Boston hopes Lester can remain perfect against O's

Baseball Betting Lines

09/01/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Boston Red Sox may not have had the success they've enjoyed in the past against the Baltimore Orioles this season, but Jon Lester has certainly been able to maintain his dominance over the course of this series.

The Boston ace will put his still-unbeaten record versus the Orioles on the line and try to give the Red Sox a much-needed victory in tonight's clash between the longtime American League East foes from Camden Yards.

Lester enters this evening's matchup sporting an astounding 12-0 ledger along with a 2.00 earned run average over 15 career meetings with Baltimore, and the Red Sox have come out on top in all but one of those games. The All-Star hurler has been especially masterful in this year's matchups, as he's yielded only a single run over 19 innings in three 2010 starts against the Orioles, winning twice and registering one no-decision.

The standout lefty has also been tough on most other opponents as of late, save for a horrendous start against Toronto on August 20 in which he was rocked for nine runs and eight hits in just two innings. Lester bounced back strongly in a big game at playoff contender Tampa Bay this past Friday, however, limiting the Rays to an unearned run and a mere two hits while racking up 10 strikeouts to lead Boston to a 3-1 decision.

Lester has yet to allow an earned run in any of his past three road outings -- all victories -- and improved to 8-3 with an excellent 2.27 ERA in 15 starts away from home this year with Friday's verdict.

Boston could use another top-notch performance out of its top starter after losing Tuesday's opener of this three-game series with the Orioles. The 5-2 setback dropped the Sox to eight games behind the rival New York Yankees for first place in the AL East, though they remained seven in back of the front- running Rays in the Wild Card race after Tampa fell to Toronto last night.

Luke Scott and Felix Pie each hit home runs and Baltimore received solid pitching once again to notch its fourth win in a row. The Orioles were coming off a three-game road sweep of the Angels in which the team surrendered only a single run during the entire series.

Rookie Brian Matusz (7-12) held Boston to two runs and struck out six over the first six innings to extend his personal win streak to three games, with relievers Jim Johnson, Mike Gonzalez and Koji Uehara combining for three scoreless frames to close out the contest. Uehara set down all five batters he faced to earn his fifth save of the year.

"I thought [Matusz] was good," said Boston's Jed Lowrie. "He mixed his pitches well. He executed pitches when he had to."

Scott gave Baltimore an early 1-0 lead with an RBI single in the bottom of the second and homered off reliever Felix Doubront in the eighth for a 4-2 advantage. Pie went deep two batters later to lengthen the margin to three runs.

"Obviously it was a big eighth inning for us," said Orioles manager Buck Showalter. "It felt like the ballgame was kind of riding in that area."

Lowrie finished 2-for-3 and accounted for the Red Sox' only scoring with a two-run homer against Matusz in the fifth. Starter Josh Beckett (4-4) worked seven innings for Boston, but was saddled with the loss after permitting three runs (two earned) on seven hits.

The Orioles now hold a 7-6 edge on the Red Sox in this year's season series following Tuesday's triumph, with Boston having lost five of the seven bouts that have taken place in Camden Yards. Baltimore is still just 10-29 over the last 39 games played between the teams, however.

Jake Arrieta will get his first taste of this rivalry when the rookie takes the mound for Baltimore tonight. The promising right-hander will be out to halt a string of three consecutive losing starts after winning four of seven decisions to begin his big-league tenure.

Arrieta struggled in a road defeat to the Chicago White Sox last Thursday, issuing three walks while being reached for four runs on seven hits before exiting after four innings. He was a bit better in his previous assignment, tossing 6 2/3 innings of two-run ball against Texas on August 20 despite coming out on the short end of a 2-0 decision.

The 24-year-old hopes to improve upon a 1-3 record and 5.40 ERA in seven home starts since being promoted from Triple-A Norfolk in mid-June.

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MySportsbook.com : Fortune Favors Favorites in March Madness betting?

Just like Day 1 of the “Sweet 16”, Friday’s games are chock full of some of the nation’s elite.  Unlike Thursday’s games, there is a little bit more of a “Cinderella” feel as #7 seed UNLV and #6 seed Vanderbilt will attempt to move on to the Elite Eight.  With powerhouses Florida, UNC and Georgetown looking to continue their momentum against lesser known teams, it isn’t surprising that once again the “betting public” is backing most of the favorites.  As the early coin rolls in, 56% of Sportsbook.com bettors prefer Georgetown (-7.5) as they take on Vanderbilt; 84% of the early money is backing Oregon (-3) as they square off against UNLV; and a slight majority (52%) of the early cash is on Florida (-10.5) against Butler as the Gators continue their quest for another National Title. The only favorite the public don’t seem confident in is UNC, as 59% of the cash is backing the underdog Trojans (+8).

