AL East-leading Red Sox open set with Twins

Baseball Betting Lines

09/27/2007 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Boston Red Sox try and lock up their first AL East title since 1995 this evening when Josh Beckett makes his final case for the AL Cy Young Award in the opener of a four-game series with the Minnesota Twins at Fenway Park.

Boston reduced its magic number for clinching the division to two on Wednesday, as Mike Lowell finished 3-for-5 with five RBI to help the Red Sox past Oakland, 11-6, in the finale of a two-game set at Fenway Park.

Dustin Pedroia picked up three hits, a solo homer, and scored four times for the Red Sox, who have won four of five and lead the AL East by three games over the Yankees, who crushed the D-Rays, 12-4, in Tampa.

A Red Sox win and a Yankees loss would secure the AL East crown for Boston. The Red Sox are also tied with Cleveland for the best record in the American League. Whichever club finishes with the top record -- in addition to earning home-field advantage throughout the postseason -- will get to choose its first-round playoff schedule and align its starting rotation accordingly.

Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz collected three hits and each scored twice, while J.D. Drew, Brandon Moss and Jacoby Ellsbury each drove in a run, all part of Boston's 17-hit attack.

Mike Timlin (2-1) hurled 1 1/3 innings of scoreless relief to pick up the win. Starter Jon Lester was charged with seven hits and five runs -- four earned -- in 4 1/3 innings, despite striking out nine.

Beckett, meanwhile, has won his last four starts and is 20-6 with a 3.14 earned run average. The 27-year-old right-hander defeated Tampa in his last trip to the hill, as he allowed a run and four hits in six innings.

Over his last four starts Beckett has surrendered only seven runs in 28 innings. With a win tonight he will become the first Boston pitcher to win 21 contests in a season since Curt Schilling did it in 2004, the year the Red Sox won the World Series to end an 86-year drought.

Beckett topped the Twins in his only other meeting with them, scattering six hits over eight scoreless innings in that one.

Minnesota will counter with 25-year-old right-hander Boof Bonser, who is 7-12 with a 5.09 ERA. Bonser picked up a no-decision on Saturday against the Chicago White Sox, despite a poor outing, as he allowed five runs and eight hits in three innings of his team's 8-3 loss.

Bonser defeated the Red Sox in his only other appearance against them, giving up a pair of runs and seven hits in seven innings.

Minnesota enters this series on a sour note after dropping a 9-4 decision to the Detroit Tigers in a five-inning rain-shortened game. Rondell White hit a three-run double while Nick Blackburn (0-1) got the first loss of his career, giving up six runs -- four earned -- on seven hits in two innings of work for the Twins, who have dropped four of their last six.

The Twins have to win their final four games to avoid their first losing season since 2000.

Johan Santana had his streak of 123 games where he went at least five innings come to an end as he also did not return after the first rain delay. He gave up three runs -- two earned -- on two hits in three innings.

The first delay, which started after the end of the third inning, lasted one hour, 18 minutes while the second delay began with one out in the sixth with the game being called after a 30-minute delay.

Boston has won two of its three matchups with the Twins this season after going just 1-5 against them a year ago.

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Stanley Cup betting

New York, NY – October 3, 2007 – The dress rehearsal is over! The NHL preseason has ended and now that fans have had a glimpse of what is to come it is time to hit the book! Stanley Cup odds are live at MySportsbook.com, the world’s largest online sportsbook and casino.

The Ottawa Senators and Detroit Red Wings remain on top of the odds charts after an impressive start in the preseason. Betting lines opened for both teams at 6-1 in June. Since then the Sens have fallen to 7-1 and the Red Wings are now caught in a pack including the defending champion Carolina Hurricanes, the San Jose Sharks and the Anaheim Ducks, all at 10-1.

MySportsbook.com has also posted props on each team’s point total for the regular season. The Senators lead the charge at 108.5 followed by the Ducks at 106.5. Detroit will attempt a repeat for the prize as the Red Wings are deadlocked with the Predators at 104.5 a piece. The temporary loss of highly touted rookie Evgeni Malkin puts a lot of pressure on the stick of assistant captain Sidney Crosby - his lowly Pittsburgh Penguins are listed at 71.5.

Even if bettors are not brave enough to put their money on the underdog, an early bet on the favorites at sportsbook.com tends to produce bigger payouts than a mid-season wager. Placing a $1,000 bet last summer on the Detroit Red Wings or Ottawa Senators would have paid out to $8,000 and $10,000 respectively, opposed to a $2,500 or $3,000 payout at the beginning of the playoffs.

Stanley Cup Odds    

 Ottawa Senators
Detroit Red Wings 
Carolina Hurricanes  
San Jose Sharks     
Anaheim Ducks    
Philadelphia Flyers 
Calgary Flames     
New Jersey Devils 
Buffalo Sabres   
Dallas Stars    
New York Rangers  
Nashville Predators  
Vancouver Canucks 
Colorado Avalanche  
Minnesota Wild    
Tampa Bay Lightning    
Boston Bruins    
Florida Panthers   
Montreal Canadiens   
Atlanta Thrashers 
Toronto Maple Leafs  
Edmonton Oilers      
Phoenix Coyotes    
Los Angeles Kings      
New York Islanders   
Columbus Blue Jackets  
St. Louis Blues      
Pittsburgh Penguins 
Washington Capitals   
Chicago Blackhawks    
7-1
10-1
10-1
10-1
10-1
12-1
12-1
12-1
12-1
15-1
15-1
15-1
20-1
20-1
25-1
25-1
30-1
30-1
30-1
30-1
30-1
30-1
40-1
40-1
50-1
50-1
80-1
80-1
100-1
100-1 

NHL Regular Season Points - Team Must Play 82 Games 

Team     
Ottawa Senators      
Anaheim Ducks 
Detroit Red Wings   
Nashville Predators 
San Jose Sharks 
Calgary Flames     
Philadelphia Flyers    
New Jersey Devils     
Buffalo Sabres    
Carolina Hurricanes       
Dallas Stars          
New York Rangers   
Minnesota Wild     
Atlanta Thrashers     
Montreal Canadiens    
Team        
Los Angeles Kings           
Tampa Bay Lightening   
Vancouver Canucks 
Boston Bruins       
Colorado Avalanche 
Edmonton Oilers  
Phoenix Coyotes  
Toronto Maple Leafs   
Florida Panthers 
Columbus Blue Jackets   
New York Islanders   
Chicago Blackhawks  
St. Louis Blues  
Washington Capitals 
Pittsburgh Penguins  
Over/Under
108.5
106.5
104.5
104.5
103.5
101.5
100.5
99.5
97.5
97.5
97.5
95.5
94.5
93.5
92.5
Over/Under
91.5
91.5
91.5
89.5
89.5
88.5
88.5
86.5
84.5
82.5
80.5
72.5
72.5
72.5
71.5

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your hockey sportsbook needs.