Lackey beats old team as Red Sox use late surge

Baseball Betting Lines

07/28/2010 - Anaheim, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - John Lackey returned to his former stomping grounds and pitched 7 1/3 quality innings to lead the Boston Red Sox to a 4-2 win over the Angels in the middle installment of a three-game series.

Lackey (10-5), who pitched for the Angels for his entire eight-year career before inking a free agent contract with Boston in the offseason, allowed two runs on seven hits for the Red Sox, who have won two straight games and four of six overall. Jed Lowrie hit a two-run double and Adrian Beltre added a key RBI in the victory.

Josh Beckett is scheduled to make his second start following a lengthy stint on the disabled list in Wednesday's series finale, when the Sox will attempt to sweep the Angels for the second time this season.

Bobby Abreu hit a solo home run and finished with two RBI for the struggling Angels, who have dropped three straight and six of their last seven games.

Jered Weaver started on the hill for Los Angeles and was very strong through six scoreless innings, but suffered the loss. Weaver (9-7) exited after seven full frames and ended with a line which showed two runs allowed on six hits with eight strikeouts.

The Angels scored the game's first run in the third inning. Maicer Izturis reached first on a fielder's choice, moved to third on a single by Alberto Callaspo and scored when Abreu doubled.

Weaver struck out the side in the fourth and got three straight outs in the fifth after Darnell McDonald led off the frame with a double. After another easy 1-2-3 effort in the top of the sixth, the Red Sox finally reached Weaver in the seventh.

McDonald worked a two-out walk in the seventh before a single by Marco Scutaro put runners on the corners. Lowrie then stepped to the plate and drilled a double to the wall in left field for a 2-1 Boston advantage.

"It got away from me in the seventh. I wish it was a different outcome," Weaver said. "I can only do what I can do and we came up a little short."

The visitors gained an important insurance run in the seventh via Beltre's RBI double.

"I felt strong and executed pitches," Lackey said. "I heard the boos. It is what it is. Weave has come into his own. He's one of the top pitchers in the league. For us to get runs off him late, gives our team a confidence boost."

Abreu drilled his 12th homer of the year to right field with one out in the eighth, and the blast marked the end of Lackey's night. Daniel Bard then entered from the bullpen. Bard struck out Torii Hunter and forced Mike Napoli to fly out.

In the top of the ninth, an errant throw on a grounder to second base allowed Scutaro to score for a two-run lead before Boston closer Jonathan Papelbon worked a 1-2-3 bottom of the ninth for his 24th save of the campaign.

Game Notes

Boston right fielder J.D. Drew was scratched from the starting lineup due to tightness in his left hamstring...The BoSox also swept the Angels in a four- game series at Fenway Park in early May...Weaver has lost four of his starts, while Lackey halted a four-start winless skid.

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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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