BoSox try to bounce back against Mariners

Baseball Betting Lines

07/04/2009 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Boston Red Sox will try to return to the win column when they host the Seattle Mariners this afternoon at Fenway Park.

Boston's starter this afternoon will be Brad Penny, who has one win in his last six starts. The last time the big right-hander took the hill he only allowed two runs in six innings against Atlanta, but due to a lack of run support, the Oklahoma native took the loss against the Braves.

At home Penny owns a 4.66 earned run average, but in those seven starts, he has compiled a 4-1 ledger.

This will be his second career outing against the M's, and hopefully it goes better than the first showdown. In his only other meeting against Seattle, Penny was tattooed for five runs on 10 hits in six innings of work.

As for the Mariners, they will turn to Garrett Olson, who will look to exorcise his demons against the mighty Red Sox. Olson has made seven forgettable career starts against Boston, and in those outings, the southpaw has gone 0-5 with a terrible 7.71 earned run average. Earlier this season Olson was pummeled by Boston, allowing five runs on four hits and three walks in six innings of work.

This year the California native has worked from the bullpen as well as the rotation, but overall he has put up mixed results, posting a 3-2 mark with a 4.81 ERA.

Last night, Rob Johnson went 3-for-5 with three doubles, including a two-run double in the top of the 11th, to lift the Mariners past the AL East-leading Red Sox, 7-6.

Ramon Ramirez (5-3), who took over on the mound for Boston in the top of the 11th, gave up a single to Franklin Gutierrez and walked Ryan Langerhans to put men on first and second. Chris Woodward moved the runners up a base with a sacrifice bunt. Johnson then stepped to the plate and laced the eventual game- winning hit down the right-field line.

Mark Lowe came on for the M's in the bottom half and made things interesting when he gave up a two-out solo homer to George Kottaras -- the first of his career. J. D. Drew then singled to right, but Lowe got Dustin Pedroia to ground into a fielder's choice to pick up his first save of the season.

Ronny Cedeno went 2-for-5 with a two-run home run for the Mariners, who have won four of six. Jose Lopez went 3-for-5 with a solo homer and a double for Seattle, which improved to 4-3 on a nine-game road trip. Langerhans had a pair of doubles and scored twice.

Felix Hernandez was strong in seven frames, remaining unbeaten in his last eight starts, allowing three runs on seven hits with seven strikeouts and two walks to take the no-decision for the Mariners. Chris Jakubauskas (5-5) tossed a scoreless ninth and 10th to collect the win.

Nick Green had a pair of doubles, including a two-run hit in the bottom of the eighth to tie the tilt, for the Red Sox, who have alternated wins and losses in their last six games. Drew added a solo homer for Boston, which started a 10-game homestand on Friday.

Tim Wakefield went eight frames, giving up five runs on 10 hits with three strikeouts to take the no-decision for the Red Sox. Wakefield made the 383rd start of his Boston career on Friday, passing Roger Clemens for the most in club history.

The Mariners won two of three games from the Red Sox at Safeco Field from May 15-17 but are just 6-17 over their last 23 visits to Fenway Park. Seattle has not taken a series in Boston since winning two of three tests from August 14-16, 2001.

Blackjack-internet-blackjack Baseball Betting News

<< No rest for the weary: Tigers, Twins back at it after marathon
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Detroit Tigers will try to put distance between them and the Minnesota Twins when the two teams collide this afternoon in the second matchup of a three-game series at the Metrodome. Edwin Jackson will toe the rubber

<< Sibling smash: Serena bests Venus to win Wimbledon
Wimbledon, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - In an overpowering performance, Serena Williams bested her older sister, Venus, in straight sets to win the title at Wimbledon for a third time. The 27-year-old Serena denied her sibling a three-peat

<< Home Cooking: Cubs target seventh straight home win against Brewers
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago Cubs have picked the perfect time to get hot. Today, they try to win their seventh straight game at home and their fourth consecutive game overall, as they continue a four-game set with the Milwaukee Brewers at W

<< Duke goes for win No. 9 against Fish
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Zach Duke goes after his ninth win of the season this evening when the Pittsburgh Pirates continue their three-game series with the Florida Marlins at Land Shark Stadium. Duke has been one of the best left-handers in the l

<< Moyer shoots for third straight win in middle tilt with Mets
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Philadelphia Phillies hope Jamie Moyer can give them the same type of effort that Rodrigo Lopez did on Friday, when they continue their three-game series against the New York Mets at Citizens Bank Park. Lopez (1-0), w

With Manny return behind them, LA gets back to business in San Diego >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - With the return of Manny Ramirez now behind them, the Los Angeles Dodgers can get back to business, as they continue their three-game series with the San Diego Padres at Petco Park. Ramirez returned from a 50-game suspensi

Reds, Owings seek to slow down Pujols >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Right-hander Brad Thompson starts against the Cincinnati Reds for the second time this season today when the St. Louis Cardinals head to Great American Ball Park for the middle test of a three-game series with their Nationa

Braves send Hanson to hill against Washington >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rookie phenom Tommy Hanson looks for a fifth straight victory today when the Atlanta Braves visit our nation's capital for a holiday afternoon game with the host Washington Nationals at Nationals Park. Hanson, who'll tur

Rockies resume homestand with last-place Diamondbacks >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Streaking Colorado right-hander Aaron Cook makes his 20th career appearance against the Arizona Diamondbacks tonight, when the Rockies host their National League West Division foes at Coors Field for the middle test of a thre

Floyd attempts to slow down White Sox >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Gavin Floyd will try to keep the good times rolling when he takes the mound this afternoon for the Chicago White Sox in the second meeting of a three-game series against the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium. Floyd

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)

The 2008 NFL betting lines season is almost upon us! If you like to bet on the NFL, you are in the best possible place for online betting. The sportsbook has NFL odds up on a ton of futures, and you will also find NFL lines up for early games as well. Join sportbook today and we'll help guide you right through to Super Bowl XLIII and beyond!

Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting odds .