the sports EYE

1 Unit on Rays/Rangers O 10.5
(Listing Kazmir and Hunter)

Scott Kazmir has lost it this season, and Tommy Hunter is about to get lit up by this hot Rays' lineup. Kazmir is 4-4 with a 7.28 ERA in 2009, giving up 43 earned runs in 50.7 innings of work. Tommy Hunter has only made two starts for the Rangers, but he's given up 14 hits and 3 walks in just 11.7 innings. Two of those 14 hits were home runs, and he's faced two of the worst lineups in baseball in the A's and Padres. Tampa Bay has won 7 of their last 8 games and they are really starting to hit the ball, which doesn't bode well for Hunter and the Rangers. Tampa is hitting .287 with a .384 OBP in their last 7 games. The OVER is 9-1 in Kazmir's 10 starts this season. The OVER is 12-3 in Tampa Bay's last 15 games following an off day. Texas is 13-4 OVER after scoring 8 or more runs in each of their last 2 games over the last 2 seasons. The OVER is 11-1 in Kazmir's last 12 starts with a Total Set of 9.0-10.5 runs. The OVER is 14-2 in Kazmir's last 16 starts as a favorite. Finally, the OVER is 4-0 in Kazmir's last 4 starts against the Rangers. Cash in with the OVER 10.5 runs.

Take LA Angels of Anaheim -147 over Baltimore Orioles



The last place Baltimore Orioles continue to struggle on the road. The Birds are now 11-24 away from Camden Yards following a 5-2 loss to the Angels on Thursday night.



Just about everywhere you look the numbers are bad for Baltimore. They’re 0-3 against the Halos this season and 7-21 in the last 28 meetings. The Orioles are just 3-7 in their last ten outings and are hitting just .236 on the road while posting an ERA of 6.01 as a visitor.



Tonight Baltimore will face Ervin Santana who has had two stints on the DL this season. It’s amazing how things can change in a year. In 2008 Santana was a member of the AL All-Star team. This season he’s had more stints on the disabled list than he has wins. Santana has been on the 15-day disabled list since June 23rd. He experienced stiffness in his throwing arm following a start in Tampa Bay. He’ll take the mound this evening with a 1-3 record and an ERA of 7.47 in six starts.



The Orioles will counter with David Hernandez who is 1-2 on the season with a 4.19 ERA. In his last three starts he’s had as many walks as strikeouts and his ERA is just a smidge under 5.



After a slow start with the bats, the Angels have come to life offensively. Los Halos have scored 34 runs in their last five games and Bobby Abreu has been a big reason for the increased production. Abreu, who homered twice on Thursday night, has driven in 27 runs since the start of June. The only hitter in the Al who has matched Abreu’s production is teammate Juan Rivera.



The Angels have somehow kept things together in a season where lesser teams would have unraveled. Even with a rusty Santana on the mound tonight, I like the Angels to keep things rolling.