Angels send Weaver to hill in Baltimore on short rest

Baseball Betting Lines

09/18/2011 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Baltimore Orioles try to play spoiler once again this afternoon when they go for a sweep in the finale of their three-game series with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.

It won't be easy, though, as the Angels will send ace Jered Weaver to the hill on short rest in an effort to stop the bleeding. Weaver beat the Oakland Athletics on Wednesday, holding them to a run and six hits in seven innings to improve to 17-7 on the year to go along with a 2.40 ERA.

Weaver is 1-1 with a 6.39 ERA in two games this season when going on less than normal rest.

"It's a calculated risk with anything that you do," Angels manager Mike Scioscia said of starting Weaver on three days rest. "This is gonna be one day short, and more importantly, Weav doesn't see it as any issue nor [pitching coach Mike Butcher]. So that [gives] me the confidence to know he's not gonna be at any risk."

Weaver has faced the Orioles five times and is just 2-3 against them with a 3.62 ERA. He's also lost three straight to them.

The Angels are going to need a big start from their right-hander if they want to avoid falling further back in the American League West standings. The Halos fell for the fourth time in six tries on Saturday and dropped 4 1/2 games behind the Texas Rangers in the division, as Mark Reynolds hit a three-run home run in a five-run first inning in Baltimore's 6-2 win.

J.J. Hardy hit a two-run home run while Matt Wieters scored twice for the Orioles, who have won four in a row. Zach Britton (10-10) got the win as he gave up just one run on three hits with a pair of walks and seven strikeouts in seven innings.

"We know they're playing hard and trying to win," said Britton. "So whenever you play hard and put together a good win against a team fighting for a playoff spot it feels good."

Vernon Wells and Bobby Wilson each drove in a run for the Angels, while Ervin Santana (11-12) dropped his third straight start as he was tagged for five runs on five hits with three walks over seven innings.

"This is a team and we have to play as a team," said Santana. "We have to step it up if we want to be playing in October."

The Angels are a miserable 4-for-39 (.103) with runners in scoring position over the last six games

Baltimore will rely on righty Alfredo Simon, who is 4-8 with a 4.67 ERA. Simon is winless in his last four starts (0-2), but pitched well in a no-decision on Tuesday against Tampa, as he surrendered two runs and six hits in seven innings of the O's 4-2 win.

"His stuff speaks for itself," Orioles catcher Matt Wieters said of Simon, who retired 12 straight at one point. "And once he can establish strikes early in the game, he can get them to chase some pitches that might be out of the zone. Strike one's big for any pitcher, but it's especially big for him."

The Angels have won five of their eight matchups with the O's this season.

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Football Betting

NFL Football Betting Online

The San Francisco 49ers (5-11 SU, 5-10-1 ATS in 2007; 1-1 SU & ATS in pre-season) found some offensive life last week, and they will try to build some momentum on Thursday night as they travel to the Windy City to take on the Chicago Bears (7-9 SU & ATS in 2007; 0-2 SU, 0-1-1 ATS in pre-season) in an NFL matchup that is set to get underway at 8 PM ET at Soldier Field (natural turf) in Chicago.

Thursday, August 21

NFL betting odds: CHICAGO -3 (-120), Total 37

NOTABLE STAT: San Francisco was last in points, last in total offense in 2007
KEY NFL BETTING TREND: SF has lost its last seven SU on pre-season road

In the BetUS NFL pre-season football betting odds, the Bears are listed as a three-point favorite (laying -120), with the total posted at 37 points.

Here are some NFL football betting trends as they relate to this matchup (reflecting numbers going into the 2008 season):

* SF has lost 11 of its last 14 games SU
* SF has covered three of its last 11 games
* SF has lost six of its last seven road games SU
* SF has covered one of its last seven road games
* CHI has covered five of its last eight games
* CHI has played five of its last seven games OVER the total
* CHI has covered four of its last 13 home games
* SF has lost its last seven pre-season road games SU
* CHI has covered two of its last seven home pre-season games

Well, I guess we should congratulate the Bears on making their quarterback choice for the season's opening game, as they have designated Kyle Orton the starter against Indianapolis. The Bears obviously have lost patience with Rex Grossman, and what they do with him at this point is anybody's guess. But suffice it to say that there isn't a quarterback competition anymore, at least in training camp.

Meanwhile, the quarterback competition may also be settled in San Francisco, where the Niners bounced back from a lackluster 18-6 loss to the Raiders, in which they turned the ball over four times, to execute a 34-6 rout of the Packers last Saturday. However, coach Mike Nolan has stopped short of saying that, insisting that the job is still open. But J.T. O'Sullivan, the longshot of the trio of Niner signal-callers who opened camp, will start his third straight pre-season game here. Against Green Bay, O'Sullivan was only 8-for-17, and was intercepted, but he also threw for 9.1 yards an attempt, which included a 59-yard TD pass to Josh Morgan. The others struggled.

Some offensive cohesion is badly needed, in light of the Niners' dismal 2007 campaign, in which they were dead last in the NFL in scoring, with just 13.7 points a game. And O'Sullivan is the guy who is most familiar with offensive coordinator Mike Martz's exacting system, because he learned it last year in Detroit. O'Sullivan will go at least the entire first half and may even last longer. He'll be relieved by Alex Smith, with Shawn Hill doing the mop-up work. Three receivers who were out last week - Bryant Johnson, Ashley Lelie and Arnaz Battle - will miss this game too.

That may hurt a little here, especially since the Bears will be using a lot of their defensive starters. And it's the defense that has been keeping the Bears in games thus far. In fact, the defense and special teams were responsible for the first 19 points Chicago scored against Seattle last time out, as the offense really struggled with Grossman at the controls. But maybe the first-team offense has a chance to settle a little bit as it works more with Orton at the helm.

Certainly we have concerns about the Bears' offensive line, but we like the scenario for them here, especially if O'Sullivan doesn't make some bis plays. The Niners may have nowhere else to turn right now, and they have lost seven straight road games in the pre-season. Let's take Chicago, the three-point favorite in the NFL football betting odds.

CHICAGO -3 (-120) **
(Graded on a scale of 1-4 stars)

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