08/18/2008 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jon Lester hopes to get the Boston Red Sox back in the win column this evening when they open a three-game series with the Baltimore Orioles at Camden Yards.
After scoring 37 runs in winning all three games from its series with the Texas Rangers, Boston's bats were silenced over the weekend by the Toronto Blue Jays, who swept a rain-shortened two-game set at Fenway Park.
Shaun Marcum followed up Roy Halladay's brilliant performance from Saturday on Sunday, as he held the Red Sox to just a run and five hits in five innings in Toronto's 15-4 rout.
Kevin Youkilis and Dustin Pedroia both homered, while Jed Lowrie went 3-for-3 for the Red Sox, who were outscored 19-5 in the series.
Josh Beckett (11-9) took the loss after yielding eight hits and eight runs over 2 1/3 innings, his shortest start of the season.
Boston also saw its lead in the AL wild card race trimmed to just a half-game over the Chicago White Sox and Minnesota Twins.
Lester, meanwhile, will be trying to improve upon his perfect mark against the Orioles. He defeated them back on June 12 and is 4-0 in his six starts against them with a 3.25 ERA.
The 24-year-old left-hander won for the eighth time in his last nine starts on Wednesday against Texas, as he allowed three runs and seven hits in 7 1/3 innings to run his record to 11-4 to go along with a 3.25 earned run average.
Baltimore will counter with righty Jeremy Guthrie, who has won his last four starts. Guthrie defeated the Cleveland Indians on Wednesday, holding them to a run and four hits in seven innings.
Guthrie, who is 10-8 with a 3.18 ERA on the season, has surrendered just four runs over his winning streak in 29 1/3 frames.
He lost to Lester and the Red Sox back in that June meeting and is 1-1 lifetime against Boston with a 3.58 ERA in seven games, six of which have been starts.
Baltimore's bats broke out in a big way on Sunday, as Melvin Mora hit two homers and drove in a career-high six runs while Luke Scott added a pair of home runs and knocked in four, lifting the Orioles to a 16-8 rout of the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park.
Mora finished 5-for-6 with a pair of doubles and four runs scored while Scott added a double. Aubrey Huff chipped in with a two-run homer, double and three runs scored for the Orioles, who have won four of their last five. Nick Markakis added three hits, an RBI and three runs scored in the win.
Garrett Olson started for the Orioles and gave up five runs on four hits in 1 2/3 innings of work. The lefty fanned four and walked three. Fernando Cabrera (2-1) picked up the win after tossing three innings of shutout ball. He allowed three hits while striking out three with no walks.
Boston has won seven of its 12 matchups with the Orioles this season.
<< White Sox welcome Seattle to Windy City
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Sole possession in the American League Central division is
up for grabs, something the Chicago White Sox once claimed. They will try to
grab what was once theirs in tonight's opener of a three-game series versus
the strugglin
<< Guzan ready for new adventure in Premier League
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - American goalkeeper Brad Guzan has had a whirlwind past
couple of weeks.
First, the 23-year-old's British work permit was approved on Aug. 1,
completing his transfer from Major League Soccer's Chivas USA to Aston Villa
o
<< Nadal officially takes over No. 1 ranking
Ponte Vedra Beach, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rafael Nadal officially took over the
No. 1 position in the ATP Rankings Monday, replacing Swiss Roger Federer who
held the top spot for a record 237 consecutive weeks.
Nadal, who was ranked No. 2 beh
<< Hamburg adds Petric from Dortmund
Hamburg, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Hamburg have completed the signing of
Croatia striker Mladen Petric from Bundesliga rivals Borussia Dortmund.
Petric, 27, has joined for a fee of around $7.5 million with Mohamed Zidan
heading in
Mets aim for perfect road trip, sweep in Pittsburgh >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Mets attempt to complete a perfect seven-game
road trip this afternoon, as they try and sweep a four-game series from the
Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park.
