Haren injured in debut with Angels; Big Papi powers Red Sox

Baseball Betting Lines

07/27/2010 - Anaheim, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - David Ortiz homered twice and knocked in three runs, powering the Boston Red Sox past the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, 6-3, in Dan Haren's injury-shortened debut with his new team.

Haren (0-1), acquired by LA on Sunday in a trade with Arizona, exited the game in the fifth inning after taking a Kevin Youkilis line drive off his right forearm. He was diagnosed with a contusion and took the loss, allowing two runs on seven hits to go with eight strikeouts and no walks in 4 2/3 innings.

His counterpart, Clay Buchholz (11-6), threw seven innings of one-run ball, yielding just five hits and a walk while fanning seven in his second start since being activated off the disabled list. Jonathan Papelbon nailed down his 23rd save of the season by recording the final four outs.

Victor Martinez (thumb) was in the starting lineup for the first time in a month and drove in a run for Boston, which had lost four of six coming in.

The Angels lost for the fifth time in six games despite home runs by Bobby Abreu and Hideki Matsui.

Boston quickly tied the game following Abreu's first-inning solo homer, as Adrian Beltre tripled leading off the second and trotted home on Martinez's single to center.

The Red Sox stranded two runners in the inning, and the Angels wasted a no- out, bases-loaded situation in the bottom half, with Buchholz getting out of the jam thanks to a pair of infield pop outs and a flyout to left off the bat of Erick Aybar.

In the third, Ortiz got just enough of a Haren offering to send it over the short porch in right for his 20th round-tripper of the year.

The Angels left two more on in the third and went down in order from the fourth through the sixth innings while their newly-acquired starter hit the showers early.

Francisco Rodriguez and Kevin Jepsen kept it a one-run game until the seventh, when Fernando Rodney served up Ortiz's blast on a payoff pitch. Youkilis, who finished 3-for-5 at the plate, singled ahead of the homer.

Scott Atchison took over for Buchholz in the eighth, and Maicer Izturis greeted the reliever with a single before coming in on Matsui's two-out home run, which was upheld upon review as a fan appeared to interfere with the ball just as it cleared the wall in right.

The Sox answered in the ninth on J.D. Drew's two-run double off rookie Michael Kohn, and Papelbon shook off a leadoff single in the ninth to seal the win.

Game Notes

It's the ninth straight year Ortiz has hit at least 20 home runs. He has three multi-home run games this season and 37 for his career...Haren, winless since June 12, went 7-8 with a 4.60 earned-run average in 21 starts with Arizona...Buchholz came back from a left hamstring injury last week and was touched for five runs on six hits and three walks over four innings versus Oakland..Red Sox outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury, on the DL since May 28 with a rib injury, started his rehab assignment in the Gulf Coast League on Monday...Kohn had his contract selected from Triple-A Salt Lake, and the Angels also optioned pitcher Trevor Bell to Salt Lake and recalled from rehab and optioned pitcher Matt Palmer to Salt Lake...The Red Sox swept a four-game home set over the Angels from May 3-6...In the second test of this three-game series on Tuesday, John Lackey will square off against his former team opposite Angels ace Jered Weaver.

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Big 12 Conference betting odds

Work left to do: Texas Tech, Oklahoma State, Kansas State

Texas joins Texas A&M and Kansas as locks after getting league win No. 11. Texas Tech greatly helped its own hopes and crippled OK State's with the two-point win Saturday. Is K-State the last reasonable hopeful? Could be an elimination match in Stillwater on Tuesday, at least for the Cowboys.

Work left to do:

Texas Tech [18-11 (7-7), RPI: 44, SOS: 12] A critical two-point win over OK State leaves the Red Raiders with Baylor and at Iowa State left. Get both and the Red Raiders likely are good to go. Get one and there could be some interesting comparisons with a K-State team that could finish two or three games "ahead" of them in the standings but doesn't have any of the quality wins Texas Tech has. Not a lot in nonconference play (against Arkansas in Little Rock being the best win, by far) to lean on.

Oklahoma State [18-9 (5-8), RPI: 50, SOS: 35] Still without a road win, the Cowboys now need to win two on the road just to get to .500 in conference play. It's hard to recall a team (OK, other than Clemson) falling so precipitously from lock status to almost certainly out of the NCAAs at this point. There are wins to be had in the last three, including a very big home game against K-State on Tuesday, but this team is reeling. Can you tell the pressure to win is getting to them with the way the final possession played out at Texas Tech? There are some good nonconference performances to lean on, specifically beating Missouri State and Syracuse on neutral floors and Pitt in OK City, but if the Pokes don't right this very, very soon, that won't be enough.

Kansas State [20-9 (9-5), RPI: 56, SOS: 96] It pays to be in the Big 12 North. The nine league wins are Colorado (twice), Missouri (twice), Iowa State (twice), Baylor, Nebraska and (a good one against) Texas. That helps explain the middling computer profile. The win over USC is nice, but the nonconference leaves a lot to be desired. The game at OK State in Stillwater on Tuesday is huge, as it could KO the Cowboys and leave K-State with a home date against Oklahoma with which to work.


Academy Award Betting Odds for Best Picture Offer Great Value

If there is any category that is not an obvious win for any one nominee in this year's Academy Awards, it would be for Best Picture.  Sure the Departed is a 5/7 favorite, but that's hardly anything when we look at Helen Mirren and her "out-of-reach" 1 to 40 odds (which means you would win a whopping $1 for every $40 bet).

For value, take a look at MySportsbook.com Oscars betting odds on my personal favorite, The Queen - a remarkable 12 to 1 long shot.  The film hasn't won any pre-awards for Best Picture (compared to The Departed and Little Miss Sunshine), but there is a tremendous following and it is a strong enough film to warrant a surprise win.

TV Guide advises Oscar watchers should be cautioned not to discount the  drama "Babel" with its strong social themes about overcoming communication gaps among people of different cultures.

"While 'Babel' lost several guild awards to 'Sunshine' and 'Departed,'  it still enjoys loyal support, and historically Oscar voters favor dramas with social messages over comedies like 'Sunshine' and violent crime movies like 'Departed'."

"It hasn't done well in the guilds, which means there isn't much industry support," said Tom O'Neil of awards site TheEnvelope.com, "But several critics are expecting it to win, and that gets my attention." Babel had 7 to 2 odds at press time.

Who is to say independently produced Little Miss Sunshine won't be this year's Crash.  Last year, Crash won for Best Motion Picture, shocking those who bet on gay cowboy flick, Brokeback Mountain, as the favorite to win. 

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your Sportsbook accepts Visa needs.