Boston's Wakefield aims for win No. 17 in Baltimore

Baseball Betting Lines

09/06/2007 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tim Wakefield targets win No. 17 this evening when the Boston Red Sox open a four-game series with the Baltimore Orioles at Camden Yards.

Wakefield, who is one victory off the pace of major league leaders Chien-Ming Wang and teammate Josh Beckett, has won his last three starts without giving up a run, but has not pitched since August 25 because of a sore back. He scattered three hits against the Chicago White Sox over seven scoreless innings in that one, as he ran his scoreless innings streak to 22 frames.

The 41-year-old knuckleballer, who is 16-10 with a 4.16 earned run average on the year, has also recorded a decision in all of his 26 starts this season and is the first to do so since Jack McDowell posted decisions in his first 27 starts with the White Sox in 1993.

Wakefield defeated the O's the last time he faced them and is 14-13 lifetime against them with four saves and a 4.06 ERA in 43 games, 30 of which have been starts.

Boston enters tonight's tilt on a sour note after it was denied a sweep in its three-game series with the Toronto Blue Jays, dropping a 6-4 decision in Wednesday's finale at Fenway Park. Jason Varitek hit a two-run homer for the Red Sox, who had a four-game win streak broken and saw their lead in the AL East shrink to six games over the New York Yankees.

Hideki Okajima (3-2) took the loss, while Curt Schilling allowed three runs and eight hits, with a walk and two strikeouts over six innings in the start.

Baltimore, meanwhile, continued to struggle and was crushed by the equally woeful Tampa Bay Devil Rays on Wednesday, 17-2, in the finale of a three-game set at Tropicana Field. Tike Redman doubled in two runs for the Orioles, who have lost 13 of their last 15 games, a stretch that began with a major-league record- setting 30-3 loss to Texas in the first game of a doubleheader on August 22.

Radhames Liz (0-2), in his third major league start, surrendered six hits and four runs through 1 2/3 innings.

Getting the call for the Orioles tonight will be 23-year-old lefty Garrett Olson, who is 1-3 with a 7.22 ERA. Olson was tagged with the loss on Saturday against the Red Sox, as he surrendered four runs and seven his in 5 1/3 innings. He has lost both of his starts to Boston this season.

Boston has won nine of its 14 matchups with the Orioles this season and is 34-16 in the series since the start of the 2005 campaign. The Red Sox have also had success in Baltimore, where they have won in 13 of their last 17 visits.

Wwwoasiscasino Baseball Betting News

<< Tigers expect Sheffield back in finale with ChiSox
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Detroit Tigers should have Gary Sheffield back in the lineup this afternoon when they play the rubber match of a three-game series with the Chicago White Sox at Comerica Park. Sheffield, who is second on the tea

<< Division leaders square off in Anaheim
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Paul Byrd tries to win his fifth straight start this evening when the red-hot Cleveland Indians begin a four-game series with the LA Angels of Anaheim in a battle of division leaders at Angel Stadium. Byrd is co

<< Report: Vikings, Williams agree to contract extension
St. Paul, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Minnesota Vikings are expected to sign Pro Bowl nose tackle Pat Williams to a three-year contract extension this week. According to the St. Paul Pioneer Press, the space-eater will ink the deal

<< D'Backs reclaim first in NL West
Phoenix, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chris Young hit a three-run double in the fifth to help the Arizona Diamondbacks reclaim the NL West lead with a 9-6 win over the San Diego Padres in the finale of a three-game series at Chase Field. Miguel Mo

<< North Dakota extends Hakstol, assistants
Grand Forks, ND (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The University of North Dakota announced Wednesday the five-year contract extension for men's hockey coach Dave Hakstol, and extended associate head coach Cary Eades and assistant coach Dane Jackson

Cubs go for split in series with LA at Wrigley >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The NL Central-leading Chicago Cubs will try for a series split with the Los Angeles Dodgers this afternoon in the finale of a four-game set from historic Wrigley Field. Chicago entered the series on a two-game winning st

Maroth targets first win with Cards in finale against Bucs >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mike Maroth will shoot for his first win in a St. Louis uniform when the Cardinals wrap up a four-game series versus the Pittsburgh Pirates this afternoon at Busch Stadium. Maroth is 5-6 with a 6.79 ERA in 21 games (19 s

Phils' playoff hopes toasted after ugly loss >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 1991 Philadelphia Eagles had one of the best defenses ever assembled in NFL history. They also had a player nicknamed "Toast" for his inability to cover the deep ball. Izel Jenkins played defensive back for the

Tigers reinstate Sheffield from DL >>
Detroit, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Detroit Tigers reinstated slugger Gary Sheffield from the 15-day disabled list, where he had been sidelined with a sore right shoulder since August 22. The shoulder had bothered Sheffield

Browns CB Bodden arrested >>
Cleveland, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Cleveland Browns cornerback Leigh Bodden was arrested at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport Wednesday night. According to the Cleveland Plain Dealer, Bodden was stopped by police after putting his 2

Albert Pujols to be This Year's Home Run Champ Says Online Sportsbook

Barry Bonds is a 50-1 long shot to be this year's home run champ odds.  The favorite to be this year's home run champ is none other than Albert Pujols, however.

Now that Barry Bonds is signed and in Giants camp, it is on to his pursuit of all of sports most prestigious records: the all-time home run mark. Bonds sits just 21 homers shy of tying Hank Aaron for the career mark at 755. Word out of Giants’ camp is that Bonds is the healthiest he has been in a few years. Bonds is just two seasons removed from his injury riddled 2005 campaign where he played in only 14 games and hit only 5 home runs. He did come back last year and had a solid season hitting .270 with 26 bombs. All eyes will be on Bonds this spring and summer not only because of his home run chase but his highly publicized steroid abuse allegations. If and when Bonds breaks the record, he surely will not get the positive attention one should for breaking a record that was once thought of as “unbreakable”. Despite Bonds decent season last year, he is just 50-1 at MySportsbook.com to lead the MLB in long balls this season.

Not surprisingly, the favorites to go deep the most times this season are Albert Pujols 5-1, Ryan Howard 6-1, David Ortiz 8-1 and Alex Rodriguez 12-1. With 49 homers, Pujols finished second in the National League behind Howard (58). Pujols is considered the favorite due to the consistent power numbers that he has posted since breaking into the league in 2001. Also one must consider the fact that he played in 16 fewer games then Howard did due to an injury. Howard smashed 58 homers in his first complete season of big league play en route to the National League MVP odds award. He silenced his critics by successfully hitting left-handed pitching. Howard also displayed the ability to use his power to the opposite field. Two attributes which should keep Howard amongst the league leaders in long balls for years to come. From the American League representatives, David Ortiz leads the field. Ortiz was second in the majors last year with 54 home runs. Except for 1999 when he only played in 10 games, Ortiz has improved on his home run numbers each year he has been in the majors (1997).

Be sure to log onto online sports betting site MySportsbook.com to check out the odds for who will lead the MLB in home runs this season. Below is just a sample of the players listed. With the highest credit card rates in the industry, MySportsbook.com is the place to bet on baseball this summer.

World Series odds

Adam Dunn 15-1

Albert Pujols 5-1

Alex Rodriguez 12-1

Alfonso Soriano 15-1

Andruw Jones 25-1

Barry Bonds 50-1

Carlos Delgado 40-1

David Ortiz 8-1

Jermaine Dye 40-1

Ken Griffey Jr. 100-1

Lance Berkman 40-1

Manny Ramirez 20-1

Richie Sexson 40-1

Ryan Howard 6-1

Travis Hafner 20-1

Vladimir Guerrero 40-1

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.