Those looking at Preakness odds should be in for a good race on Saturday, but another pair of American League West thoroughbreds will battle at the Rangers Ballpark in Arlington on Friday night, as the division-leading Rangers welcome the Los Angeles Angels to town. Texas‘ high-powered offense, as well as homefield advantage, should make them the favorites in your sportsbook. But the Angels are getting hot, and they’ll be sending their ace to the hill.

Angels vs Rangers odds – Friday, May 15, 8:05 PM ET

Joe Saunders (5-1, 2.66) has been carrying the banged-up Los Angeles rotation, and he shone in a 1-0 win at home over Kansas City as he went the distance, tossing a five-hitter with six strikeouts and only one walk. Saunders is out to prove that last year’s 17-7 record was no fluke, and he’s well on his way to another great season. The 27-year-old southpaw handled the hard-hitting Rangers rather well in 2008, going 1-1 in three starts with an ERA of 1.93.

Kevin Millwood (3-3, 2.92) gets the nod for the Rangers, and he gave up three runs on seven hits over seven innings of work, but he took a loss as the Rangers fell 3-2 at Chicago against the White Sox. This was the first time in five starts that Millwood didn’t allow a homer, and he walked three batters while striking out two. The 34-year-old righthander brings a veteran presence to an inconsistent Texas rotation, and he is looking to bounce back from a 9-10 record in 2008. Last year, Millwood was 1-2 in four starts against the Angels with an ERA of 4.21.

US-friendly sportsbook odds should favor the Rangers at home, and as of Thursday, both teams had won eight of their last 10 games. However, the Angels won seven of nine trips to Texas last year, with five of the nine games going over the posted total. Saunders has been as solid as they come this year, and he won’t have to do it all himself much longer as Ervin Santana and John Lackey have returned from the disabled list. This is the team that Texas needs to beat to prove they are a legitimate contender in the West, but until proven otherwise, the Angels are the team to beat. Take Los Angeles for a baseball betting win on Friday.

Today in the Daily Sports Roundup: The NBA and NHL will continue the second rounds of their playoffs, and the PGA Tour will hit the links in San Antonio. The sports gambling version of cell for cash and race for Tamir Sapir type wealth starts with day baseball and continues tonight.

American Idol Odds

Goodbye to early favorite Danny Gokey on American Idol. The latest Vegas odds for the 2009 American Idol sees Adam Lambert at -325 as the overwhelming favorite to win the most prestigious of all reality shows Hollywood and entertainment betting odds. Kris Allen is 5/2.

Tipping off on the hardwood  . . .

The Celtics can eliminate the Magic on Thursday night when those teams meet in Orlando for Game 6 of their second-round series. Boston rallied in the fourth quarter for a 92-88 home win in Game 5 on Tuesday, which gave them a 3-2 lead in the series. Glen Davis had a team-high 22 points in that win for the Celtics, and Paul Pierce had 19 points. Rashard Lewis led the Magic’s attack with 19 points in the defeat, and Dwight Howard had 12 points and 17 rebounds.

The Lakers can punch their ticket to the third round on Thursday night as well when they play on the road in Houston. Los Angeles got 26 points from Kobe Bryant on Tuesday night in a 118-78 home romp over the Rockets, which gave the Lakers a 3-2 series advantage. Pau Gasol contributed 16 points and 13 boards for Los Angeles in the win, and Andrew Bynum tossed in 14 points. Aaron Brooks had 14 points in the loss for the Rockets, and Ron Artest had nine points.

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The Dodgers will go with Chad Billingsley on Thursday afternoon as they finish off a road series in Philadelphia. Righthander Billingsley is 5-1 with a 2.45 ERA on the season, but he’s coming off his first loss of the year (three runs over seven innings vs. the Giants). The Phillies will counter with Cole Hamels on Thursday; the ace lefthander is just 1-2 with a 6.17 ERA through his five outings.

There are just five other games on the National League schedule for Thursday, with San Diego at the Cubs, Houston at Colorado, St. Louis at Pittsburgh, Florida at Milwaukee, and the Mets at San Francisco. New York probable starter John Maine is 3-2 with a 4.54 ERA on the season, and he’s won his last three outings.

The American League also offers up a half-dozen games on Thursday, with Detroit at Minnesota, Seattle at Texas, Boston at the Angels, Cleveland at Tampa Bay, Baltimore at Kansas City, and the Yankees at Toronto. CC Sabathia (2-3, 3.94 ERA) is slated to take the mound for New York against the Blue Jays; Sabathia tossed a complete-game shutout vs. the Orioles in his last mound trip.

Taking a trip around the rink . . .

The Bruins will try to complete the comeback on Thursday night as they host the Hurricanes in the seventh and deciding game of their second-round playoff series. Boston doubled up on Carolina 4-2 on Tuesday night to tie up the series 3-3 and force Thursday’s Game 7. Marc Savard, Mark Recchi, Chuck Kobasew, and Steve Montador all scored for the Bruins in that victory, while Tim Thomas made 31 saves. Cam Ward stopped just 15 of 19 Boston shots in a losing cause.

