07/06/2008 - (Baseball Betting) - One of baseball's best rivalries resumes in the Bronx tonight, as the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox wrap up a four-game set at Yankee Stadium.
On Saturday, Mike Mussina hurled six scoreless innings and New York survived a late scare to clip Boston, 2-1, in the third installment of this series. Mussina (11-6) allowed four hits in his outing, striking out five and walking one to record his first win since June 14.
In addition, it was the veteran right-hander's first positive decision over the Red Sox since June 5, 2006. Mariano Rivera allowed two hits and a run in the ninth but held on to record his 23rd save. Melky Cabrera and Brett Gardner had an RBI each for the Yankees, who won for the second time in their last six. Gardner got the nod in left field for starter Johnny Damon, who was not in the lineup after suffering a freak shoulder injury while chasing down an eventual triple by Boston's Kevin Youkilis in the visitors' 6-4 win Friday.
Justin Masterson (4-3) took the loss, his third in the last five starts. He surrendered six hits and two runs over six full frames and also hit three batters. Despite the setback, Boston has won five of the eight meetings with New York this season.
Tim Wakefield is expected to get the ball for Boston tonight with hopes that his knuckleball will keep the Yankee bats at bay. Wakefield is 5-6 this season with a 3.72 ERA and has allowed only 91 hits in 109 innings of work. On a down note, he has surrendered 45 walks.
Wakefield has yet to face New York this season, and he is 9-16 lifetime against the Yankees with a 5.03 ERA.
Joba Chamberlain will take the hill for the Yankees as he continues to settle into his new role as a starter. Considering that he owns a 1.65 ERA in his last three outings, one would have to say that the transition has been smooth. Chamberlain is 2-2 this season with a 2.22 ERA and has 62 strikeouts in 52.2 innings of work.
For his career, Chamberlain is 1-0 against Boston with a 2.08 ERA.
Boston owns a 5-3 advantage over New York in this year's season series, with the teams having split a two-game set at Yankee Stadium in mid-April. The Yankees won six of nine tests with the Red Sox as the host last year.
<< Volquez leads Reds vs. Nationals
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Cincinnati Reds and Washington Nationals will wrap up a
four-game series this afternoon at Great American Ball Park.
The Reds have won the first three tests of this series, including Saturday's
3-2 victory. Jerry Ha
<< Dodgers take on Giants in finale by the bay
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Los Angeles Dodgers will try to stay within striking
distance of the top spot in the NL West division today, when they conclude a
three-game series against the San Francisco Giants at AT&T Park.
Los Angeles h
<< Phillies get another crack at Mets in South Philly
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Philadelphia Phillies will try to rebound from last
night's loss when they resume a four-game set Sunday with the NL East-rival
New York Mets at Citizens Bank Park.
The Phillies had their four-game winning st
<< Rain again delays men's final at Wimbledon
London, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The rain has returned to the All England
Club and the men's Wimbledon final is being delayed in the third set.
Rafael Nadal is trying to dethrone five-time Wimbledon champ Roger Federer and
has a lead of
Phillies sign closer Lidge to three-year extension >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Philadelphia Phillies announced on
Sunday they have agreed to terms with closer Brad Lidge on a contract
extension through 2011.
Lidge will get $37.5 million over the next three years wit
Angels, Jays wrap up set in Anaheim >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The American League West-leading LA Angels of Anaheim are
set to play the rubber match of a three-game weekend set against the Toronto
Blue Jays.
On Saturday, Alex Rios went 3-for-5 and drove in two runs, and Vernon
Lee leads Tribe in finale at Minnesota >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Cleveland Indians have lost seven consecutive games,
and they will attempt to avoid a weekend sweep at the hands of the red-hot
Minnesota Twins today at the Metrodome.
At this point, it would be surprising i
A's wrap up set with White Sox in Windy City >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago White Sox and Oakland Athletics conclude a
four-game series this afternoon at U.S. Cellular Field.
In Saturday's game, Nick Swisher, Brian Anderson and Alexi Ramirez each
homered to back a terrific
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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