Angels outlast Rangers

Baseball Betting Lines

07/11/2008 - Arlington, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Pinch-hitter Maicer Izturis' RBI single in the top of the 11th inning gave the LA Angels of Anaheim an 11-10 victory over the Texas Rangers in a high-scoring affair at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington.

The Angels blew a 10-4 lead they held in the fifth inning, but a leadoff single by Garret Anderson in the 11th off Jamey Wright (5-4) sparked the game's most important tally. Anderson was moved up 90 feet on a sacrifice by Reggie Willits, and Izturis followed two batters later by looping a base hit to center.

Anderson scored without a throw, and Francisco Rodriguez held off a valiant Rangers rally in the bottom half to secure his record-pace 36th save of the year.

Howie Kendrick hit his first two home runs of the season and went 3-for-5 with three runs scored and three batted in, and Juan Rivera had three hits and two runs scored for the Angels, who earned a split in the four-game series.

Texas' Josh Hamilton, Marlon Byrd, and Max Ramirez each hit home runs, while Michael Young was 4-for-7 with two RBI. Chris Davis recorded two doubles during a three-hit night for the Rangers, who rattled off 20 hits but left 14 men on base and went 3-for-16 with runners in scoring position.

Angels starter John Lackey was roughed up for a whopping 15 hits and six runs in 5 2/3 innings of work. In his last two starts, the right-hander has been lit up for 11 earned runs in 11 2/3 frames, but still owns a miniscule 2.46 earned run average. Justin Speier (1-4) earned the win after tossing a scoreless 10th.

Scott Feldman didn't fare well in his start, throwing just 3 2/3 innings and being credited for eight runs on six hits and five walks for Texas, which had won four of five.

Rodriguez, who gave up a game-winning home run to Hamilton on Wednesday, allowed a leadoff walk in the 11th and almost threw away the game on the next pitch.

Ramirez popped up a sacrifice bunt and the closer, trying to turn two, let the ball drop but wheeled and tossed the ball into center field.

With the top of the order up and two runners on, Rodriguez bore down. Ian Kinsler, who is leading the American League with a .333 batting average, popped up his own sacrifice bunt. Rodriguez caught the automatic out this time, and fanned Ramon Vazquez before getting a game-ending groundout to second off the bat of Young.

"I just tried to stay focus and put the error behind me," Rodriguez said. "I stayed aggressive. One bad pitch and the game was over, like last night."

The Rangers' big guns got things going early. Ian Kinsler walked and came around to scored on a double from Ramon Vazquez, who then came home on a single from Young for a quick 2-0 lead.

Kendrick cut the lead in half by muscling his first home run of the season with no one on in the second, and the Angels took the lead on sacrifice flies from Casey Kotchman and Anderson in the third.

Hamilton brought the lead right back with his 21st home run of the season, a two-run shot to right, but LA answered with five runs in the fourth.

A single, double and walk loaded the bases for Erick Aybar, who was hit by a pitch to force in a run. A walk to Chone Figgins forced in another run and Kotchman grounded out to bring in the third run of the inning.

Vladimir Guerrero was intentionally walked and Torii Hunter took umbrage by lacing a two-run single to center for an 8-4 score.

Kendrick's two-run shot an inning later pushed LA ahead, 10-4, while Byrd notched a solo round-tripper in the bottom half to start the comeback.

Young singled in a run in the sixth, and Davis hit a disputed RBI double to jump-start a four-run, game-tying seventh inning. Rangers manager Ron Washington was ejected for arguing that the shot had been a home run, but the point was moot, as Brandon Boggs brought in Davis with a single and Ramirez finished off the comeback with a two-run shot to left that quickly left the park.

The Angels looked to take the lead in the ninth, but Boggs scooped up a Rivera single and threw out Hunter trying to score from second. Hunter tried to run over Ramirez, but the catcher hung on to send the game into extra innings.

"We fought like warriors," Rangers manager Ron Washington said.

Game Notes

Kinsler went 1-for-5 with two walks to extend his hitting streak to 22 games, while Young moved his string to 12...The Rangers had split their eight games with the Angels this season...Game time: 4:25.

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Elite 8 NCAA Tournament Betting at online sportsbook MySportsbook.com

In what should be an outstanding Saturday of March Madness betting action, the top four teams in the South and West Regions square off in what should be extremely close match-ups. Three of the four teams are coming off extremely close games on Thursday evening, only UCLA won semi comfortably over Pitt 64-55.

Ohio State is coming off their second game in a row where in all reality they should have lost. Of course that doesn’t matter now since the name of the game is “survive and advance” but as the tournament continues, they can’t afford to keep getting down to their opponents early. Kansas also avoided a scare by holding off a scrappy Southern Illinois squad. In the third thrilling game of the evening Memphis pulled off the minor upset (+3.5) despite being the higher seed to Texas A&M.

Although the spreads are fairly small for Saturday’s games, MySportsbook.com continue to bet against the underdogs. Despite OSU’s two scares, 86% of the “betting public” feels the Buckeyes (-1.5) have what it takes to make the Final Four. In fact, so much of the early money is on OSU that the line has already moved from -1 to -1.5. In the second game of the doubleheader, Kansas and their high-powered offense are 2 point favorites as they take on UCLA and their effective defense. About 63% of the early money thus far is once again backing the favorites. If those percentages stay that high, don’t be surprised if this line moves as well. If you like Kansas (-2) you might want to jump on it early.

Memphis vs. Ohio State

Both squads were involved in thrillers on Thursday evening and should come out fired up. OSU can ill afford to get behind early like they did versus their previous two opponents (Xavier, Tennessee). Greg Oden needs to stay out of foul trouble; the Buckeyes are a completely different team when he is on the court. Memphis definitely has the athleticism and length to match-up with OSU. Of Memphis’ five leading minute earners, the shortest of the bunch is 6’5”. Each team has a very effective defense; Memphis surrenders 62.3 PPG whereas the Buckeyes give up only 61 PPG. With those type of numbers, it isn’t surprising that Memphis covered the UNDER almost 69% of the time this season. As a favorite, OSU has covered the UNDER almost 66% of the time over the last three seasons. The major concern for Memphis which is magnifies this time of the year is their brutal foul shooting (62%). This season, OSU is 17-11 ATS versus teams with a winning record and 7-2 ATS in all tournament games. Memphis has been an extremely reliable cover in tournament play in recent years with a 23-8 ATS record over the last three seasons.

UCLA vs. Kansas

In the second game of Saturday’s doubleheader, UCLA will play in a role which they are very unfamiliar with that of the underdog. Only twice this season have they been getting points from the handicappers and both times they covered. Over the last three seasons UCLA is a reliable 23-7 ATS in this unfamiliar role. UCLA has not fared well against Big 12 opponents recently going 1-7 ATS since 1997. Giving up only 59.6 PPG, UCLA will definitely look to do what they do best: keep this game as low scoring as possible. Their defense has been especially tough during the tournament. UCLA opponents have been able to muster up only 48.7 PPG while shooting a combined 34.5% from the field. UCLA definitely has a challenge at hand with a Kansas team that is capable of putting points on the board in bunches. As a team, they average 79 PPG and shoot an impressive 49.6% from the field and 39.4% from beyond the arc. During the tournament Kansas has been “lights out” from the field having shot 56.2%.

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