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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Pro Football Odds : NFC SOUTH BETTING ODDS

NFL Sports Betting

NFL betting action is back! At MySportsbook, all of the pro football odds are posted for the NFC North. Check out how we see the four teams in this cloudy division stacking up this year in the chase for the playoffs! Green Bay Packers (+125) - With QB Aaron Rodgers leading the offense and DC Dom Capers working his magic on defense, the Packers are a real force to be reckoned with.

Virtually nothing changed on this offense for Green Bay from last year to this year, save for the addition of rookie OT Brian Bulaga to the bunch. Expect more huge numbers from the Pack, and a relatively favorable schedule should get them over the hump and into the playoffs once again this season. My NFL Betting Predictions: 11-5, 1st place in NFC North Minnesota Vikings (+130) - There are still too many unknowns about the Vikes this year. There is a huge difference between QB Brett Favre and either Tarvaris Jackson or Sage Rosenfels under center. Plus, is Favre comes back, is he really going to be able to keep his pick total under double digits again? Depth at running back looked like it might have been an issue with RB Chester Taylor fleeing in free agency, but drafting RB Toby Gerhart should pick up the difference. This defense is still suitable, but with a first place schedule, making the playoffs is going to be very tough regardless of whether #4 comes back or not.

There is a huge difference between QB Brett Favre and either Tarvaris Jackson or Sage Rosenfels under center. Plus, is Favre comes back, is he really going to be able to keep his pick total under double digits again? Depth at running back looked like it might have been an issue with RB Chester Taylor fleeing in free agency, but drafting RB Toby Gerhart should pick up the difference. This defense is still suitable, but with a first place schedule, making the playoffs is going to be very tough regardless of whether #4 comes back or not. Play this weekly NFL Football Contestto see if you can win.

Chicago Bears (+350) - The Bears are probably a bit of an overhyped team once again this year.No, we don't think it is plausible for QB Jay Cutler to have as bad of a season as he did last year, and we do think the additions of RB Chester Taylor and DE Julius Peppers are going to help immensely, but there's still something in the water in the Windy City that we aren't so sure about. Maybe Chicago finds its way to .500... but then again, maybe it doesn't. If Favre comes back, Cutler might be the worst quarterback in this division this year.

Detroit Lions (+1500) - The Lions are probably once again going to be the whipping boys for the rest of the teams in the NFC North, but they aren't just going to roll over and die once again. There is some real talent amassing on this team offensively, as the combination of QB Matt Stafford, RB Jahvid Best, WR Calvin Johnson, and TE Brandon Pettigrew should put a bunch of points on the board if the offensive line can even remotely hold up. The questions really lie on defense, where it feels like DT Ndamukong Suh is going to be trying to stop opposing teams all by himself. This year should show some marked improvement in the Motor City.

The Patriots will make NFL betting fans a lot of money this season, get in early and enjoy the cash.

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