Red Sox limp into Oakland

Baseball Betting Lines

07/19/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - While the Boston Red Sox continue to lose ground in the American League playoff chase, the Oakland Athletics are doing their best to stay in the hunt.

The resurgent Athletics try to extend their season-best winning streak to six games when they return to the Oakland Coliseum tonight to begin a three-game series with a slumping Red Sox squad that continues to be beset by injuries.

After winning its final two contests prior to the All-Star break, Oakland opened up the second half with a three-game road sweep of the Kansas City Royals capped by Sunday's 9-6 triumph. The five straight victories have moved the Athletics back to .500 for the season and kept them within striking distance in the AL's West Division, where the club presently trails first- place Texas by seven games.

Oakland received both good hitting and pitching in Sunday's finale, as Adam Rosales, Jack Cust and Kevin Kouzmanoff all homered to help back a career-high 7 2/3 innings out of young starter Vin Mazzaro.

Rosales belted a two-run shot in the fourth inning to give the A's a 2-1 edge and Kouzmanoff had a solo blast as part of a two-RBI afternoon. Cust added a three-run homer in the ninth that later proved to be crucial, as the Royals scored five times in the bottom of the frame in a belated comeback attempt. Oakland, which has gone 12-6 since June 25, has now piled up 40 runs over the course of its win streak.

"As a team I think we all got good pitches to hit in this series and we were fortunate enough to hit them," Kouzmanoff said. "When guys were in scoring position, we took advantage. The opportunities were there to drive guys in."

Mazzaro (5-2) did his part as well, limiting the Royals to one run and striking out five with just one walk in winning his third consecutive decision. Relievers Brad Ziegler and Cedric Bowers weren't as effective, as the pair gave up five runs in the ninth before closer Andrew Bailey came on to get the final out and end Kansas City's threat.

Oakland's red-hot lineup will be taking its swings tonight against Daisuke Matsuzaka in the Boston hurler's first outing after the All-Star break. The Japanese star closed out his first half on a strong note, holding Toronto to two runs over six innings on July 11 to run his season record to 6-3. The win also improved Matsuzaka to 3-1 with a 4.57 earned run average in seven road starts this season.

Matsuzaka also owns a victory over the A's this year, having come out on top in a 6-4 decision at Fenway Park on June 2. The right-hander worked 6 2/3 innings in that game and allowed three runs while striking out seven batters without issuing a walk.

The Tokyo native has made six overall starts against Oakland since entering the majors in 2007 and has gone 3-1 with a 4.18 ERA versus tonight's foe.

The ailing Red Sox will be limping into a 10-game West Coast road trip and enters the trek having lost eight of their past 11 tilts. The swoon has dropped Terry Francona's club to 6 1/2 games behind the rival New York Yankees for first place in the AL East and 3 1/2 back of Tampa Bay for the lead in the league's Wild Card race.

The Red Sox began their post-All Star break schedule by losing three of four to the AL West-leading Rangers over the weekend, including a 4-2 setback on Sunday. Boston mustered just five hits and fanned 14 times against Texas pitching in the finale, with starter C.J. Wilson notching a career-high 10 strikeouts over the first 6 2/3 innings.

"C.J. threw the ball well," said Red Sox starter Jon Lester. "He threw a better game. They got some hits when they needed to."

Lester (11-4) had a six-start home winning streak halted after allowing four runs (three earned) over eight innings, while fellow All-Star Adrian Beltre had an RBI double in a losing cause. Mike Cameron accounted for Boston's only other run with a solo homer in the ninth.

The Red Sox did win two of three games from the A's in a series held at Fenway Park earlier this season, but have lost in five of their past six visits to the Coliseum. However, Boston did prevail in an early June matchup with Ben Sheets, who gets the call for Oakland tonight hoping to build off an excellent last start.

Sheets yielded just two hits and a walk over six shutout innings to best the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim on July 10 in one of the oft-injured righty's best showings of the season. The four-time NL All-Star, who missed all of 2009 recovering from elbow surgery, hasn't been real consistent over the course of the year, however, as his 4-8 record and 4.63 ERA will attest.

The 32-year-old has usually pitched well at home, however, having compiled a 4-3 record with a solid 2.93 ERA in 10 starts at the Coliseum. He's pitched at least six innings in nine of those appearances as well.

Sheets surrendered four runs through six innings in a 6-4 loss to the Red Sox on June 2, his first-ever start against Boston.

