Red Sox aim for sixth straight win, host Twins in DH

Baseball Betting Lines

04/22/2009 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Boston Red Sox and Minnesota Twins hope to get a pair of games in Wednesday, as they square off in a day-night doubleheader from Fenway Park.

Last night's opener of a quick two-game series was postponed due to rain, although the forecast continues to call for showers this evening.

After a slow start the Red Sox seem to have found their way. They will try to win their sixth straight game this afternoon. Boston completed a four-game sweep of the Baltimore Orioles on Monday, as Dustin Pedroia went 4-for-6 with three RBI and three runs scored in a 12-1 blowout on Patriots Day.

Jacoby Ellsbury had three hits and scored three times, while David Ortiz and Mike Lowell each drove in two runs for the Red Sox, who have surged lately after starting the season with wins in just two of their first eight games.

Boston also improved to 5-2 in its building this season.

Justin Masterson (1-0), starting in place of the injured Daisuke Matsuzaka, got the win as he gave up just one run on four hits with two walks and three strikeouts in 5 1/3 innings of work.

The Red Sox will hand the ball this afternoon to veteran knuckleballer Tim Wakefield, who carried a no-hitter into the eighth inning of his last start on Wednesday against the Oakland Athletics. Wakefield lost the no-no with one out in the eighth when Kurt Suzuki laced a singe back up the middle. Wakefield still got the win, surrendering a pair of runs and four hits in the complete- game effort.

Wakefield, 42, has faced the Twins 25 times (23 starts) and is 13-5 against them with a pair of saves and a 4.31 ERA.

Brad Penny is slated to take the hill in the nightcap, and he is 1-0 with an 11.00 ERA in two starts this season. Penny won his Boston debut on April 11 against the Los Angeles Angels, allowing three runs in six innings of a 5-4 victory. He didn't factor in the outcome of a 10-8 win versus Baltimore on April 17 despite giving up eight runs in only three innings.

The righty faced Minnesota once in his career on June 10, 2005 as a member of the LA Dodgers and did not record a decision in a 6-5 win. Penny allowed five runs and nine hits in six innings against the Twins

Minnesota, meanwhile, has also caught fire following a slow start. The Twins enter Wednesday's first game on the heels of taking all three games in their weekend series with the Toronto Blue Jays, including a 3-1 win to cap off the sweep at the Metrodome.

Jose Morales picked up two hits, an RBI and scored a run in Sunday's win, while Carlos Gomez went 3-for-3 and drove in a run for the Twins, who have won four of their last six games to get back to .500 (7-7).

Glen Perkins (1-1) yielded four hits and a run over eight innings to earn his first win of the season. Joe Nathan struck out two in a scoreless ninth for his third save.

Today the Twins turn to Scott Baker, who is coming off a disappointing season debut on Wednesday against Toronto. Originally slated to be the Twins' Opening Day starter, Baker started the year on the disabled list after experiencing soreness in his shoulder just before the start of the season. His initial start, though, lasted just four innings, as the Blue Jays tagged him for six runs on five hits - including a career- high four home runs - in a 12-2 loss.

Baker has faced the Red Sox twice (one start) without recording a decision, but has only allowed one run in 10 innings of those outings.

Francisco Liriano is still searching for his first win of the 2009 season and will counter Penny in the second game tonight. Liriano is 0-3 with a 5.09 ERA in three starts, and most recently suffered a loss to Toronto on April 16. He surrendered two runs -- one earned -- in six innings of a 9-2 defeat. The lefty, who allowed nine runs in his first two starts, has never faced Boston.

The Red Sox won four of their seven meetings with the Twins last season, including all three matchups at Fenway, where they have won five of their last six in the series.

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Pacific-10 Conference odds

Teams that should be in: Stanford

Oregon and USC get their tickets punched after taking care of business this weekend. Yes, the Trojans' computer numbers aren't great, but there's no way the third-place team in this league is getting nixed. Grudgingly, I added Arizona after consultation with our Bracketologist. I don't know that Arizona will lose its last three (including a Pac-10 quarterfinal game), and even if the Cats do, I still can't see how they'd be left out, given the overall profile. That said, it bears watching, as three more L's would leave them at 18-12 (9-9) and on a 6-11 skid entering the Dance. It would be nice to see the Wildcats get at least one W in the Bay Area next week, as Cincinnati (albeit without Armein Kirkland and with a worse profile) was axed after a similar slide last season. I just couldn't rationalize having some of the other teams as locks and not having Arizona in that category -- there just aren't enough good teams behind the Cats to threaten their spot, it seems. Stanford has its fate in its own hands with the Arizona schools coming to the Farm to close out the regular season next weekend.

Should be in:

Stanford [17-10 (9-7), RPI: 40, SOS: 21] No shame in not getting a win in L.A., but that makes the home game against Arizona State a must-win ahead of what could be an intriguing meeting with Arizona should the Cats lose at Cal. Getting to 11 Pac-10 wins would make Selection Sunday much more comfortable, but 10's probably more than enough this season. The Cardinal have nonconference wins over Texas Tech and at Virginia to lean on, although they also lost badly to Air Force and Santa Clara at home.

Southeastern Conference odds
Work left to do: Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, Mississippi State

It looks more and more possible that no one from the SEC West will make the NCAAs. How weird is that? Tennessee and Vandy move into the locks category after more good work this weekend. Kentucky stays there, although it would be smart for the Cats to handle Georgia at home Wednesday ahead of a trip to the Swamp. Could a disaster scenario (two more L's and a first-round SEC tourney exit) somehow dislodge the Cats despite their incredible computer numbers? Still unlikely, but not worth chancing it.

Work left to do:

Alabama [19-9 (6-8), RPI: 43, SOS: 47] The tough L at Tennessee was understandable, and even created some hope. Unfortunately, that hope was dashed by a home loss to Auburn, which leaves the Tide in some real trouble. There's still no signature win on the profile (no, Kentucky doesn't count), and the computer profile is weakening rapidly. The Tide conceivably could beat Ole Miss and win at Miss. State to get to 8-8 and clinch at least a share of the West crown, but that's probably not enough right now. The Tide will need to do some work in the SEC tourney.

Georgia [16-10 (8-6), RPI: 52, SOS: 23] This is the team with the best chance to make it from this section right now. The Bulldogs rebounded from a terrible performance at Ole Miss to beat down Miss. State. Now they are at Kentucky (king of the RPI 51-100 win) and home to Tennessee. That would be worth a lot of computer points to get both (which is doable), as both teams are in the top 11 in RPI. Finishing at least 9-7 is an absolute must, and I would feel much better about the Dawgs' chances if they got both to get to 10 SEC wins. They also beat Gonzaga, but lost to ACC bubblers Georgia Tech and Clemson.

Mississippi [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 63, SOS: 79] Like everyone else in this division, Ole Miss gacked up a chance to stake a claim, losing by double figures at South Carolina. Even 9-7 likely is not nearly enough with a nonconference profile devoid of anything notable.

Mississippi State [16-11 (7-7), RPI: 66, SOS: 37] With a chance to get in the mix, these Bulldogs were leashed by their Georgia counterparts. Could they get to 9-7? I guess -- although winning at Arkansas, then beating Alabama is no lock -- but would that mean all that much for a team with this overall profile? Probably not. There's nothing of note (on the good side) in the nonconference profile.

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Football Betting

NFL Football Betting Online

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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