Red Sox edge Orioles to win series

Baseball Betting Lines

09/02/2010 - Baltimore, MD (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - David Ortiz drove in a pair of runs and Adrian Beltre homered as Boston used an early burst of offense to down Baltimore, 6-4, in the rubber match of a three-game set from Camden Yards.

Mike Lowell finished with two hits and an RBI for the Red Sox, who took the final two games in the series after losing three in a row.

Daisuke Matsuzaka (9-4) went 5 2/3 innings for the win, allowing four runs on six hits with six strikeouts.

Matt Wieters went 3-for-4 with a pair of doubles and drove in two for the Orioles, who had won four in a row before dropping the final games in the set. Ty Wigginton and Nick Markakis also knocked in a run in defeat.

Brad Bergesen (6-10) lasted 5 1/3 innings in the setback, charged with eight hits and five runs (two earned) while walking five and fanning four.

The Red Sox put up five runs in the second inning, starting with Beltre's lead-off homer. Jed Lowrie walked and Lowell singled before Lowrie scored on a Wigginton fielding error. Ryan Kalish then doubled home Lowell and Ortiz capped the burst with a two-run single.

Matsuzaka limited the O's to two hits through five innings, but the home team chased him with four runs in the sixth. Josh Bell began with a single and Brian Roberts doubled ahead of a Markakis RBI hit. Wigginton followed with a run-scoring groundout for a 5-2 game, then Luke Scott walked. Two batters later Wieters doubled to score two, but Scott Atchison stopped the rally by striking out Nolan Reimold.

Ortiz started the seventh with a walk, moved up when Beltre was hit by a pitch, advanced to third on a flyout and scored on Lowell's fielder's choice grounder for a 6-4 contest.

Atchison and Hideki Okajima combined for a scoreless eighth but Jonathan Papelbon got into trouble in the ninth before ending up with his 35th save.

He allowed singles to Felix Pie and Wieters, then a sacrifice bunt from pinch- hitter Corey Patterson. Cesar Izturis fanned swinging, then Bell did the same on a 3-2 outside fastball to end the game.

Game Notes

The Red Sox lead the season series, 8-7...Beltre now has 998 career RBI...Orioles manager Buck Showalter remained stuck on 899 wins. His 900th will make him the 64th manager in baseball history to hit the mark...Both clubs are in action Friday, as Boston hosts the White Sox and Baltimore welcomes Tampa Bay.

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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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