Indians try to continue success against Rangers

Baseball Betting Lines

07/20/2007 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Cleveland Indians aim for a sixth consecutive victory over the Texas Rangers when the clubs play the second test of a four-game series tonight at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington.

The struggling Indians picked up a much-needed win in Thursday's opener, with Grady Sizemore belting a tie-breaking solo home run in the sixth inning to help the Tribe post a 7-5 decision.

Sizemore finished 2-for-5 with a pair of RBI for Cleveland, which had dropped seven of its last 11 games and needed to keep pace with the red-hot Detroit Tigers in the AL Central standings. Trot Nixon and Ben Francisco also knocked in two runs each in the triumph.

C.C. Sabathia became the first 13-game winner in the majors with a steady and unspectacular performance for the Indians. The All-Star lefty, who was coming off back-to-back subpar starts, allowed four runs (three earned) on nine hits in six innings.

Cleveland's Ryan Garko doubled in his final at-bat to extend his hitting streak to 13 games. The first baseman is batting .467 (21-for-45) with three homers and 10 RBI over that span.

Gerald Laird hit a two-run homer for the Rangers, who have lost two straight after winning their previous three games. Travis Metcalf and Mark Teixeira each drove in a run in the loss.

Texas starter Kameron Loe (5-8) was touched for six runs on six hits in six innings of work.

Cleveland has now won five straight matchups with Texas dating back to last season. The Indians swept a two-game set from the Rangers at Jacobs Field in April and are now 5-2 in their last seven games in Arlington.

The Indians remained two games behind first-place Detroit in the division with Thursday's win and own a 1 1/2-game edge on Seattle for the top spot in the AL wild card standings. The club has not been able to record consecutive victories, however, since putting together a six-game win streak from June 28- July 3.

Cleveland sends out one of its top hurlers in an effort to change that stat, as Fausto Carmona puts a personal three-start win streak on the line when he takes the mound tonight.

After ending a successful first half with wins over Tampa Bay and Toronto, Carmona delivered another strong effort to defeat the Royals on Sunday. The Dominican righty yielded just two runs on eight hits over seven innings to lead the Tribe to a 5-3 win.

Carmona has posted a 2.94 earned run average and hasn't allowed a home run during his three-start run.

The 23-year-old has faced the Rangers once during his brief career and suffered the loss in an encounter at Jacobs Field on April 29, 2006. Carmona was tagged for six runs on eight hits by Texas over 5 2/3 innings of work.

The Rangers will give the ball tonight to Brandon McCarthy, who hopes to end a lengthy winless drought. The right-hander has not won since a May 20 decision at Houston, having registered two losses, three no decisions and a 5.16 ERA following that victory.

In his most recent start, McCarthy gave up four runs (three earned) on six hits in a six-inning no decision in Anaheim.

McCarthy does own a 3-1 career record against the Indians despite a 6.16 ERA in 10 lifetime games, two of which have been starts. He tossed two scoreless innings of relief at Jacobs Field back in April.

Texas will play again tonight without All-Star shortstop Michael Young, who is in California attending the funeral of his wife's grandmother. Young is expected to return to the team in time for Saturday's contest.

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2007 NFL Football Betting Preview


“You play to win the game!”

Those are the words of notoriously intense head coach Herman Edwards. Unfortunately, from a bettors’ perspective, most coaches don’t feel that way about the NFL preseason. August is a time to evaluate young players, finalize the depth chart and pray your star players stay healthy.

The trick to making money during the exhibition schedule is identifying coaches – like Edwards – who can’t stand losing even when there's nothing on the line.

The New York Jets betting won 15 of 21 preseason games and went 14-7 against the spread (ATS) during Edwards’s five-year tenure with the club. In his first season as the Kansas City Chiefs field boss, the team improved from 0-4 to 2-2.

Identifying win-a-holics like Edwards is a good start if you plan betting the preseason – even though most say you shouldn’t ... but what the hell do they know anyway?

Here’s a brief rundown of two teams that have a habit of winning during the second-stringers’ season, and another club that has a good chance of exceeding this year.

New York Giants betting lines

Playing in the media hub of North America can be stressful but the press can’t write anything negative about the way Tom Coughlin’s boys play in the preseason. The Giants won and covered all four games last summer, improving their record to 7-1 both straight up (SU) and against the spread over the last two years.

Coughlin has shown he’s not afraid to give his starters more time in the second preseason game than most of his colleagues, no doubt one of the reasons his team has been so dominant.

Dallas Cowboys betting lines

Bettors can count on America’s team early on. The Cowboys are 14-6 both SU and ATS since 2002 in warm-up contests. Former coach Bill Parcells, the coach of the team the last four years, has an intimidating, in-your-face presence – surely a reason Dallas has had so much early success.

The Big Tuna won’t be strolling the sidelines with looks of disgust, but new coach Wade Phillips will be anxious to make a good first impression for owner Jerry Jones.

Dallas plays the Indianapolis Colts and the Denver Broncos before things get serious. They then face the Houston Texans in their third contest (the game starters see most game time) and finish off with the Minnesota Vikings.

Expect a Dallas team able to walk away with another 3-1 preseason record.

Oakland Raiders betting lines

This team scored a league-worst 12 offensive touchdowns last season, so the rookies and veterans each have something to prove. There’s a bounty of first-unit jobs up for grabs and plenty of bodies competing for those slots.

First-time head coach Lane Kiffin will be eager to impress an owner who employs the philosophy, “Just win, baby!”

The 32-year-old Kiffin has to command respect from a locker room full of players older than him. All of these factors should lead to purpose in preseason. 

Don’t forget: before playing like a team that belonged in NFL Europe, Oakland went 4-1 (both SU and ATS) in exhibition games.

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