"Big Papi" powers Red Sox past Devil Rays

Baseball Betting Lines

09/13/2007 - Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - David Ortiz provided all the offense for Boston on Wednesday, belting two home runs, a three-run homer in the third inning and a game-ending two-run homer in the ninth, as the Red Sox came back to down the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, 5-4, in the rubber match of a three-game set.

A day after squandering an 8-1 lead that turned into a 16-10 loss, the D-Rays plated four runs in the first inning, only to see Ortiz erase their lead with two longballs, numbers 30 and 31 on the season for the Red Sox designated hitter.

Dustin Pedroia finished 2-for-4 and scored, and Julio Lugo scored twice for the Red Sox, who have won three of four, and maintained their five-game lead over the New York Yankees, who also won on Wednesday. Jon Lester lasted just 3 2/3 innings, surrendering eight hits and four runs, with five strikeouts and four walks. Closer Jonathan Papelbon (1-2) picked up his first win of the season for pitching a scoreless ninth.

B.J. Upton homered for the Devil Rays, who have lost two straight after winning three in a row. Edwin Jackson scattered eight hits and three runs over six innings, fanning six and walking one. Al Reyes (2-3) surrendered Ortiz's game-winner, a homer that could have been a long, loud flyout if rightfielder Delmon Young hadn't misplayed it.

Lugo walked to lead off the ninth, and Pedroia flied out to left, bringing Ortiz to the plate. "Big Papi" lifted a high fly ball deep into the corner in right. Young ran towards the foul pole, but drifted a few feet back as he realized he had misjudged it. The homer fell barely over the short fence in right, an easily-caught flyout if Young had judged it correctly.

He didn't, though, and Ortiz and the Red Sox walked off with another win.

Just like on Tuesday, the Devil Rays jumped out to an early lead. Akinori Iwamura led off with a walk, moved up on Carl Crawford's ground out, and came home on Carlos Pena's single to center. Upton followed with a drive to deep right, a two-run homer. After a Young groundout, Brendan Harris doubled to right. Jonny Gomes plated Harris with a single to right-center, giving the D-Rays a 4-0 lead.

Lugo singled to right to lead off the third, and Pedroia walked, setting the table for Ortiz, who belted a homer to right. Jackson rebounded, striking out Kevin Youkilis, Jason Varitek, and Brandon Moss around a J.D. Drew double to end the inning.

Game Notes

This was Ortiz's 13th regular season walkoff homer as a member of the Red Sox. He was 0-for-4 with two strikeouts against Reyes prior to the home run...The Red Sox are 11-4 against the D-Rays in 2007, and have won 12 of 15 in the series at Boston...Lester saw his three-start win streak come to an end.

Wwwsportnews Baseball Betting News

<< Angels rout O's
Baltimore, MD (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Garret Anderson and Vladimir Guerrero combined to drive in nine runs as the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim pounded the Baltimore Orioles in the second of a three-game set at Camden Yards, 18-6. Ande

<< Green lifts Mets over Braves
Flushing, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Shawn Green singled home the eventual game- winner in the eighth inning, and the first-place New York Mets held off the Atlanta Braves, 4-3, in the finale of a three-game series at Shea Stadium. Marlon

<< Moose pitches well as Yanks down Blue Jays
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mike Mussina threw five-plus scoreless innings as New York downed Toronto, 4-1, in the middle contest of a three-game set at Rogers Centre. Robinson Cano was 1-for-4 with a two-run single and had 11 assists in

<< Helton, Rockies blast Phils
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Todd Helton went 3-for-4 with three RBI, and Matt Holliday belted a three-run homer as the Colorado Rockies ripped the Philadelphia Phillies, 12-0, in the third of a four-game set. The game got off to

<< Gomez leads United past RSL, into '07 playoffs
Washington, D.C. (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Christian Gomez, the 2006 Major League Soccer MVP, has not had that type of impact season for D.C. United in 2007. After scoring 14 goals and 11 assists a year ago, Gomez had just six goals and seven a

L.A., Chivas set to battle for Super Clasico title >>
Carson, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Los Angels Galaxy and CD Chivas USA will square off for the fourth and final installment of the Honda Super Clasico Thursday at The Home Depot Center, and both teams will be gunning for title. The Lo

Hill, Cubs edge Astros >>
Houston, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rich Hill tossed seven innings of three-hit ball as the Chicago Cubs eked past the Houston Astros, 3-2, to move back into a first-place tie with the Milwaukee Brewers in the NL Central. Hill (9-8) allowed

Wake Forest's Gurley transfers to UMass >>
Winston-Salem, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Wake Forest sophomore guard Anthony Gurley, a Boston native, has transferred to UMass, both schools announced on Wednesday. "I am very saddened to not attend Wake Forest," said Gurley. "I am d

Woods to miss PGA Grand Slam of Golf >>
Palm Beach Gardens, FL. (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jim Furyk will replace Tiger Woods in the 25th PGA Grand Slam of Golf scheduled for mid-October in Bermuda at the Mid Ocean Club. Woods told The PGA of America that following the Presidents Cup o

Diamondbacks cruise past Giants >>
San Francisco, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mark Reynolds and Chris Snyder belted back-to-back home runs in the second inning, as the Arizona Diamondbacks downed the San Francisco Giants, 9-4, in the conclusion of a three-game series at AT&T

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 .