LA ANGELS (Colon) -120 over BALTIMORE (Bedard)
The Angels can smell the division title as they begin to put some
distance between themselves and the struggling A's and now have
a 3.5-game cushion in the West. Bartolo Colon has been their best
starter and he has been undefeated in August while compiling a
K/BB ratio of 23/2. That includes a 7-inning, one-run showing against
Baltimore early in the month. He's a road warrior with a 9-3, +$610
record away from Angel Stadium. Erik Bedard, like his team, is only
a shadow of the dominant pitcher he was in the first half. Since
returning from a knee injury, the southpaw has an ERA of 4.69 and
has won only 2 of 7 starts. He has already walked 2 more batters
during that stretch than he did before going on the DL--in 20 fewer
innings.
The Angels can smell the division title as they begin to put some
distance between themselves and the struggling A's and now have
a 3.5-game cushion in the West. Bartolo Colon has been their best
starter and he has been undefeated in August while compiling a
K/BB ratio of 23/2. That includes a 7-inning, one-run showing against
Baltimore early in the month. He's a road warrior with a 9-3, +$610
record away from Angel Stadium. Erik Bedard, like his team, is only
a shadow of the dominant pitcher he was in the first half. Since
returning from a knee injury, the southpaw has an ERA of 4.69 and
has won only 2 of 7 starts. He has already walked 2 more batters
during that stretch than he did before going on the DL--in 20 fewer
innings.