Midwest

#1 Florida vs. #5 Butler

The defending National Champs have been on a mission since last April.  Joakim Noah and Al Horford turned down millions of dollars for one reason, to REPEAT.  After a late season hiccup which saw them lose three out of four, the Gators have won six straight by an average of 20.3 points. More importantly, they covered in five of those six games.  Behind their stymie defense that yields only 56.9 PPG, Butler has been a very pleasant surprise this season.  As their 20-11 ATS record will indicate, “surprise teams” like Butler are often good bets for gamblers.  Playing in an average conference, Butler wasn’t and underdog too often but when they were, they covered (6-0 ATS).  Butler’s defense will have its hands full against a Gators offense which averages 80.1 PPG on an amazing 52.9% shooting from the field.  With Florida’s tournament experience over the last few years, it isn’t surprising that they are 5-1 ATS this season, 20-4 ATS over the last three seasons and 38-20 since 1997 in tournament action.

#3 Oregon vs. #7 UNLV

As a #7 seed, UNLV is the closest thing to a “Cinderella” we have this year.  If you bet on UNLV this season with any regularity, you most likely cashed in. Behind their guard oriented attack, the Rebels are an impressive 20-11 ATS this season.  As an underdog they covered in 8 out of their ten games which isn’t surprising since they are 52-30 ATS as a ‘dog since 1997. The Rebels have been a consistent cover during the month of March as well.  This March they are 6-0 ATS, 11-3 ATS over the last three seasons and 24-11 since 1997. Their impressive ATS trends don’t end there; versus teams with a winning record they are 15-6 ATS this season and 41-21 over the last three seasons.  Although Oregon hasn’t been as generous to gamblers as UNLV this season, they have been covering consistently as of late.  There is no question that they are playing their best ball of the season having won their last 8 straight up (SU) by an average of 14.5 points. Not surprising they covered in 7 of those games.  It is interesting to note how similar these teams are in regards to scoring and scoring defense. UNLV averages 75 PPG while giving up 66.5 PPG and Oregon scores 75.8 PPG while yielding 65.5 PPG.

East

#6 Vanderbilt vs. #2 Georgetown

“Hoya Paranoia” is officially back! After a decent start, Georgetown has rolled through the second half of the season.  Over their last 18 games, they are 17-1 SU.  They have definitely improved ATS as the season has progressed as well. After opening the season 1-4-1 ATS, the Hoyas have covered 78.3% of their games.  With their great interior play of Jeff Green and Roy Hibbert, the Hoyas as a team shoot 50.5% from the field.  Like the Georgetown teams from years ago, they also excel on defense.  Hoya opponents averaged only 56.8 PPG on 38.2% shooting from the field and an extremely low 30.4% from beyond the arc.  The last stat could be of some concern to Vanderbilt considering they shoot 37.7% from long-range.  Ranking second to last in the SEC in rebounding margin, Vanderbilt will have its work cut out for them against the Hoya trees. As far as covering is concerned, Vanderbilt has been almost a “sure thing” (7-1 ATS) versus good defensive teams that allow less than 64 PPG.

#1 UNC vs. # 5 USC

The Tar Heels are as talented and as deep as any team in the country.  Going ten deep and chock full of HS All-Americans, UNC averages 86.1 PPG and scored 100+ seven times.  Led by All-American forward, Tyler Hansbrough (18.6 PPG 7.9 RPG) UNC has a very balanced attack which can kill you on the inside as well as on the perimeter.  UNC only real concern is their youth as eight of their rotation players are either sophomores or freshmen.  UNC was a reliable cover this season going 20-13 ATS.  An intriguing covering trend for the Tar Heels in recent years has been how they fared after non-conference games.  This season they are 11-3 ATS after non-conference games and over the last three seasons they are 31-13 ATS.  USC is also a pretty deep team which is loaded with swingman types.  An match-up to keep an eye on will be freshman forward Taj Gibson (12.1 PPG, 8.6 RPG) as he squares off against the AA Hansbrough.  USC has been a covering machine this season achieving a 21-10 record ATS.  They have thrived in the underdog role, having covered 10 out of 12.  When playing a team with a winning record, the Trojans are an incredible 20-6 ATS. Keep in mind, USC dedicated their season to former star to Ryan Francis who passed away before the season so as they get closer to the ultimate goal, emotion could definitely be on their side.

With Friday -105 juice on Basketball betting, MySportsbook.com is the place to bet on all of the “March Madness” action.  Don’t forget to monitor who the public is backing at this sportsbook “Betting Trends”.  By doing so, you have the best chance of predicting a possible line change, thus getting the best value for your wager.

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