Red Sox pound Lackey in game one of day-night doubleheader

Baseball Betting Lines

08/17/2007 - Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - David Ortiz blasted a two-run homer as part of a six-run first inning, and the Boston Red Sox made Clay Buchholz a winner in his major league debut with an 8-4 victory over the LA Angels of Anaheim in the front end of a day-night doubleheader at Fenway Park.

The double-dip was made necessary due to a rainout in Beantown back on April 15.

Buchholz (1-0) yielded four runs -- three earned -- and eight hits in six innings for Boston. The highly touted righthander walked three and struck out five, and at 23 years and three days became the youngest Red Sox pitcher to win his debut as a starter since Juan Pena on May 8, 1999 (21 years, 315 days).

The 42nd player chosen in the 2005 draft, Buchholz was 8-3 with a 2.15 ERA in 22 games combined at Double-A Portland and Triple-A Pawtucket this season, and was averaging nearly 13 strikeouts per nine innings in 22 minor league games.

Between games of the doubleheader, Buchholz was sent back to Pawtucket.

Dustin Pedroia homered, and J.D. Drew went 3-for-5 with an RBI and a run scored for Boston, which has won three of its last four games and five of eight overall.

John Lackey (15-7) surrendered seven runs -- six earned -- on 11 hits in just four innings of work for the Angels, who have dropped three of four. Lackey, who struck out three and did not walk a batter, had a personal three-game winning streak halted.

Casey Kotchman went 4-for-4 with a run scored, and Garret Anderson had two hits and two RBI for the Halos.

The Angels pushed across a run in the first on an RBI ground out by Anderson.

Boston responded by sending 10 batters to the plate and scoring six times in its first at-bat. A leadoff ground-rule double by Pedroia ignited the outburst, and two batters later Ortiz clubbed a two-run homer to right. Manny Ramirez followed with a base hit and scored on a triple by Drew, and a Mike Lowell RBI single to left made it 4-1.

Coco Crisp flied out, but Doug Mirabelli doubled to plate Lowell. Mirabelli then hobbled around third base, apparently suffering from a right calf strain, and scored on a two-bagger by Alex Cora. He was replaced by Jason Varitek to start the second inning.

Kevin Youkilis singled to open the fourth and later scored on a base hit by Drew, coupled with a throwing error by right fielder Vladimir Guerrero.

LA made it 7-3 in the fifth on the strength of four consecutive one-out singles. The last two, by Guerrero and Anderson, each knocked in a run to cut the deficit to four.

In the sixth, Kotchman doubled, moved up on Erick Aybar's grounder and scored on a sac fly by Jeff Mathis to make it 7-4.

Pedroia's solo shot in the eighth capped the scoring, and Jonathan Papelbon recorded the final four outs to pick up his 29th save.

Game Notes

The two teams combined for 25 hits...Getting the call in the night cap for the Halos will be Ervin Santana, who was recalled from Triple-A Salt Lake to make the start. Josh Beckett will toe the rubber for Boston...The Red Sox traded outfielder Wily Mo Pena and cash considerations to the Washington Nationals on Friday for a player to named...The home run by Ortiz was his 20th of the season...The Sox have won seven of the last nine games from the Angels and are 29-19 versus the Halos since the start of 2002...Lackey fell to 1-6 in 11 career starts against Boston...Attendance was 36,686, marking the 367th consecutive sellout since May 15, 2003.

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Brandon Roy Favorite to Win 2007 NBA Rookie of the Year

Portland TrailBlazer’s guard, Brandon Roy, is MySportsbook.com’s overwhelming favorite to win the NBA Rookie of the Year odds.

Despite missing 20 games due to an injury earlier this season, Roy has definitely put up the best numbers of his 1st year peers. In 32 games, Roy is averaging 15.3 PPG, 4.2 boards and 3.5 assists in over 33 minutes of play per game. While most rookies breakdown as the season progresses (see Morrison), Roy is only getting stronger as his playing time and scoring average has increased each month.

With 30 or so games left in the regular season, Roy isn’t a lock for the award by any means. Other rookies are putting together some pretty impressive campaigns and a few could give Roy a run for the award with increased playing time. Heading the list is first pick, Andrea Bargnani of the Toronto Raptors. Even though he has started only two games all season, Bargnani is averaging 10.3 PPPG while shooting 35% from deep.

