08/27/2008 - Bronx, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jason Bay finished 2-for-4 with four RBI and Dustin Pedroia added a grand slam as Boston routed the New York Yankees, 11-3, in the middle contest of a three-game set from Yankee Stadium.
Jacoby Ellsbury collected two hits and scored twice for the Red Sox, who have won three in a row and four of five. Boston remained 3 1/2 games behind first- place Tampa Bay in the AL East after the Rays topped Toronto earlier Wednesday.
Kevin Youkilis, Alex Cora and Coco Crisp knocked in a run each.
Paul Byrd (9-11) got the win after yielding five hits and two runs over six frames, with five strikeouts and a pair of walks.
Jason Giambi homered for the Yankees, who have lost two straight games. Alex Rodriguez and Robinson Cano also drove in a run.
Sidney Ponson (7-5) lasted only 4 2/3 innings, allowing seven hits and four runs with four walks in defeat.
With a two-run lead in pocket, 'Sox reliever Manny Delcarmen hurled a scoreless seventh before the Red Sox put the game away with a seven-run eighth.
Against Jose Veras, Youkilis singled to third and Bay's triple scored him. Jed Lowrie and Jason Varitek drew consecutive walks and Cora's sacrifice fly made it 6-2. Crisp followed with an RBI single and David Robertson spelled Veras. He allowed a single to Ellsbury which loaded the bases and set the stage for Pedroia's slam for an 11-2 score.
David Ortiz singled but Youkilis flew out and Bay grounded out to end the onslaught.
Mike Timlin held the Bombers off the board in the eighth. Giambi greeted Timlin with a leadoff homer in the ninth but the veteran reliever closed the door on Boston's rout.
The Sox got on the board with a pair in the first. Pedroia singled with one out and Ortiz doubled. Two batters later, Bay drove them both in with a double. After Lowrie's walk, Varitek singled but Bay was thrown out trying to score for the final out.
The Yanks countered in their turn, as Bobby Abreu walked with two down and scored when Rodriguez doubled down the left-field line.
Rodriguez led off the fourth with a double and scored the tying run later in the frame on Cano's two-out single.
Boston loaded the bases against Ponson in the fifth on one-out singles by Ellsbury and Pedroia plus a walk to Ortiz. Youkilis walked to force in a run then Bay's sac fly scored Pedroia while moving Ortiz to third. Ponson was lifted for Edwar Ramirez, who retired Lowrie on a grounder to first to keep the margin at 4-2.
Byrd finished his outing by allowing a leadoff single to Johnny Damon in the home fifth before retiring the final six batters he faced.
Game Notes
Boston has won eight of the 14 meetings thus far in 2008...Prior to the game, the Red Sox acquired Mark Kotsay from the Atlanta Braves in exchange for outfielder Luis Sumoza...Timlin made his 1,051st career appearance, moving him past Kent Tekulve for seventh on the all-time list...Ponson is winless in his last four starts with three losses and also fell to 3-12 lifetime against Boston...Byrd improved to 6-1 since July 21.
<< Redding, Nats edge reeling Dodgers
Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tim Redding pitched six solid innings and
Ryan Zimmerman hit his first home run since May 17, as the Washington
Nationals held on for a 5-4 win over the reeling Los Angeles Dodgers, in the
second
<< O's dodge the brooms with big win over ChiSox
Baltimore, MD (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Melvin Mora, Aubrey Huff and Kevin Millar
all homered as Baltimore avoided a sweep by routing Chicago, 11-3, in the
finale of a three-game set at Camden Yards.
Brian Roberts was 2-for-5 with three R
<< Around FCS: PFL Must Replace Stars
Philadelphia (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Pioneer Football League has experienced
something of a renaissance era in the past few years with players like San
Diego's Josh Johnson and Eric Bakhtiari and Dayton's Kevin Hoyng passing
through the league.
<< Rangers' Hamilton scratched from lineup
Kansas City, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Texas Rangers outfielder Josh Hamilton
was a late scratch from the lineup in Wednesday's game against the Kansas City
Royals.
The left-handed slugger is out because of an abscessed tooth and was repla
Indians win 10th straight to sweep Tigers >>
Detroit, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kelly Shoppach and Shin-Soo Choo each hit
a two-run homer to lead Cleveland to its 10th straight victory, as the Indians
edged the Tigers, 9-7, in the finale of a three-game set.
Grady Sizemore ended wit
Rangers sweep Royals in KC >>
Kansas City, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jarrod Saltalamacchia went 3-for-4 with a
pair of doubles, an RBI and a run scored while Brandon Boggs homered, as the
Texas Rangers completed a three-game sweep of the Kansas City Royals with
a 3-2 v
Roddick, Djokovic, Davydenko cruise in Big Apple >>
Flushing Meadows, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - American Andy Roddick along with
last year's runner-up Novak Djokovic of Serbia and Russian star Nikolay
Davydenko were easy first-round winners Wednesday at the U.S. Open.
Third-seeded D
Ludwick leads Cards past Brewers >>
St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ryan Ludwick finished 3-for-4 with two runs
batted in, as St. Louis used a four-run eighth inning to upend Milwaukee, 5-3,
and earn a split in the two-game set with the Brewers.
Albert Pujols and Yadier Mo
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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