Lester leads Red Sox to shutout over Orioles

Baseball Betting Lines

09/08/2007 - Baltimore, MD (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jon Lester scattered four hits over seven shutout innings as Boston blanked Baltimore, 4-0, in the second contest of a four-game set at Camden Yards.

Lester (4-0) retired 11 batters in a row and 12 of the last 13 he faced from the fourth through the seventh. The young left-hander fanned four and walked two and needed just 98 pitches to record his third win in as many starts.

Kevin Youkilis, Jason Varitek and Coco Crisp drove in a run each for the AL East-leading Red Sox, who have won six of seven.

O's starter Daniel Cabrera (9-15) took the loss, charged with three runs on six hits in 3 2/3 innings before being ejected. Jay Payton had two hits for the Orioles, who have lost three in a row and 15 of their last 17.

Baltimore has lost a franchise record 11 consecutive games at home, tying the franchise mark set in September 1987.

In the second, Youkilis walked and J.D. Drew hit a ground-rule double. Varitek singled in a run and Drew was held at third, then Crisp's sacrifice fly plated Drew for a 2-0 Boston lead.

A Jay Payton grounder to the left of first base eluded Youkilis in the home half, and it was initially called an error but later retracted to a single, keeping the Sox first-baseman's errorless streak intact at an AL-record 178 consecutive games.

Boston took a 3-0 lead in the fourth when Crisp led off with a single, moved up to third on a pair of ground outs, and scored on Cabrera's balk with Dustin Pedroia at the plate. Cabrera then sent the first pitch to Pedroia just behind his head in obvious frustration, and after a few tense minutes which included warnings to both sides by home-plate umpire Mike DiMuro, both teams emptied benches and bullpens and met on the infield.

Cabrera was demonstrably angry, but was eventually calmed by Sox reliever and fellow Dominican Julian Tavarez. After a conference of umpires, the fiery right-hander was ejected, despite the vehement protests of Orioles manager Dave Trembley, and replaced by reliever Brian Burres.

In the seventh, Youkilis' RBI single put the Sox up 4-0, but Varitek fanned with the bases loaded.

Jacoby Ellsbury made a leaping catch at the wall on Melvin Mora's drive to left in the eighth to preserve the shutout and Javier Lopez retired the side in order.

Manny Delcarmen took the hill in the ninth and held the O's off the board to sew up the win.

Game Notes

Boston has won 11 of the 16 meetings this season...The Sox have shut out their opponents 13 times overall and eight times on the road this season, both major-league bests...The Orioles are 31-40 under Trembley...Cabrera lost to the Sox September 2 at Fenway...Prior to the game, the Orioles purchased pitcher Victor Santos from the Cincinnati Reds, and designated outfielder Jon Knott for assignment...Attendance was 34,091.

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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

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