Angels shoot for another win over first-place Rangers

Baseball Betting Lines

07/31/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim continue their quest to gain ground on the Texas Rangers as the top two teams in the AL West continue their three-game weekend series.

Newly-acquired Dan Haren will make his second start for Los Angeles this evening. The former Arizona hurler's first start ended early on Monday, as Haren was struck by a line drive on his right pitching forearm. He lasted 4 2/3 innings and allowed two earned runs on seven hits while striking out eight Red Sox. Haren is a combined 7-9 this season with a 4.57 ERA, numbers less impressive than we are accustomed to seeing from the standout hurler.

In his career against Texas, Haren is 3-5 with a 4.29 ERA in 10 games.

Rich Harden returns from a stint on the disabled list and will take the ball for Texas today. The hard-throwing righty has been on the DL since June 12 with a lower back injury, and he hopes to improve his 3-3 record and 5.68 ERA. Harden pitched six strong innings on Monday in his most recent rehab assignment.

Harden has yet to face the Angels this season and is 5-3 lifetime against the club with a 3.96 ERA.

Juan Rivera had two hits yesterday, including a three-run homer, and the Angels overcame an early five-run deficit to beat the rival Rangers, 9-7.

Rivera drove in four runs total for the Angels, who still trail the AL West- leading Rangers by eight games after snapping a four-game losing streak. Erick Aybar also homered and drove in two runs, while Alberto Callaspo went 2-for-4 with a pair of runs scored.

Ervin Santana (10-7) was the beneficiary of the support, getting the win despite allowing seven runs -- four earned -- on 10 hits and two walks in six innings. Brian Fuentes notched his 19th save.

"I felt like I had no command and no concentration, and I still came away with a win," Santana said. "Credit my teammates, offensively and defensively. That's a tough lineup, and I just tried to focus and get guys out."

Nelson Cruz belted a solo homer, while Vladimir Guerrero and David Murphy each drove in a pair of runs for the Rangers, who have dropped two of three. Elvis Andrus went 4-for-5 with an RBI and a pair of runs scored in defeat.

Tommy Hunter (8-1) dropped his first decision of the season, giving up eight runs, eight hits and a walk in three-plus frames.

"Tommy wasn't able to hit his spots," said Rangers manager Ron Washington. "He had trouble with his command. I wasn't expecting three innings out of him. We played well enough to win that game, but we couldn't stop them."

Infielder Jorge Cantu, who was acquired by Texas in a trade with Florida on Thursday, did not start. He did pinch-hit with two outs in the ninth and flied out.

Cruz extended his hit streak to 18 games.

Josh Hamilton left late in the game due to tendinitis in his right knee, an ailment that has bothered him all season. His status for tonight's game is unknown.

Texas has prevailed in six of the 10 previous meetings between these AL West rivals, but is just 2-6 in its last seven visits to Angel Stadium.

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Big East Conference odds

Work left to do: Villanova, Syracuse, DePaul, West Virginia, Providence

Notre Dame and Louisville appear to have done enough to make the move, so we'll make them locks. The Cardinals, despite a modest RPI, are trending way up and have clinched at least a tie for third in the Big East, which should be more than enough with their pair of big road wins. Villanova got back to .500 and gets back to more solid footing. Syracuse got a very important road win and crippled a fellow contender in the process. West Virginia's fate could be in its hands Tuesday at Pitt.

Work left to do:

Villanova [18-9 (7-7), RPI: 21, SOS: 5] Pounded Rutgers to get back to .500. If Cats can get their last two (at UConn, vs. Syracuse), that should be enough with strong computer numbers and a host of wins away from The Pavilion. The Cats have beaten Texas and swept the Big 5 (never easy in Philly), but have a couple of losses to bubble teams (Xavier, Drexel), too. I still think they'll be OK, possibly even at 8-8.

Syracuse [20-8 (9-5), RPI: 53, SOS: 62] History says 10 wins will be plenty, but it might be hard for the Orange to get that last one with a final two vs. G'town, which is trying to win the league title, and at Villanova, which will be desperate for a W. The relative lack of nonconference heft and the weak computer numbers are still concerns, but the Orange have won four in a row and got a very, very big win at Providence on Saturday.

DePaul [16-12 (8-7), RPI: 54, SOS: 18] Beat Cincy and should get past South Florida to get to 9-7, but then what? They have beaten Kansas and Cal (right after the DeVon Hardin injury) earlier this season, but also have lost to Bradley and Purdue, among others. They'll likely need a couple of BE tourney wins, too, but we'll see ...

West Virginia [19-7 (8-6), RPI: 58, SOS: 125] The game at Pitt on Tuesday night could decide the Mountaineers' fate (barring a deep tournament run). They can still get to 9-7 in the Big East without it by beating Cincinnati, but the nine wins would be against UConn, Villanova, St. John's, South Florida, DePaul, Rutgers, Seton Hall twice and the Bearcats. Beating bubble foes is fine, but where's the beef? Outside of beating PG-less UCLA in nonconference play (still a top quality win), there's not a lot to fall back on (besides maybe NC State). WVU vs. Syracuse would be an interesting debate, as the teams don't play in the Big East regular season. WVU has the best win, but Cuse has played the much better schedule.

Providence [17-10 (7-7), RPI: 70, SOS: 33] The Friars likely saw their at-large hopes die at home in the four-point loss to Syracuse, barring an unexpected run to the Big East semis or more. The RPI, bad already, won't be helped by playing St. John's and South Florida in the final two league games.

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