New York, which has never swept a four-game set
Sabathia aims to stay perfect with Milwaukee in opener vs. Astros >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - It's safe to the say Milwaukee's acquisition of starting
pitcher CC Sabathia has paid dividends and the big left-hander will try to
stay perfect in a Brewers uniform tonight in the opener of a three-game series
versus the Hou
Giants shoot for rare series win in Atlanta >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Barry Zito tries to avoid his third straight loss this
afternoon when the San Francisco Giants attempt to win their first series at
Turner Field since 1997 in the finale of their four-game set with the Atlanta
Braves.
Zit
Slumping Rogers tries to lead Tigers past Rangers >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kenny Rogers will try to halt his four-start losing streak
in the place he began his career. Rogers will take the hill tonight, when his
Detroit Tigers visit the Texas Rangers for the start of a three-game set in
Arlingt
The San Francisco 49ers (5-11 SU, 5-10-1 ATS in 2007; 1-1 SU & ATS in pre-season) found some offensive life last week, and they will try to build some momentum on Thursday night as they travel to the Windy City to take on the Chicago Bears (7-9 SU & ATS in 2007; 0-2 SU, 0-1-1 ATS in pre-season) in an NFL matchup that is set to get underway at 8 PM ET at Soldier Field (natural turf) in Chicago.
Thursday, August 21
NFL betting odds: CHICAGO -3 (-120), Total 37
NOTABLE STAT: San Francisco was last in points, last in total offense in 2007
KEY NFL BETTING TREND: SF has lost its last seven SU on pre-season road
In the BetUS NFL pre-season football betting odds, the Bears are listed as a three-point favorite (laying -120), with the total posted at 37 points.
Here are some NFL football betting trends as they relate to this matchup (reflecting numbers going into the 2008 season):
* SF has lost 11 of its last 14 games SU
* SF has covered three of its last 11 games
* SF has lost six of its last seven road games SU
* SF has covered one of its last seven road games
* CHI has covered five of its last eight games
* CHI has played five of its last seven games OVER the total
* CHI has covered four of its last 13 home games
* SF has lost its last seven pre-season road games SU
* CHI has covered two of its last seven home pre-season games
Well, I guess we should congratulate the Bears on making their quarterback choice for the season's opening game, as they have designated Kyle Orton the starter against Indianapolis. The Bears obviously have lost patience with Rex Grossman, and what they do with him at this point is anybody's guess. But suffice it to say that there isn't a quarterback competition anymore, at least in training camp.
Meanwhile, the quarterback competition may also be settled in San Francisco, where the Niners bounced back from a lackluster 18-6 loss to the Raiders, in which they turned the ball over four times, to execute a 34-6 rout of the Packers last Saturday. However, coach Mike Nolan has stopped short of saying that, insisting that the job is still open. But J.T. O'Sullivan, the longshot of the trio of Niner signal-callers who opened camp, will start his third straight pre-season game here. Against Green Bay, O'Sullivan was only 8-for-17, and was intercepted, but he also threw for 9.1 yards an attempt, which included a 59-yard TD pass to Josh Morgan. The others struggled.
Some offensive cohesion is badly needed, in light of the Niners' dismal 2007 campaign, in which they were dead last in the NFL in scoring, with just 13.7 points a game. And O'Sullivan is the guy who is most familiar with offensive coordinator Mike Martz's exacting system, because he learned it last year in Detroit. O'Sullivan will go at least the entire first half and may even last longer. He'll be relieved by Alex Smith, with Shawn Hill doing the mop-up work. Three receivers who were out last week - Bryant Johnson, Ashley Lelie and Arnaz Battle - will miss this game too.
That may hurt a little here, especially since the Bears will be using a lot of their defensive starters. And it's the defense that has been keeping the Bears in games thus far. In fact, the defense and special teams were responsible for the first 19 points Chicago scored against Seattle last time out, as the offense really struggled with Grossman at the controls. But maybe the first-team offense has a chance to settle a little bit as it works more with Orton at the helm.
Certainly we have concerns about the Bears' offensive line, but we like the scenario for them here, especially if O'Sullivan doesn't make some bis plays. The Niners may have nowhere else to turn right now, and they have lost seven straight road games in the pre-season. Let's take Chicago, the three-point favorite in the NFL football betting odds.
CHICAGO -3 (-120) **
(Graded on a scale of 1-4 stars)
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