Randy Foye of the Minnesota Timberwolves could be set to give Roy the best competition NBA Rookie of the Year betting lines. With the benching of Mike James, Foye looks like he could be the starter in the T-Wolves backcourt for the rest of the season. So far, Foye has averaged 9 PPG and 2.4 assists in just under 21 minutes per game. With his new role of starter, Foye’s numbers will definitely increase. In his first game as the new starting guard this past Sunday, Foye had 10 points; five rebounds and 8 assists. More importantly, he logged 34 minutes of playing time; his third highest run of the season.

Adam Morrison, of the Charlotte Bobcats, was the favorite early on in the season after averaging 15+ PPG through the first month of the season. Ever since his torrid start, Morrison’s point production has declined each month. This really isn’t surprising, considering at 6’8” he only weighs 205 lbs. Obviously he will need to hit the weights big time during the off-season in order to keep from breaking down in the future.

Be sure to log on to MySportsbook.com to bet on the NBA. With the regular season about to hit the homestretch, it is important to point out that MySportsbook.com has the highest credit card acceptance rate in the industry.

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Betting the NFL preseason

Rule No. 1 in the gamblers' handbook states, "Avoid sports betting on meaningless games."

When you're drowning in a sea of baseball monotony, however, things change. Even a hint of pro football betting can persuade the most disciplined bettor to break a few rules. 

The NFL preseason is around the corner, with a tempting Hall of Fame match kicking off on Sunday. But bettors must stay vigilant. Wagering on NFL exhibition games is an entirely different beast than the regular season. Most fans don't recognize the players on the field because starters get as much action in August as Warcraft fans get on Prom night.

The only certainty about the NFL this time of year is uncertainty – and yet there are some who say betting in August can be a gold mine.

“I actually feel the NFL preseason presents solid profit opportunities for sharp bettors and handicappers,” Sports Expert Steve Merril explains. “My experience has been that the sportsbooks fear the preseason, which is evident by lower limits and massive moves.”

The line moves are attributed to the limited knowledge available regarding playing-time distribution. One team’s top unit out on the field for one more series has an impact on the pointspread. Setting lines in the preseason often is a shot in the dark.

“We base the betting lines mostly on public perception,” Pete Korner, founder of the Sports Club in Las Vegas, says. “It’s very tough to predict, almost a guessing game.”

The preseason is all about figuring out who’s in and for how long.

“It becomes a race between bettors and oddsmakers to find out how long the quarterbacks are going to stay in,” Korner admits. “If a sharp gets the information first, he could exploit an early line. I’m a full believer in moving the line in the preseason if the books find out something late in the week.”

Determining what each team’s motive is can help bettors handicap. To do this you must pay close attention to the philosophies head coaches employ in exhibition play.

“You need to know what a coach is trying to accomplish,” says Covers Expert Bryan Leonard. “Sometimes a new coach will want to instill a winning attitude. Others just want to make sure their starters don’t get hurt."

So how do you distinguish who’s playing scared and who’s playing for keeps?

“Head coaches on the hot seat or new coaches trying to implement a winning attitude usually try harder to win in the preseason,” Merril says.

Cleveland Browns head coach Romeo Crennel fits this criteria. He’s entering his third season as the sideline boss and has yet to lead the Browns to more than six wins.

Cleveland is an enticing bet as well because of the unresolved quarterback situation. General manager Phil Savage sacrificed the Browns’ first-round pick in next year’s draft for Brady Quinn, but the former Notre Dame quarterback hasn’t signed or reported to training camp yet.

Charlie Frye and Derek Anderson split time at QB last season and it looks like either player (or even Quinn) could be the opening-day starter.

“If a team has quarterback depth and the pecking order hasn’t been decided, it’s a big advantage,” Leonard says.

Even in the third week of the preseason when starters generally play the most, the final outcome of the game is in the hands of fringe players. A team's talent, all the way down to the last man on the roster, is something to consider.

The New England Patriots have long been considered one of the deeper teams in the NFL and coach Bill Belichick has said in the past he’s unafraid of stars getting hurt in games with nothing on the line. He shocked his colleagues in 2003 by playing some of his starters on special teams in the preseason.

“We want to have the team ready to play a tough, physical game and preparation has to go into that and I imagine a certain amount of injuries go with it,” Belichick told the Providence Journal in August 2003.

Bettors can only hope to find more teams that share the Pats' business-like approach to the preseason (New England is 17-9-3 against the spread since 2000) and take advantage of teams who detest the exhibition schedule.

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