Rangers try for split of set with Orioles

Baseball Betting Lines

08/22/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Texas Rangers have struggled versus the AL East this season and will try to at least earn a split of their four-game series with the last place Baltimore Orioles today at Camden Yards.

On Saturday, Josh Bell hit the first two home runs of his career in a four- homer barrage, as Baltimore staved off a late rally to down Texas, 8-6.

Bell finished 3-for-4 with three runs scored and a career-high five runs batted in while Ty Wigginton and Luke Scott also went deep for the Orioles, who have taken two of the first three games.

"This is something I'll remember for the rest of my life," Bell said. "My family that was watching, it was something for them."

Brad Bergesen (5-9) was the beneficiary of the power surge as he grabbed the win after going seven innings, during which he yielded five runs on nine hits and a pair of walks with three strikeouts. Koji Uehara tossed a scoreless ninth inning to earn his first career save, as Baltimore clinched the victory in the season series over Texas for the first time since 2004.

Cliff Lee (10-7) was victimized for a career-high four long balls and took the loss after allowing all eight runs on 10 hits over 5 2/3 frames. He walked one and fanned four for the Rangers, who have lost five of their last six.

Josh Hamilton went 3-for-5 with a home run and collected his major league- leading 23rd game with three hits or more, which also matched a Rangers single-season record.

Texas is now just 13-23 versus the AL East, a division that is looking to send two teams to the postseason.

Tommy Hunter will try to make that record look a little better, as he toes the rubber for Texas today. The right-hander, who began the year a perfect 8-0, has struggled in recent weeks. Over his last four starts, Hunter has a 9.39 ERA and has made it to the fourth inning in just one of those appearances. He faced Tampa Bay on Tuesday, allowing four earned runs and six hits in just three innings of a 10-1 loss.

In his lone career start against Baltimore on July 8, Hunter gave up three runs over six innings of work. He did not receive a decision in the team's 6-4 loss.

Kevin Millwood, who was traded from Texas in the offseason, will get the call for Baltimore today. The veteran right-hander hasn't picked up a win since defeating Florida on June 24, dropping five straight decisions along the way. He was solid on Tuesday, allowing one earned run over eight innings, but received no support in a 4-0 loss to Seattle.

In two career starts versus the Rangers, Millwood is 0-1 with a 3.21 ERA over 14 innings.

Baltimore has won eight of its last 11 meetings with the Rangers.

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Betting the NFL preseason

Rule No. 1 in the gamblers' handbook states, "Avoid sports betting on meaningless games."

When you're drowning in a sea of baseball monotony, however, things change. Even a hint of pro football betting can persuade the most disciplined bettor to break a few rules. 

The NFL preseason is around the corner, with a tempting Hall of Fame match kicking off on Sunday. But bettors must stay vigilant. Wagering on NFL exhibition games is an entirely different beast than the regular season. Most fans don't recognize the players on the field because starters get as much action in August as Warcraft fans get on Prom night.

The only certainty about the NFL this time of year is uncertainty – and yet there are some who say betting in August can be a gold mine.

“I actually feel the NFL preseason presents solid profit opportunities for sharp bettors and handicappers,” Sports Expert Steve Merril explains. “My experience has been that the sportsbooks fear the preseason, which is evident by lower limits and massive moves.”

The line moves are attributed to the limited knowledge available regarding playing-time distribution. One team’s top unit out on the field for one more series has an impact on the pointspread. Setting lines in the preseason often is a shot in the dark.

“We base the betting lines mostly on public perception,” Pete Korner, founder of the Sports Club in Las Vegas, says. “It’s very tough to predict, almost a guessing game.”

The preseason is all about figuring out who’s in and for how long.

“It becomes a race between bettors and oddsmakers to find out how long the quarterbacks are going to stay in,” Korner admits. “If a sharp gets the information first, he could exploit an early line. I’m a full believer in moving the line in the preseason if the books find out something late in the week.”

Determining what each team’s motive is can help bettors handicap. To do this you must pay close attention to the philosophies head coaches employ in exhibition play.

“You need to know what a coach is trying to accomplish,” says Covers Expert Bryan Leonard. “Sometimes a new coach will want to instill a winning attitude. Others just want to make sure their starters don’t get hurt."

So how do you distinguish who’s playing scared and who’s playing for keeps?

“Head coaches on the hot seat or new coaches trying to implement a winning attitude usually try harder to win in the preseason,” Merril says.

Cleveland Browns head coach Romeo Crennel fits this criteria. He’s entering his third season as the sideline boss and has yet to lead the Browns to more than six wins.

Cleveland is an enticing bet as well because of the unresolved quarterback situation. General manager Phil Savage sacrificed the Browns’ first-round pick in next year’s draft for Brady Quinn, but the former Notre Dame quarterback hasn’t signed or reported to training camp yet.

Charlie Frye and Derek Anderson split time at QB last season and it looks like either player (or even Quinn) could be the opening-day starter.

“If a team has quarterback depth and the pecking order hasn’t been decided, it’s a big advantage,” Leonard says.

Even in the third week of the preseason when starters generally play the most, the final outcome of the game is in the hands of fringe players. A team's talent, all the way down to the last man on the roster, is something to consider.

The New England Patriots have long been considered one of the deeper teams in the NFL and coach Bill Belichick has said in the past he’s unafraid of stars getting hurt in games with nothing on the line. He shocked his colleagues in 2003 by playing some of his starters on special teams in the preseason.

“We want to have the team ready to play a tough, physical game and preparation has to go into that and I imagine a certain amount of injuries go with it,” Belichick told the Providence Journal in August 2003.

Bettors can only hope to find more teams that share the Pats' business-like approach to the preseason (New England is 17-9-3 against the spread since 2000) and take advantage of teams who detest the exhibition schedule.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your bet on football needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.