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07/24/2007 - Cleveland, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jon Lester began his courageous comeback from cancer by allowing five hits and two runs over six innings, and Manny Ramirez went 2-for-4 with a two-run double as Boston topped Cleveland, 6-2, in the opener of a four-game set at Jacobs Field.
Lester (1-0) struck out six and walked three in his first major-league start since a win over the Angels last August 23. He set down the final eight batters he faced and needed just 96 pitches to earn the win.
The 23-year-old was 7-2 with a 4.76 ERA in 15 starts with the Red Sox after being promoted from Pawtucket in June, 2006. The No. 1 prospect in the organization and Boston's first pick of the 2002 draft, Lester became the first Red Sox rookie lefty in club history to win his first five decisions.
However, his charmed season was cut short after that start against the Angels, when he was placed on the disabled list due to a sore back, an injury which led to a September diagnosis of a treatable form of anaplastic large cell lymphoma.
Lester underwent treatment and was then brought along slowly by Boston, which sent him to Single-A on a rehab assignment to begin the season. He then hit a minor bump in the road on May 2 when he experienced muscle cramping in his left forearm. After recovering from that injury, Lester was reinstated from the disabled list and optioned to Pawtucket, where he made 14 starts, before taking the place of the struggling Julian Tavarez in the rotation on Monday.
Coco Crisp finished 4-for-5 with three runs scored for the Red Sox, who have won four in a row. Dustin Pedroia had three hits and scored a run and Kevin Youkilis picked up a pair of hits, an RBI and a run scored.
Tribe hurler Jake Westbrook (1-6) was tagged for 10 hits and five runs with four walks and one strikeout in six innings. Grady Sizemore hit a two-run homer for the Indians, who have dropped two of three.
Sizemore's blast in the third made it 5-2, and Lester finally ran into trouble in the fourth. Ryan Garko led off with a double then Jhonny Peralta walked. After Franklin Gutierrez fanned, Kelly Shoppach walked to load the bases. Josh Barfield grounded into a force at home, then Lester blew a pitch by Sizemore to end the inning.
Cleveland would not threaten from that point with Lester on the hill.
Boston had runners on first and second with one out in the sixth and failed to score against Jensen Lewis, but tacked on a run in the ninth when Pedroia drove in Crisp with a single to restore their four-run lead at 6-2.
Manny Delcarmen, who was called upon to get the last out of the eighth, set the Indians down in order in the bottom of the frame to pick up his first major league save and preserve Lester's comeback victory.
The Sox gave Lester all the run support he needed early, loading the bases with none out in the first on singles by Crisp and Pedroia and a walk to Youkilis. Ramirez belted a double down the left-field line to score a pair, and J.D. Drew followed with an RBI single. Mike Lowell then grounded into a double play, but a run scored for a 4-0 lead.
Youkilis dropped a two-out single into right to score Crisp in the second.
Game Notes
Red Sox first baseman/designated hitter David Ortiz did not play, and remains day-to-day with a left shoulder strain suffered on Friday...The Sox are 11-5 at the Jake since the 2002 season...Westbrook has not won in his last seven starts, the longest stretch of his career...It was Crisp's third straight game with three or more hits...Tuesday's probables are Daisuke Matsuzaka for Boston and C.C. Sabathia for Cleveland...Garko extended his hit streak to 16 games, currently the longest in the American League...Sizemore leads the Indians with 18 home runs...Julio Lugo singled in the sixth inning for Boston to extend his hitting streak to 13 games.
<< Valentin's RBI single in the 12th leads Reds over Brewers
Cincinnati, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Pinch-hitter Javier Valentin's run-scoring
single in the 12th inning gave the Cincinnati Reds a 2-1 victory over the
Milwaukee Brewers in the opener of a four-game set at Great American Ball
Park.
<< Ginepri upset in Indy
Indianapolis, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Germany's Michael Berrer upset seventh-
seeded American Robby Ginepri in three sets to advance to the second round at
the $575,000 Indianapolis Tennis Championships.
Berrer, a quarterfinalist last we
<< Kim shoots 62 to lead U.S. Girls' Junior
Lakewood, WA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Among other things, Kimberly Kim was worried
about losing her focus.
"I'll be putting for two minutes and I'll be kind of bored," she said.
But there was nothing boring about the 15-year-old Hawaiian's rou
<< Thomas homers twice as Blue Jays top Twins
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Frank Thomas hit a pair of two-run home runs as
the Toronto Blue Jays downed the Minnesota Twins, 6-4, in the opener of a
three-game set.
Thomas, who has 503 career home runs, is now just one home run b
Lester beats cancer, bests Indians >>
Cleveland, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jon Lester, the plucky 23-year-old Red Sox
hurler, completed a courageous comeback from cancer by allowing just
five hits and two runs over six innings to earn the win in Boston's 6-2
victory
Yanks remain hot, pound Royals >>
Kansas City, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Johnny Damon, Hideki Matsui and Jorge
Posada each knocked in a pair of runs and Roger Clemens pitched seven solid
innings, as the streaking New York Yankees slammed the Kansas City Royals,
9-2, in
Houston's Pence out four-to-six weeks with chip fracture >>
Houston, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Hunter Pence underwent an MRI Monday that
revealed the National League Rookie of the Year candidate has a capsular
sprain in his right wrist and a chip fracture in that same wrist.
