Ace hurlers face off as Orioles, ChiSox resume set

Baseball Betting Lines

04/22/2009 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Two unbeaten pitchers square off tonight at Baltimore's Camden Yards, where the Orioles and Chicago White Sox resume a three-game series.

Orioles ace Jeremy Guthrie is 2-0 with a 4.32 earned run average in three starts this season and is coming off a no-decision against Boston on Friday. In a 10-8 loss to the Red Sox, Guthrie was reached for eight runs -- five earned -- and eight hits in 4 2/3 innings to have a personal two-start winning streak come to an end.

The righty is winless against the White Sox in his career, going 0-2 with a 5.50 ERA in five games (3 starts).

Baltimore put the brakes on a five-game losing streak with Tuesday's 10-3 pounding of the White Sox in the opener of a nine-game homestand. Aubrey Huff clubbed a pair of two-run homers and Nick Markakis ended with four hits, three runs scored and a pair of RBI for the O's, who got three hits from Luke Scott.

Orioles starter Brad Bergesen gave up three runs -- one earned -- on four hits over 5 2/3 innings in his major league debut. Relievers Danys Baez, Chris Ray, Jim Johnson and Brian Bass took care of the Chicago batters the rest of the way.

The Orioles will also host the Rangers and Angels on this residency.

Jermaine Dye, Paul Konerko and Brian Anderson each recorded an RBI for Chicago, while Alexei Ramirez was the lone White Sox player to have multiple hits with two.

Chicago starter Jose Contreras continued to struggle this season and absorbed the loss after yielding six runs and seven hits in 5 1/3 innings of work.

John Danks will try for a better showing for the Pale Hose tonight and is 1-0 with a microscopic 0.75 ERA in two starts this season. He did not factor in the outcome of a 2-1 loss versus Kansas City on April 9, allowing three hits over six shutout innings.

Danks then took the hill again Thursday at Tampa Bay and recorded the win with another stellar six innings of work, yielding one run and two hits during a 3-2 victory over the defending AL champions.

The bulky left-hander is 1-2 with a 5.94 earned run average through three career starts against Baltimore.

Chicago went 5-4 against Baltimore last season, with a 3-2 mark at Camden Yards.

Wwwlassiters Baseball Betting News

<< Lee, Indians go for second straight win over Royals
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Reigning American League Cy Young Award winner Cliff Lee seems to be back on track after back-to-back losses to start the season. He will try to prove it tonight against the Kansas City Royals at Jacobs Field. Lee, who wen

<< Angels continue home series with Tigers
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim will try to win back-to- back games for the first time this season, as they resume a three-game series tonight with the Detroit Tigers at Angel Stadium. Having won back-to-back America

<< Philadelphia Eagles 2009 Draft Preview (Revised)
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Eagles took care of a major offseason need last week, when they acquired Pro Bowl left tackle Jason Peters from the Bills in a package that sent the team's No. 28 overall pick to Buffalo. With that need out of the way, Ph

<< Nats aim for sweep of Braves in DC
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Washington Nationals will try to continue their sudden surge this evening, as they aim for a sweep of a three-game series with the Atlanta Braves at Nationals Park. The Nationals began the season just 1-10, a star

<< Phils, Brewers resume set in South Philly
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The last time Joe Blanton faced the Brewers, he pitched the Phillies into the NLDS. Getting the Phillies over .500 tonight would be a nice encore. Philadelphia sends Blanton to the hill tonight in the second game of a thr

Dodgers aim to get back rolling in second test with Astros >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Los Angeles Dodgers will try to start a new winning streak when they resume a three-game series against the Houston Astros tonight at Minute Maid Park. Los Angeles entered Tuesday's series opener riding an eight-game t

Cards try to best Mets once again >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Joel Pineiro tries to stay perfect on the season when he toes the rubber for the St. Louis Cardinals tonight in the middle test of a three-game series versus the New York Mets at Busch Stadium. Pineiro opened the season on

Buffalo Bills 2009 Draft Preview (Revised) >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Bills picked up an extra first-round pick (No. 28 overall) as well as a 2009 fourth-rounder when they dealt Pro Bowl left tackle Jason Peters to the Eagles last week, but also created a glaring need at Peters' vacated spo

Miami Dolphins 2009 Draft Preview (Revised) >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The metamorphosis continues for Bill Parcells, Tony Sparano and company, and as we found out last year, defense is at the heart of the organization's transition. With cornerback Andre' Goodman and safety Renaldo Hill now wear

Saunders to coach Wizards >>
Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Washington Wizards confirmed Wednesday that Flip Saunders will become their next head coach and that he's expected to be formally introduced at a press conference Thursday. Several media outlets report

Big 12 Conference betting odds

Work left to do: Texas Tech, Oklahoma State, Kansas State

Texas joins Texas A&M and Kansas as locks after getting league win No. 11. Texas Tech greatly helped its own hopes and crippled OK State's with the two-point win Saturday. Is K-State the last reasonable hopeful? Could be an elimination match in Stillwater on Tuesday, at least for the Cowboys.

Work left to do:

Texas Tech [18-11 (7-7), RPI: 44, SOS: 12] A critical two-point win over OK State leaves the Red Raiders with Baylor and at Iowa State left. Get both and the Red Raiders likely are good to go. Get one and there could be some interesting comparisons with a K-State team that could finish two or three games "ahead" of them in the standings but doesn't have any of the quality wins Texas Tech has. Not a lot in nonconference play (against Arkansas in Little Rock being the best win, by far) to lean on.

Oklahoma State [18-9 (5-8), RPI: 50, SOS: 35] Still without a road win, the Cowboys now need to win two on the road just to get to .500 in conference play. It's hard to recall a team (OK, other than Clemson) falling so precipitously from lock status to almost certainly out of the NCAAs at this point. There are wins to be had in the last three, including a very big home game against K-State on Tuesday, but this team is reeling. Can you tell the pressure to win is getting to them with the way the final possession played out at Texas Tech? There are some good nonconference performances to lean on, specifically beating Missouri State and Syracuse on neutral floors and Pitt in OK City, but if the Pokes don't right this very, very soon, that won't be enough.

Kansas State [20-9 (9-5), RPI: 56, SOS: 96] It pays to be in the Big 12 North. The nine league wins are Colorado (twice), Missouri (twice), Iowa State (twice), Baylor, Nebraska and (a good one against) Texas. That helps explain the middling computer profile. The win over USC is nice, but the nonconference leaves a lot to be desired. The game at OK State in Stillwater on Tuesday is huge, as it could KO the Cowboys and leave K-State with a home date against Oklahoma with which to work.