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05/11/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Texas Rangers have taken over the top spot in the American League West standings, and they have their bullpen to thank.
Overall, the Rangers (18-14) have won 10 of their last 13 games. They leapfrogged Oakland into first place this weekend after sweeping a four-game series with the Kansas City Royals. On Sunday, four Rangers' relievers combined to pitch five shutout innings after starter Scott Feldman lasted just four innings. That quartet allowed just two hits from the fifth inning to the ninth, preserving Texas' 6-4 victory.
During the team's current run, the headliner has been Neftali Feliz, who on Sunday picked up his seventh save in his last seven outings to earn his ninth save of the season. And he is picking up steam with each appearance. Feliz hasn't allowed a run over his last six appearances, and he has retired 17 of the last 18 batters he has faced.
But it isn't just Feliz putting up zeroes. All told, the Texas bullpen has notched 10 consecutive scoreless innings and has retired 28 of the 36 batters faced since Thursday, when the Kansas City series began. So far in the month of May, the Rangers' relievers have combined for a Major League-best four wins and six saves.
But while teams often prefer to keep playing day-in, day-out when things are going well, Monday's idle day provided the Rangers' taxed bullpen some much needed rest. After all, it marked their first day off in three weeks. Still, there are some on the team who would love to keep the momentum going.
"You can feel it around the clubhouse, confidence building," starting pitcher Rich Harden told the Star-Telegram on Sunday. "The way things have been going, the way we've been feeling, you want to keep on going."
Later this week, the offense will get a boost from the return of right fielder Nelson Cruz, who has been on the disabled list with a strained right hamstring. Cruz begins a two-game rehab assignment Tuesday night with Triple-A Oklahoma City. The team could reactivate him as early as Thursday's day game against Oakland, or wait until Friday's series-opener in Toronto. In 19 games before the injury, Cruz was hitting .323 with seven homers and 17 RBI.
BRADEN'S MOTHER'S DAY GIFT
Oakland starter Dallas Braden couldn't have scripted it any better himself.
By now, most of the baseball-following world is well aware of Braden's recent run-in with Yankees' slugger Alex Rodriguez regarding the unwritten rules of baseball etiquette. But until Sunday, most fans knew very little about Braden's upbringing, about how his grandmother cared for him after his mother died of skin cancer during Braden's senior year in high school.
So it was only fitting that on Sunday, Mother's Day, Braden tossed the 19th perfect game in big league history in Oakland's 4-0 win over red-hot Tampa Bay. And of course, Braden's grandmother, Peggy Lindsey, was there to see it in person.
"It's a more important day for my grandmother than anything," said Braden, moments after a tearful embrace with his grandmother. "That's the biggest thing to be able to give her something like this on a day of this magnitude, considering everything we've been through together. It's more about her for me.
"It hasn't been a joyous day for me in a while. But to know that I still get to come out and compete and play a game on that day, that makes it a little better. With my grandma in the stands, that makes it a lot better. To be able to give her this today was perfect."
Braden's perfecto was only the second in team history, as Catfish Hunter accomplished the feat in May of 1968 against Minnesota. And thanks to Braden, the A's improve to 17-15 on the year, just one game back of division-leading Texas. Tonight, the team hits the road for a three-game series with the Rangers, followed by a three-game set with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. The A's are tied for the Major League lead with 13 wins at home, though they are just 4-8 on the road.
ANGELS LOOKING TO REGROUP FROM DISASTROUS ROAD TRIP
With their abysmal road trip now in the rearview mirror, the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim look to get back to business this week at cozy Angel Stadium.
To recap, the Angels went just 2-8 on their recent trip, which began with a three-game sweep at Detroit and continued with a four-game sweep at Boston, before the Halos were able to salvage a series victory over the Seattle Mariners this past weekend.
As a team, the Angels are hitting just .220 in the month of May, which ranks fourth-worst in the majors for the current month. Meanwhile, the pitching staff has posted a combined 5.53 ERA, third-worst in the majors for the month of May. Be it at the plate or on the mound, something eventually has to give, doesn't it?
The team returned home on Monday to kick off a three-game series with the Tampa Bay Rays, owners of the best record in baseball. Only, for the second time in five games, the Angels blew a 4-0 lead when closer Brian Fuentes gave up three runs in the top of the ninth. But later, in the bottom of the 11th, Juan Rivera delivered a sacrifice fly to preserve the win for the Angels and, hopefully, some of the momentum that had been lost during the 10-game road trip.
MARINERS STILL WAITING ON BATS TO HEAT UP, GRIFFEY TO WAKE UP
Mariners' general manager Jack Zduriencik received plenty of praise for his offseason moves to bolster an already solid starting rotation, trading for former Cy Young winner Cliff Lee and resigning Erik Bedard. With Felix Hernandez atop the rotation and Doug Fister (2-1, 1.71) bursting onto the scene, Seattle's rotation ranks third in the American League with a 3.69 ERA, albeit with a combined 7-11 record to show for it.
