HRs by Scutaro and Youkilis key Red Sox over lowly O's

Baseball Betting Lines

04/24/2010 - Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Marco Scutaro and Kevin Youkilis each hit three- run homers during a six-run seventh inning, as the Boston Red Sox edged the lowly Baltimore Orioles, 7-6, in the middle installment of a three-game series at Fenway Park.

Jason Varitek also hit a home run for the Red Sox, who won 4-3 in the opener of this series on Friday. Boston has won four of five since a five-game skid with all those victories coming by a run.

John Lackey (2-1) went seven innings, allowing three runs on 10 hits with three strikeouts and two walks to pick up the win. He improved to 9-3 in 13 appearances against Baltimore. Jonathan Papelbon collected his fifth save of the season despite giving up a run in the ninth.

Ty Wigginton went 4-for-5 with a solo homer for the Orioles, who dropped their fifth straight game and are an MLB-worst 2-16 on the young season. Adam Jones also hit a solo homer for Baltimore, which fell short despite scoring three times in the ninth.

Starter Brian Matusz went six-plus frames, giving up three runs on six hits with four strikeouts and three walks. Matt Albers (0-3) allowed three runs on two hits while recording just one out in the seventh.

Trailing 3-1, the Red Sox scored six runs in the seventh to go in front. Bill Hall walked and Jeremy Hermida singled, chasing Matusz from the contest. Albers came in from the bullpen and got pinch-hitter David Ortiz to go down looking. Scutaro stepped to the plate and smacked the ball over the Green Monster to give Boston a 4-3 edge.

Dustin Pedroia doubled down the right field line before Victor Martinez walked. Kam Mickolio then took over on the hill, but Youkilis greeted him with a three-run homer to left to make it 7-3.

Baltimore stranded runners on second and third in the eighth.

The Orioles made things interesting in the ninth. Ramon Ramirez, who recorded the last out in the eighth, stayed on for the ninth. Jones hit a one-out, home run to left-center. Nick Markakis then doubled to center, chasing Ramirez from the contest.

Papelbon took over on the mound and immediately gave up a single to Miguel Tejada. Matt Wieters and Luke Scott followed with RBI base hits to cut the gap to 7-6. Papelbon, though, got Wigginton and Rhyne Hughes to go down swinging to end the game.

Baltimore drew first blood with a pair of runs in the second inning. Wieters led off with a single and scored on Scott's double off the Green Monster. Wigginton followed with a base hit to center to put men on the corners. Hughes stepped to the plate for the first time in his career and laced an RBI single to right. Cesar Izturis flied out and Lou Montanez grounded into a double play to end the frame.

Varitek led off the fifth with a homer to center, cutting the deficit to 2-1. After putting runners on first and second with two outs, Matusz got Pedroia to fly out to end the inning.

The O's responded in the sixth with a solo shot of their own. With one out, Wigginton blasted a Lackey offering over the wall in left-center to make it a 3-1 game.

Game Notes

The Red Sox acquired minor league outfielder Jonathan Van Every from the Pittsburgh Pirates for a player to be named later. Boston designated pitcher Santo Luis for assignment...The Orioles recalled infielder/outfielder Hughes from Triple-A Norfolk. To make room on the roster, the club optioned infielder Justin Turner to Norfolk. Hughes went 2-for-5...Baltimore has dropped 10 in a row and 25 of its last 28 games to the Red Sox, including 15 of the last 16 in Beantown.

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Super Bowl 2009 Betting

Super Bowl 2009 Betting propositions

Underdog bettors love the Super Bowl and, history suggests, the underdogs love them back. And the big dogs bite harder.

Even so, there is a warning in store for Super Bowl gamblers who must love dogs: The Arizona Cardinals Super Bowl betting lines might not be enough of a Cinderella to make it worth your while.

Although the Cardinals were widely panned as one of the worst division winners and least playoff-worthy teams in recent memory, their trip to Super Bowl XLIII Jan. 31 in Tampa against the Pittsburgh Steelers Super Bowl betting lines comes with a little more respect from the oddsmakers than you might imagine. They are a 7-point underdog at most sports books.

If you count yourself among those who covet the big dog in the big game, this isn’t exactly great news. You should have been hoping for more points. This is because the facts show that the bigger the dog, the better the bet in the Super Bowl.

Case in point: Over the past 13 seasons, double-figure underdogs in the Super Bowl are 4-0-1 ATS and have won the past three outright. In fact, the last double-digit chalk to do the deed for bettors was the 1995 San Francisco 49ers, who managed to beat the astounding 19-point spot afforded backers of the San Diego Chargers in the 49-26 romp in Super Bowl XXIX.

By contrast, 7-point favorites are 2-1-1 ATS in the same span, the last such contest resulting a cover grinded out by the Colts in their 29-17 win over the Bears two seasons ago in Super Bowl XLI.

In 2004, the Patriots failed to cover the number in their 32-29 triumph over the Carolina Panthers in Super Bowl props while the Rams and Titans gave everyone a refund in 2000 after the Rams posted a 23-16 win as a seven-point favorite.

So while Arizona’s run has included impressive upsets as a 10-point road underdog to the Carolina Panthers and Sunday’s 32-25 win in the NFC championship game to the 4-point favored Philadelphia Eagles, their long-shot story lacks a bit of the David vs. Goliath storyline of past Super Bowl underdogs.

While the seven-point spread represents a significant gap in the perception of strength between the two teams, it is far from monumental. For example, last season the Giants were the wild-card afterthought turned road-warrior buzzsaw, with stunning wins over the Buccaneers, Cowboys and Packers to earn their place in the Super Bowl.

There, they played spoiler to New England’s bid to become the first 19-0 team in NFL history and cemented their place in sports betting lore with a 17-14 win as a 12.5-point underdog.

In other words, the Cardinals appear to have their work cut out for them as a mid-range underdog. But in homage to the spread beaters who have come before them, here is a brief look back at recent colossal upsets in the Super Bowl:

SB XLII -- 2008 -- New York Giants 17, New England Patriots 14 (Giants +12.5) – Eli Manning’s 13-yard touchdown pass to Plaxico Burress in the final minute clinched the historic upset for the Giants, who used a masterful defensive plan to slow down Tom Brady and the previously undefeated New England Patriots.

XXXVI -- 2002 -- Patriots 20, Rams 17 (Patriots +14) – This was the coming out party for the aforementioned Brady, who went from obscure sixth-round draft pick to Super Bowl hero in one fell swoop. He led the game-winning drive in the final minute – eschewing analyst John Madden’s advice to take a knee and play for overtime – leading to Adam Vinatieri’s memorable 48-yard field goal that split the uprights as time expired.

XXXII 1998 Broncos 31, Packers 24 (Denver +12) – The first of John Elway’s two consecutive Super Bowl titles to put an end to his Hall of Fame career was an upset for the ages. The Broncos used the determination of Elway and a 157-yard, three-touchdown performance from Terrell Davis to turn back Brett Favre and the heavily favored Packers.

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