The Ducks also managed to force a Game 7 in their series with the favored Red Wings, with that matchup taking place on Thursday night as well. Ryan Getzlaf picked up a goal and an assist on Tuesday night in Anaheim‘s 2-1 home victory, which tied up the series 3-3. Corey Perry had the game-winning marker for the Ducks, and Jonas Hiller stopped 38 of 39 Detroit shots. Johan Franzen had the Detroit tally in the third period, while Chris Osgood had 26 saves in the contest.

Rounding out the Roundup . . .

Finally, Zach Johnson is pegged as the 10/1 Vegas favorite to win the PGA Tour’s stop this week, the Valero Texas Open in San Antonio. Johnson grabbed the trophy in this event last year, shooting a final-round 64 to end up at 19-under. Anthony Kim is next on this week’s odds list at 12/1, with each of Chad Campbell, Justin Leonard, Stephen Ames, and Tim Clark sitting back at 15/1. Most of golf’s big guns, including Tiger Woods, won’t be in the field for the event.

Preakness betting players will hope their pick this weekend doesn’t stumble out of the gate like New York "thoroughbred" C.C. Sabathia has since putting on the world’s most famous pinstripes. However, Sabathia showed signs of life in his last outing and he’ll need more of the same on Thursday at Rogers Center, when the Yankees wrap up a three-game set with the Toronto Blue Jays, the most potent offense in the majors.

Yankees vs Blue Jays odds – Thursday, 7:07 PM ET

Sabathia (2-3, 3.94) tossed a four-hit shutout gem in a 4-0 win at Baltimore, striking out a season-high eight batters while walking only one. This was easily the best start of Sabathia’s short New York career to date, and after a half-year in the National League spent dragging Milwaukee to the playoffs, the giant 28-year-old righthander returns to face a time against which he’s had success in the past. Sabathia is 7-3 in 10 starts against the Blue Jays when he was with Cleveland, with an ERA of 2.15 while holding them to a .215 batting average.

The Blue Jays will counter with Brian Tallet (2-1, 4.95), who also pitched a stunner in his last outing. Tallet went seven strong innings, giving up a run on two hits with seven strikeouts and a pair of walks in a 6-4 victory at Oakland. Tallet wasn’t even supposed to be in the rotation, but various injuries to pitchers like Jesse Litsch and Ricky Romero forced Toronto‘s hand, and he’s done rather well. Tallet has made 20 relief appearances against the Yankees, going 0-1 with an ERA of 2.86.

MLB odds should favor the Blue Jays at home in your US-friendly sportsbook , although it looks like a pitching mismatch on paper between Sabathia and Tallet. The Blue Jays have a great offense, but Sabathia likes pitching agianst them for whatever reason, and it looks like he’s got his mojo back. Tallet, on the other hand, the jury is still out on as a starter, and this will be a major test for him. Take the Yankees on the road for your baseball betting pick on Thursday.

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Today in the Daily Sports Roundup: The Nuggets try again to close out the Mavericks, while the Capitals play host to the Penguins in Game 7 of their series.

The Mavericks remain on the ropes as they head to Denver for Game 5 of their second-round series against the Nuggets on Wednesday night. Dallas avoided elimination on Monday with a 119-117 home victory, as Dirk Nowitzki led the team’s attack with a game-high 44 points. Josh Howard added 21 points for the Mavs, who now trail the best-of-seven set 3-1. Carmelo Anthony poured in 41 points in the loss for Denver, who opened as 8-point faves for Wednesday night.

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Undefeated Mark Buehrle will take the mound for the White Sox on Wednesday afternoon as they finish off their road series against rival Cleveland. Buehrle sits at 5-0 with a 2.61 ERA on the season, and he tossed eight scoreless innings (giving up just one hit) against the Tigers last time out. Countering for the Tribe will be Cliff Lee, who has a solid 3.45 ERA on the year but sits with a 1-5 record.

Elsewhere on the American League schedule for Wednesday it’s Tampa Bay at Baltimore, the Yankees at Toronto, Seattle at Texas, Detroit at Minnesota, Kansas City at Oakland, and Boston at the Angels. Red Sox starting knuckleballer Tim Wakefield is 4-1 with a 2.93 ERA in six outings so far this year.

Over in the National League on Wednesday it’ll be Atlanta at the Mets, Washington at San Francisco, St. Louis at Pittsburgh, the Dodgers at Philadelphia, San Diego at the Cubs, Florida at Milwaukee, Houston at Colorado, and Cincinnati at Arizona. Reds starter Johnny Cueto has allowed just one run and nine hits over his last 15 innings of work, and he sits at 3-1 with a 1.59 ERA.

Taking a trip around the rink . . .

The Penguins and Capitals will play for all the marbles in Washington on Wednesday night as those clubs contest Game 7 of their second-round series. The Caps pulled out a 5-4 overtime victory in Game 6 on Monday to extend the set to seven games, with David Steckel providing the tally in the extra frame. Viktor Kozlov scored twice for Washington in that contest, and Alexander Ovechkin had three assists. Sidney Crosby had a goal and an assist for the Pens.