Harden fans nine in strong start, Rangers hold off A's

Baseball Betting Lines

05/04/2010 - Oakland, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rich Harden tossed seven innings of two-hit ball to help Texas take down Oakland, 4-2, in the opener of a three-game set.

Harden (2-1) struck out nine and didn't walk a batter for the Rangers, who have won six of their last seven. Michael Young went 3-for-5 with an RBI and a run scored while Justin Smoak added a solo home run in the win.

Dallas Braden (3-2) went seven innings and was charged with three runs on 11 hits with three strikeouts for the Athletics, who have dropped six of their last seven. Kevin Kouzmanoff clubbed a two-run homer in the ninth to keep Oakland from getting shut out.

Texas got on the board in the fourth as Vladimir Guerrero singled, Ian Kinsler followed with a double and Ryan Garko grounded out to plate Guerrero for a 1-0 lead.

In the fifth, the Rangers added two runs. With two outs, Craig Gentry singled and scored when Young followed with a double. Josh Hamilton then singled to score Young.

Harden, meanwhile, was cruising through his start, as the only baserunner he allowed through the first five innings was Eric Chavez, who reached in the second on Harden's fielding error. Harden didn't give up a hit until Rajai Davis' double with one out in the sixth. He gave up a two-out single to Chavez in the seventh, but stranded Chavez at first.

With Darren O'Day on the mound in the eighth, pinch-hitter Gabe Gross and Cliff Pennington hit singles for Oakland, but Frank Francisco came on and struck out Daric Barton to end the inning.

Smoak crushed a pitch over the left field wall to start the ninth for a 4-0 lead.

Francisco stayed on the mound in the ninth and promptly blew the shutout. Ryan Sweeney led off with a single and Kouzmanoff followed with a shot over the left field wall. Francisco then walked Chavez on four pitches and Neftali Feliz took the mound.

Feliz had no problems, as he set down the next three batters, striking out the final two for his sixth save of the season.

Game Notes

Last season, Oakland won 11 of the 19 games with Texas...Vin Mazzaro takes the mound for Oakland on Tuesday while Scott Feldman will toe the rubber for Texas...Before the game, Oakland reinstated reliever Michael Wuertz from the 15-day DL and optioned lefty Brad Kilby to Triple-A Sacramento.

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Pro Football Odds : NFC SOUTH BETTING ODDS

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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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