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MySportsbook.com: NFL draft - The NFC South


In part two of MySportsbook.com’s draft preview, we’ll take a look at a division that was extremely disappointing last season: the NFC South.  Many “experts” predicted the Panthers to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl, of course they could not even make the playoffs in an extremely weak NFC.  The Saints definitely made up for the disappointing seasons of their NFC South brethren by exploding out of no where en route to the NFC Championship game.  For the avid NFL gambler, it is imperative to pay attention to the NFL draft.  Although free agency gets a ton of publicity, the successful franchises build their teams around the draft.

1. New Orleans Saints
Who would have thought this time last year that the Saints would be the favorites to win the NFC South for the 2007 campaign?  New Orleans is loaded with firepower on the offensive side of the ball but with the exodus of Joe Horn they will most likely look to draft a WR on Day 1.  Despite having the NFL’s 3rd ranked pass defense last season, the Saints will most likely upgrade their CB’s with one of their first two picks. Other possibilities for the Saints will be TE and DT.  Because of where they will be selecting (27th), the Saints could go the “best available player” route which could net a LB.

Key additions: Eric Johnson TE, Troy Evans LB, David Patten WR
Key loses: Joe Horn WR,
Team needs: CB, WR, TE, LB, DT
Possible draftees: Aaron Ross CB Texas, Darrelle Revis CB Pitt, Ted Ginn Jr. WR OSU, Paul Posluszny LB PSU, Chris Houston CB Arkansas, Greg Olsen TE Miami

2. Carolina Panthers
Carolina was one of the biggest disappointments in the NFL last season.  With the signing of David Carr, expect the very first quarterback controversy to come out of Carolina if Jake Delhomme doesn’t rebound quickly from an average 2007 season. With veteran safety Mike Minter getting up there in age, they will look to draft a safety on Day 1 but probably not in the first round.  LB is another need with the loss of Chris Draft to go along with Dan Morgan’s concussion problems.  If TE Greg Olsen is still on the board, he might be too good to pass up despite their needs on the defensive side of the ball.

Key additions: David Carr QB
Key loses: Chris Draft LB
Team needs: LB, TE, S, OT
Possible draftees: Greg Olsen TE Miami, Patrick Willis LB Ole Miss, Paul Posluszny LB PSU, Levi Brown OT PSU

3. Atlanta Falcons
The Falcons were another NFC South team to have a disappointing 2007 season.  The Falcons have been plenty busy during the off season with plenty of players coming and going including a new head coach.  The Falcons were able to improve their draft position with the trade of coveted backup QB Matt Schaub.  High on the list of Day 1 needs will be a defensive end to replace Patrick Kerney and a hard hitting safety since Lawyer Milloy is nearing the end of his career.  With an additional 2nd round pick, the Falcons could attempt to trade up to acquire local product WR Calvin Johnson. 

Key additions: Joey Harrington QB, Toniu Fonoti OG, Joe Horn WR
Key loses: Justin Griffen RB, Patrick Kerney DE, Matt Lehr OG, Ashley Lelie WR, Matt Schaub QB
Team needs: DE, S, OT, WR, DT
Possible draftees: LaRon Landry S LSU, Amobi Okoye DT Louisville, Levi Brown OT PSU, Jamaal Anderson DE Arkansas, Alan Branch DT Michigan

4. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Age really caught up to the Bucs last season.  The Bucs still have plenty of household names on defense in Ronde Barber, Simeon Rice and Derrick Brooks but the one thing those three have in common is unfortunately age.  It is imperative for the Bucs to get much younger, especially on the defensive side of the ball. Despite having bigger needs on the defensive side of the ball, WR Calvin Johnson is the most likely pick if he is still available when the Bucs pick at the four spot.  This would suit Bucs’ faithful just fine as Johnson is widely considered the top talent in the draft and it is a position of need for the Bucs.

Key additions: Jeff Garcia QB, Kevin Carter DE, Torrie Cox CB, Cato June LB
Key loses: Dewayne White DE, Sean Mahan OG
Team needs: WR, LB, DE, CB (Youth on defense!)
Possible draftees: Calvin Johnson WR Georgia Tech, Gains Adams DE Clemson, Jamaal Anderson DE Arkansas

It is never too early to start betting on the NFL. Log on to MySportsbook.com to checkout all of the NFL futures for the upcoming season.  On the clock: the NFC North

Odds to win the NFC South:
New Orleans Saints 8-5
Carolina Panthers 2-1
Atlanta Falcons 12-5
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 9-2    

Odds to win the NFC:
New Orleans Saints 13-2
Carolina Panthers 7-1
Atlanta Falcons 20-1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 25-1

Odds to win the Super Bowl:
New Orleans Saints 18-1
Carolina Panthers 20-1
Atlanta Falcons 50-1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 75-1

To visit this sportsbook get to MySportsbook.com for all your online sportsbook needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.

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