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posted May 9, 2008 at 20:38 in MLB Articles

BetUS MLB baseball betting matchup:

The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim are sitting atop the American League's West division. On Saturday night they'll take on a challenge from a team with lofty aspirations in the AL East when they face the Tampa Bay Rays in a game that is scheduled to get underway at 7:10 PM ET at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg.

Left-handed starters oppose each other, as Joe Saunders (6-0, 2.61 ERA) of the Angels puts his undefeated record on the line against Scott Kazmir (0-1, 6.75 ERA) of the Rays.

Here are some of the MLB Baseball betting trends as they relate to this matchup (numbers are good through Thursday's games - please adjust for Friday results):

* LA has won four of its last five games

* LA has played four of its last six games UNDER the total

* LA has won six of its last eight road games

* LA has played four of its last six road games UNDER the total

* TB has won 10 of its last 15 games

* TB has lost four of its last six games

* TB has won its last six home games

* TB has played seven of its last eight home games UNDER the total

In the HEAD-TO-HEAD baseball betting trends:

* LA has won seven of the last nine meetings

* LA has won 13 of the last 16 meetings

* Three of the last four meetings have gone UNDER the total

* LA has won five of the last eight meetings as the home team

We could say that the Angels are playing "small ball," except for the fact that they are sixth in the major leagues in home runs. A lot of this, surprisingly, has been done without a major power infusion by Vladimir Guerrero, who's hit only three round-trippers on the season, and who recently went through a stretch of five straight games without a hit for the first time in his career. This year's version of the Angels also features two pitchers who have yet to face defeat this season. One of them in Ervin Santana; the other takes the mound against the Rays on Saturday.

Joe Saunders hasn't been unhittable, but thus far he's been unbeatable. And so have the Angels when he pitches. They've won every one of his seven starts, even a hairy 6-5 victory over Baltimore six days ago, when he gave up twelve hits and four runs in five innings. He needs to go some innings, though, because the Los Angeles bullpen has posted a 4.89 ERA, which is 27th in the big leagues.

Scott Kazmir led the American League in strikeouts last season, but he started this year on the disabled list. Obviously the rays are counting on him to be the anchor of one of the best young pitching staffs in the majors, but he's still pitching himself into shape. In his lone start, which took place last Sunday, he gave up three runs and six hits to the Red Sox in just four innings before being yanked. When he'll round completely into form is a question without an answer. But the 24 year-old is throwing hard; he struck out five Boston hitters in his short stint. Last year he tamed the Angel bats in a 7-2 win on July 18, holding L.A. to just three hits and a run in seven innings.

Los Angeles has been a tough team to beat when traveling, racing up 12 wins in 18 games in that role through Thursday. And the Angels have won four out of five against left-handed starters. With their propensity for winning when Saunders is on the mound, we'll go with them against Kazmir, from whom we'd like to see a solid performance first.

So we move with the Angels in the BetUS Major League Baseball betting odds.

JAY'S PLAY: LOS ANGELES

Go to the BetUS sportsbook today and take a swing at Major League Baseball online betting. We have the most current baseball odds and lines, as well as player, game and series props throughout the MLB baseball season. To help you bet on sports, check out the Free Picks section of the Locker Room for sports betting free picks and predictions. Join BetUS to experience the best in online sports betting action!

(Charles Jay of http://www.eBookies.com touches all the bases as a regular contributor to the BetUS Locker Room)