The injuries wi
Holliday, Hawpe homer in eighth to lift Rockies past Padres >>
Denver, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Matt Holliday hit a three-run homer in the
eighth inning to tie the game and Brad Hawpe's two-run homer in the same
inning put Colorado on top, as the Rockies came from behind to down San Diego,
7-5, in
“You play to win the game!”
Those are the words of notoriously intense head coach Herman Edwards. Unfortunately, from a bettors’ perspective, most coaches don’t feel that way about the NFL preseason. August is a time to evaluate young players, finalize the depth chart and pray your star players stay healthy.
The trick to making money during the exhibition schedule is identifying coaches – like Edwards – who can’t stand losing even when there's nothing on the line.
The New York Jets betting won 15 of 21 preseason games and went 14-7 against the spread (ATS) during Edwards’s five-year tenure with the club. In his first season as the Kansas City Chiefs field boss, the team improved from 0-4 to 2-2.
Identifying win-a-holics like Edwards is a good start if you plan betting the preseason – even though most say you shouldn’t ... but what the hell do they know anyway?
Here’s a brief rundown of two teams that have a habit of winning during the second-stringers’ season, and another club that has a good chance of exceeding this year.
Playing in the media hub of North America can be stressful but the press can’t write anything negative about the way Tom Coughlin’s boys play in the preseason. The Giants won and covered all four games last summer, improving their record to 7-1 both straight up (SU) and against the spread over the last two years.
Coughlin has shown he’s not afraid to give his starters more time in the second preseason game than most of his colleagues, no doubt one of the reasons his team has been so dominant.
Bettors can count on America’s team early on. The Cowboys are 14-6 both SU and ATS since 2002 in warm-up contests. Former coach Bill Parcells, the coach of the team the last four years, has an intimidating, in-your-face presence – surely a reason Dallas has had so much early success.
The Big Tuna won’t be strolling the sidelines with looks of disgust, but new coach Wade Phillips will be anxious to make a good first impression for owner Jerry Jones.
Dallas plays the Indianapolis Colts and the Denver Broncos before things get serious. They then face the Houston Texans in their third contest (the game starters see most game time) and finish off with the Minnesota Vikings.
Expect a Dallas team able to walk away with another 3-1 preseason record.
This team scored a league-worst 12 offensive touchdowns last season, so the rookies and veterans each have something to prove. There’s a bounty of first-unit jobs up for grabs and plenty of bodies competing for those slots.
First-time head coach Lane Kiffin will be eager to impress an owner who employs the philosophy, “Just win, baby!”
The 32-year-old Kiffin has to command respect from a locker room full of players older than him. All of these factors should lead to purpose in preseason.
Don’t forget: before playing like a team that belonged in NFL Europe, Oakland went 4-1 (both SU and ATS) in exhibition games.
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Albert Pujols to be This Year's Home Run Champ Says Online Sportsbook
Barry Bonds is a 50-1 long shot to be this year's home run champ odds. The favorite to be this year's home run champ is none other than Albert Pujols, however.
Now that Barry Bonds is signed and in Giants camp, it is on to his pursuit of all of sports most prestigious records: the all-time home run mark. Bonds sits just 21 homers shy of tying Hank Aaron for the career mark at 755. Word out of Giants’ camp is that Bonds is the healthiest he has been in a few years. Bonds is just two seasons removed from his injury riddled 2005 campaign where he played in only 14 games and hit only 5 home runs. He did come back last year and had a solid season hitting .270 with 26 bombs. All eyes will be on Bonds this spring and summer not only because of his home run chase but his highly publicized steroid abuse allegations. If and when Bonds breaks the record, he surely will not get the positive attention one should for breaking a record that was once thought of as “unbreakable”. Despite Bonds decent season last year, he is just 50-1 at MySportsbook.com to lead the MLB in long balls this season.
Not surprisingly, the favorites to go deep the most times this season are Albert Pujols 5-1, Ryan Howard 6-1, David Ortiz 8-1 and Alex Rodriguez 12-1. With 49 homers, Pujols finished second in the National League behind Howard (58). Pujols is considered the favorite due to the consistent power numbers that he has posted since breaking into the league in 2001. Also one must consider the fact that he played in 16 fewer games then Howard did due to an injury. Howard smashed 58 homers in his first complete season of big league play en route to the National League MVP odds award. He silenced his critics by successfully hitting left-handed pitching. Howard also displayed the ability to use his power to the opposite field. Two attributes which should keep Howard amongst the league leaders in long balls for years to come. From the American League representatives, David Ortiz leads the field. Ortiz was second in the majors last year with 54 home runs. Except for 1999 when he only played in 10 games, Ortiz has improved on his home run numbers each year he has been in the majors (1997).
Be sure to log onto online sports betting site MySportsbook.com to check out the odds for who will lead the MLB in home runs this season. Below is just a sample of the players listed. With the highest credit card rates in the industry, MySportsbook.com is the place to bet on baseball this summer.
World Series odds
Adam Dunn 15-1
Albert Pujols 5-1
Alex Rodriguez 12-1
Alfonso Soriano 15-1
Andruw Jones 25-1
Barry Bonds 50-1
Carlos Delgado 40-1
David Ortiz 8-1
Jermaine Dye 40-1
Ken Griffey Jr. 100-1
Lance Berkman 40-1
Manny Ramirez 20-1
Richie Sexson 40-1
Ryan Howard 6-1
Travis Hafner 20-1
Vladimir Guerrero 40-1
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.
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