Bonds-Dice K matchup to highlight Giants-Red Sox tilt

Baseball Betting Lines

06/16/2007 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - After nearly homering in his first-ever plate appearance at historic Fenway Park last night, Barry Bonds continues his assault on Hank Aaron's all-time record when his San Francisco Giants play the middle test of a three-game series with the Boston Red Sox this afternoon.

Bonds hit a towering drive off Red Sox starter Julian Tavarez well above the right-field foul pole in the first inning of Friday's 10-2 Boston victory. Following a brief consultation by the umpiring crew, the ball was ruled to be foul.

The superstar slugger ended up popping out in that at-bat and finished the game 1-for-3 with a single and a walk. Bonds remains eight homers shy of matching Aaron's historic mark of 755.

While Bonds' Fenway debut received all the pregame attention, Red Sox rookie Dustin Pedroia wound up as the contest's offensive star. The second baseman went 5-for-5 with a two-run homer and knocked in a career-high five RBI to spark Boston to the rout.

Pedroia's five hits were also a personal best and raised his season average to .331, tops among all rookies.

J.D. Drew added three hits, three RBI and three runs scored to help the Red Sox bounce back from consecutive home losses to Colorado on Wednesday and Thursday. Boston was outscored by a 19-3 margin in those defeats.

Tavarez (4-4) allowed six hits and two runs over seven innings, fanning three and walking two. His counterpart on Friday, Barry Zito, had a rough night on the mound for the Giants.

Zito (6-7) yielded seven runs (six earned) on five hits and issued four walks before being removed after 5 1/3 frames. It was the high-priced lefty's second consecutive defeat.

Today's game features an intriguing pitching matchup, as the struggling Daisuke Matsuzaka goes to the post for the Red Sox opposite Giants' hard-luck right-hander Matt Cain.

Cain has been the more effective pitcher of the pair this season, although the hard-throwing youngster has just two wins to his credit for the year. He's recorded a respectable 3.31 earned run average over 13 starts in 2007, but San Francisco has provided him with two or less runs of support in eight of those outings.

The 22-year-old was victimized by his offense once again on Sunday. Cain limited Oakland to a run and five hits while registering eight strikeouts over eight innings, but wound up on the wrong end of a 2-0 decision. He shut out the Athletics over the first seven frames before yielding a solo homer to Marco Scutaro in the eighth.

This will be the first career appearance against Boston for Cain, who has posted a 2.62 ERA in seven road starts this season.

In contrast, Matsuzaka has won seven games for the Red Sox so far despite bringing a 4.52 ERA into today's showdown. However, the Japanese sensation has also been hindered by his club's offense as of late.

Matsuzaka has taken a loss in each of his last three starts, although he's pitched well enough to win his two most recent times out. The right-hander held Arizona to two runs and four hits while fanning nine over six innings in a 5-1 loss on Sunday. Five days earlier, Matsuzaka gave up just two runs and struck out in seven innings, but got little help in a 2-0 setback at Oakland.

The 26-year-old is 3-2 with a 5.62 ERA in six Fenway Park starts this season.

Last night's encounter was the first meeting between the teams since 2004, when the Giants won two of three games from Boston in San Francisco.

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Football Betting Lines

The 2009 AP NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year odds have been released and Denver Broncos' running back Knowshon Moreno has been made the opening favorite.

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Moreno was selected in the first round of April's NFL draft and is expected to carry the rushing load for the Broncos this season. And with Jay Cutler now in Chicago, Moreno might be expected to be Denver's entire offense.

Betting Lines from sports betting lines have made Moreno a 5/2 favorite to win this year's Offensive Rookie of the Year Award. Fellow running back Chris “Beanie” Wells (Arizona Cardinals) is right behind Moreno at 7/2, while Donald Brown (Indianapolis Colts) and receiver Michael Crabtree (San Francisco 49ers) are 5/1 to win. Quarterbacks Mark Sanchez (New York Jets) and Matthew Stafford (Detroit Lions) are 7/1 and 8/1, respectively.

A couple of players who present some value are Josh Freeman, Shonn Green and Darrius Heyward-Bey.

Freeman needs to beat out Byron Leftwich to become the starting quarterback of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers but if he does, he has a lot or raw talent and could use the weapons around him (i.e. Kellen Winslow Jr. and Antonio Bryant) to be very successful in his first season.

Green enters a crowded backfield in New York, but considering both Thomas Jones and Leon Washington are unhappy about their contract situations and might holdout, the former Iowa product could become the Jets' primary back.

Everyone was shocked when Al Davis took Heyward-Bey with the eighth overall pick in April's draft, but the kid has a tremendous amount of talent and if quarterback JaMarcus Russell takes the next step this year, the former Maryland product could blossom. Plus, Heyward-Bey will be looking to prove the people wrong who said Oakland should have taken Michael Crabtree with the No. 8 pick.

And if you're looking for a deep sleeper, check out Pat White at 30/1. He enters the Miami Dolphins vaunted “Wild Cat” offense and could be a big time playmaker.

For complete odds on the 2009 AP NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year odds, see below.

2009 AP NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year Odds to Win

Ramses Barden (NYG) 40/1

Andre Brown (NYG) 20/1

Donald Brown (IND) 5/1

Kenny Britt (TEN) 20/1

Glenn Coffee (SFO) 30/1

Chase Coffman (CIN) 50/1

Michael Crabtree (SFO) 5/1

Josh Freeman (TB) 14/1

Shonn Green (NYJ) 14/1

Percy Harvin (MIN) 10/1

Darrius Heyward-Bay (OAK) 18/1

Juaquan Iglesias (CHI) 30/1

Cornelius Ingram (PHI) 50/1

Rashad Jennings (JAC) 30/1

Johnny Knox (CHI) 40/1

Jeremy Maclin (PHI) 18/1

Mohamed Massaquoi (CLE) 30/1

LeSean McCoy (PHI) 12/1

Knowshon Moreno (DEN) 5/2

Hakeem Nicks (NYG) 18/1

Brandon Pettigrew (DET) 30/1

Brian Robiskie (CLE) 20/1

Mark Sanchez (NYJ) 7/1

Matthew Stafford (DET) 8/1

Jason Smith (STL) 40/1

Mike Thomas (JAC) 25/1

Patrick Turner (MIA) 50/1

Mike Wallace (PIT) 50/1

Chris Wells (ARI) 7/2

Pat White (MIA) 30/1

Field (Any Other Player) 9/1

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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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