posted April 17, 2008 at 16:11 in MLB Free Picks

This series was shaping up to be a tight one for online baseball betting but it looks as if Baltimores luck has run out. Game 1 of the White Sox two-game set with the Baltimore Orioles was a carbon copy of how pale hose skipper Ozzie Guillen would like every one of Chicago’s games to go this season. Get the lead in the first. Get seven strong innings from his starter. Have Linebrink set Jenks up for the save in the ninth, and notch another in the win column.

Chicago should be the odds on favorite for the rest of this sport betting series. Chicago did just that last night when Jim Thome blasted his 510th career home run (of the three-run variety) in the 1st inning giving Jose Contreras some wiggle room right away. He didn’t need it though as he dominated the Orioles line-up to the tune of seven innings of four-hit ball surrendering one earned run and striking out six while walking none. Scott Linebrink picked up a hold in the 8th inning (5th of the year), and Bobby Janks pitched a 1-2-3 ninth to secure his sixth save of the season. The win allowed the White Sox to hold onto its #1 position in the AL Central. O’s lefty Adam Loewen did a fine job other than giving up the Thome bomb in the first. He gave up six hits and three earned runs in six innings of work striking out three but walking five. The loss was the O’s second in a row and sixth in their last eight games dropping them down to 2nd place in the NL East behind Boston and New York.

Gavin Floyd flirted with history his last time out going 7 1/3rd innings before allowing a hit to Tigers SS Edgar Renteria in the Sox 7-0 win over the Tigers. Floyd threw 107 pitches in the start allowing one hit and no earned runs with a K/BB ratio of 4/4. He’s currently 2-0 with a 2.03 ERA, and will be facing Baltimore this evening for the first time in his career. In his lone road start this season, he defeated the Detroit Tigers again but that was when their bats were still being held silent.

Opposing him will be righty Jeremy Guthrie who’s pitched brilliantly throughout his last two starts. Combined, he’s allowed 14 hits and four earned runs in 13.1 innings of work with a K/BB ratio of 6/3. He's worked into the seventh inning in each of his last two starts, but had late rallies by the opposing team erase him as the pitcher of record in both. He got roughed up by the White Sox in his only start against them last year giving up nine hits and six runs (5 ER) in just 3.2 innings of work in the O’s 9-7 defeat.

Baltimore opened –120 home chalks, but that number has been bet down to its current price of –110 with the ‘total’ set at 9 over –120. BetUS.com offers all kinds of action for this game, so be sure to login and get your bets in before the 7:05 ET first pitch. With last night’s victory, the White Sox are 9-4 their L/13 visits to Camden Yards, and a perfect 5-0 their L/5 road games as an underdog. Making matters worse for the O’s is the fact that they’re 4-10 in Guthrie’s L/14 home starts and 1-6 the L/7 times Guthrie faced a winning team.

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!