Santana returns to face Orioles

Baseball Betting Lines

07/03/2009 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim have been able to rebound from a rough beginning to the season. The team is hoping one of its most talented pitchers will be able to do the same in tonight's matchup with the Baltimore Orioles at Angel Stadium.

Ervin Santana won a career-high 16 games for the Angels and ranked second in the American League with 214 strikeouts a year ago, earning a spot on the AL All-Star team in the process. The hard-throwing right-hander hasn't been able to achieve the same success so far during an injury-plagued 2009 campaign, however.

Santana has made just six starts for Anaheim this season due to recurring arm issues and has gone 1-3 with a subpar 7.47 earned run average during those games. Opponents are batting a robust .344 off him for the year.

The 26-year-old was placed on the disabled list for the second time this season after being tagged for six runs and eight hits over 4 2/3 innings of a June 11 loss at Tampa Bay. He appeared quite healthy, however, in a rehab start for the Angels' Rookie League team this past Sunday, when Santana struck out seven over a 3 1/3 scoreless-inning stint.

Santana will be facing the Orioles for the eighth time in his career and owns a 2-2 record with a 4.60 ERA lifetime against Baltimore.

He'll be attempting to pitch the American League West-leading Angels to an eighth victory in 10 games this evening. In Thursday's opener of this four- game set, Bobby Abreu bashed a pair of home runs and John Lackey delivered eight strong innings in Anaheim's 5-2 triumph over Baltimore.

Abreu knocked in four of the Angels' five runs in the game, with Chone Figgins driving home the other with an RBI single en route to a 3-for-4 performance at the plate.

Lackey (3-3) did his part as well, limiting the Orioles to a pair of runs and just four hits while striking out seven. Brian Fuentes closed things out in the ninth to notch his major league-best 23rd save of the year.

"I established the fastball pretty good tonight," said Lackey. "I mixed my pitches well and located my fastball."

Baltimore starter Jeremy Guthrie (6-8) was saddled with the loss after surrendering five runs on nine hits over seven innings of work.

The Orioles, who have now dropped four of their last five contests, received a solo home run from Luke Scott and an RBI single by Matt Wieters on the evening.

Anaheim has gone 14-5 since June 12 and presently holds a one-game edge on Texas for first place in the AL West standings.

The red-hot Angels will get their first look tonight at Baltimore rookie David Hernandez, with the young right-hander set to make his fourth start and fifth overall appearance in the majors.

Hernandez is 1-2 with a 4.19 ERA over a span of 19 1/3 innings during his brief time at the big-league level. The 24-year-old was recently recalled from the minors to fill in for injured starter Koji Uehara and allowed three runs and eight hits over 5 2/3 frames in a loss to Washington this past Sunday.

The California native had started twice and pitched once in relief with the Orioles before being sent down in early June, and earned his first major- league win on May 28 by holding Detroit to one run through 5 2/3 innings.

The Angels swept a two-game series from the Orioles at Camden Yards back in April and went 6-3 against Baltimore last season. The O's are just 4-13 in Anaheim since the start of the 2006 campaign.

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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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