following last season's loss to Joe Paterno's Nittany Lions. Although Penn State are listed as 16.5 point underdogs, they are 11-10 all-time versus the Buckeyes. Paterno and the Lions, however, will have to shut down Heisman Trophy favorite Troy Smith who has thrown for 769 yards and seven touchdowns this season.

Speaking of revenge, Notre Dame will be out for some against Michigan State, following last year's 44 - 41 overtime loss to the Spartans in South Bend. The thirteenth-ranked Irish, listed as a 3-point favorite, will also be looking to avenge last Saturday's thrashing from the Michigan Wolverines. The Spartans, meanwhile, have won seven of the last nine match-ups against Notre Dame and are coming off an impressive 38-23 victory over Pittsburgh.

Out west, 22nd-ranked Arizona State will be battling for their first victory over 21st-ranked California since 2000. Although the Golden Bears are listed as 7.5-point favorites, the Sun Devils are 3-0, lead the nation in sacks with 18 and possess the Pac-10's leading passer in sophomore quarterback Rudy Carpenter.

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NCAA Football betting lines (home team in CAPS)
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Date Favorite Opponent Point Spread
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Sept 21 GEORGIA TECH Virginia 17
Sept 22 NEVADA Northwestern 6.5
Sept 23 MICHIGAN Wisconsin 14
Sept 23 Minnesota PURDUE 3
Sept 23 SYRACUSE Miami (Ohio) 6.5
Sept 23 MISSOURI Ohio 21.5
Sept 23 Louisville KANSAS STATE 14
Sept 23 TENNESSEE Marshall 22
Sept 23 CLEMSON North Carolina 16.5
Sept 23 FLORIDA Kentucky 24
Sept 23 Iowa ILLINOIS 20.5
Sept 23 FLORIDA STATE Rice 30.5
Sept 23 AUBURN Buffalo 41.5
Sept 23 BOWLING GREEN Kent 7
Sept 23 NAVY Tulsa 4.5
Sept 23 VIRGINIA TECH Cincinnati 27
Sept 23 BYU Utah State 29
Sept 23 OHIO STATE Penn State 16.5
Sept 23 TEXAS Iowa State 25
Sept 23 Washington State STANFORD 10
Sept 23 CALIFORNIA Arizona State 7.5
Sept 23 UCLA WASHINGTON 3
Sept 23 INDIANA Connecticut 1.5
Sept 23 Central Michigan EASTERN MICHIGAN 4
Sept 23 WYOMING Air Force 1
Sept 23 UTEP NEW MEXICO 9.5
Sept 23 West Virginia EAST CAROLINA 21
Sept 23 Boston College NORTH CAROLINA STATE 7
Sept 23 GEORGIA Colorado 27
Sept 23 ARKANSAS Alabama 1.5
Sept 23 BAYLOR Army 11
Sept 23 WESTERN MICHIGAN Temple 28
Sept 23 MISSISSIPPI Wake Forest 2.5
Sept 23 KANSAS South Florida 5.5
Sept 23 TEXAS A&amp;M Louisiana Tech 23.5
Sept 23 UAB Mississippi State 9.5
Sept 23 LSU Tulane 36
Sept 23 Utah SAN DIEGO STATE 6.5
Sept 23 BOISE STATE Hawaii 15
Sept 23 Notre Dame MICHIGAN STATE 3
Sept 23 USC ARIZONA U 22
Sept 23 Oklahoma State HOUSTON 1
Sept 23 OREGON STATE Idaho 23
Sept 23 OKLAHOMA Middle Tennessee State 29
Sept 23 MARYLAND Florida International 18.5
Sept 23 AKRON North Texas 17.5
Sept 23 SOUTH CAROLINA Florida Atlantic 29.5
Sept 23 NEBRASKA Troy 23
Sept 23 SMU Arkansas State 6

For complete NCAA football odds and World Series odds please visit MySportsbook.com