Braves send Hanson to the hill against Angels

Baseball Betting Lines

05/21/2011 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Interleague play will continue this evening when the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim host the Atlanta Braves in the second contest of a three-game set.

One of the best pitchers in the month of May has been Tommy Hanson, and he will look to continue his success this evening against Anaheim. The young right-hander started the year with three losses in four starts, but since then the future ace of Atlanta's staff has claimed a win in four of his last five outings.

Over his last five games the young hurler has surrendered just six runs, while striking out 30 batters. Ten of those strikeouts came in Hanson's recent win over Houston, as the right-hander held the Astros to just two runs -- one earned -- in seven innings.

The 24-year-old lowered his ERA to 2.35 on the season and moved his home mark to 3-1. However, this evening Hanson will be on the road where he is just 2-2 in four starts. This will be the first-ever start for Hanson against the Angels, but the right-hander has enjoyed plenty of success on the west coast this year, shutting down the Padres and Giants in their respective stadiums.

Joel Pineiro started the year on the disabled list for Anaheim, but the veteran right-hander has given the Angels a boost since returning to the rotation in late April.

The 32-year-old has not allowed more than three runs in any of his four starts and comes into this matchup with a crisp 1.98 earned run average. The last time Pineiro was on the bump he limited the Athletics to just three runs in seven innings, and although he did not factor in the decision, the Angels were victorious by a 5-4 margin.

Pineiro has a history against the Braves, but it is not a successful one. The right-hander has made seven appearances against Atlanta -- four starts -- and is just 1-2 with a 5.46 earned run average.

On Friday, Ervin Santana tossed a four-hit shutout and the Angels crushed Atlanta's Tim Hudson to open a three-game interleague series with a 9-0 rout.

Santana (2-4) needed 103 pitches to complete his sixth career shutout, as he struck out seven and did not walk a batter to help the Angels snap a five-game losing streak.

Mark Trumbo went 3-for-4 with a three-run homer while Alberto Callaspo had two hits and three RBI in the lopsided decision.

In one of the worst starts of his career, Hudson surrendered eight runs on seven hits and three walks in just 3 2/3 innings for the Braves, losers of three straight following a 5-1 stretch.

The Halos took two of three at Turner Field during the 2005 campaign, but Atlanta responded by winning two of three in Anaheim back in 2008. The Angels and are 139-109 against the National League, while Atlanta is 119-108 against the American League.

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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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