However, all of that pitching prowess is in danger of being wasted this season if Seattle's lineup continues along its current path. At the moment, Seattle's offense ranks last in the AL in batting average, hits, runs, home runs, RBI, slugging percentage and on-base percentage. In other words, virtually every significant offensive category.
Already this week, rumors have been swirling that 40-year-old Ken Griffey Jr.'s Seattle reunion is in danger of ending much earlier than anyone in the organization had hoped. Griffey is hitting just .208 with zero home runs and only five RBI as the team's designated hitter and, according to a couple of teammates, was asleep in the clubhouse recently when manager Don Wakamatsu was looking for a pinch-hitter.
The team's struggles boiled over on Sunday, when hitting coach Alan Cockrell was relieved of his duties and replaced by Triple-A Tacoma hitting coach Alonzo Powell. Powell is familiar with a lot of the hitters who came up through the team's minor league system. Zduriencik's hope is that "sometimes, just the same message from a different messenger carries some weight."
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Charlotte, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - More than three years after its
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Tuesday in Charlotte.
A one-hour opening ceremony was held in front of the 150
<< Samuel staying with Saints
Perth, Scotland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Striker Collin Samuel has signed a new one-
year contract to remain with St Johnstone next season.
The 28-year-old Trinidad & Tobago international has been with the Saints since
the summer of 2008 and
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Football Hall of Fame, as announced Tuesday by Archie Manning, chairman of the
Nationa
<< Phillies-Jays series moved to Philadelphia
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The June interleague series between the Blue
Jays and Phillies will now be played in Philadelphia to avoid issues with the
upcoming G20 Summit in Toronto.
Major League Baseball announced the decision Tues
Sunderland completes Riveros signing >>
Sunderland, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Sunderland boss Steve Bruce has made
Paraguay international Cristian Riveros his first signing of the summer.
The 27-year-old, who has been included in his country's World Cup squad, moves
to Wearsid
McClaren takes charge at Wolfsburg >>
Wolfsburg, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Former England boss Steve McClaren has
decided to leave newly-crowned Dutch champions Twente to join deposed German
champions Wolfsburg on a three-year contract.
McClaren had been linked with a num
Toole new Robert Morris hoops coach >>
Moon Township, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Robert Morris University has named
Andrew Toole as the school's new head basketball coach.
Toole, an assistant with the Colonials for the last three seasons, takes over
for Mike Rice, who left to
Maxwell to miss Barca finale >>
Barcelona, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Barcelona has confirmed that Maxwell will
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scans have c
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Two playoff teams from 2007 take center stage on the NFL Network Sunday night in a Week 2 NFL betting match-up when the (0-1) New England Patriots betting head south to Florida for a contest with the (1-0) Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
New England HC Bill Belichick couldn’t care less about the way his team plays in the preseason. With a chance to tie last week’s game with the Baltimore Ravens betting, He elected to go for the two-point conversion and outright victory. The conversion failed, and the Pats ended up falling to the Ravens by a 16-15 final count.
New England rolled off twelve unanswered points to give it a chance at securing the victory, but it never threatened to cover the 3.5-point spread. NFL bettors saw this one coming, as they bet the Ravens down from +6 to +3.5 as the week progressed. QB Tom Brady didn’t take part in the Patriots first preseason clash, but could see action this weekend.
His three replacements all put up embarrassing numbers. They went a combined 17 for 33, and threw three interceptions and no touchdowns. The New England defense was encouraging, as they held the Ravens to 2/12 third down conversions and surrendered just ten first downs. That ‘D’ should be bolstered with the addition of former Bucs and Denver Broncos betting safety John Lynch, who could make his Patriots debut on Sunday against his former mates.
HC Jon Gruden had to be impressed with the way his Bucs played on both sides of the ball in their dominating 17-6 victory over the Miami Dolphins in Week 1’s NFL pre-season betting action. Bucs bettors were quite happy with the effort, as they made a mockery of the fact that they were underdogs in the game.
The logjam at the quarterback position didn’t get any easier to separate for Gruden, as all four of his QBs had positive experiences in the first exhibition of 2008. The four combined to complete 28 of their 40 passes for 204 yards and a touchdown, and that was without starting QB Jeff Garcia in the lineup.
RB Michael Bennett had 19 carries and four receptions, totaling 90 yards and a touchdown. Expect to see more of Bennett, Kenneth Darby, and Earnest Graham, as they all compete for playing time with Warrick Dunn in the backfield this season. Defensively, the Bucs recorded four sacks and held the Fins offense in check all day.
First round draft pick Aqib Talib was impressive in the secondary, recording a tackle and two pass defenses in his debut. Don’t be surprised to see Talib in the starting lineup opposite Ronde Barber for the Bucs in ’08.
The betting trends suggest that NFL bettors should be backing the Bucs in this intra-conference exhibition.
These two teams hooked up last year in Tampa Bay, with the Bucs winning that game 13-10. The Buccaneers have only lost one preseason game at home dating back to the beginning of the ’05 preseason. The Patriots have had a mixed bag of results in their recent exhibitions. They have gone 2-2 ATS and SU each of the last three years.
New England currently sits as modest 1-point favorites in this preseason showdown with the ‘total’ now sitting at 34.5.
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