Slumping Red Sox hoping to right ship in Seattle

Baseball Betting Lines

07/22/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Boston Red Sox need to get some momentum going on this current road trip and hope that an upcoming four-game series against the Seattle Mariners at Safeco Field will do the trick.

Boston will visit the Emerald City tonight for the opener of this series and is coming off a 6-4 loss at Oakland in yesterday's finale of a three-game set from the Coliseum. Clay Buchholz was shaky in his first start since a stint on the disabled list and allowed five runs on six hits and three walks in four innings. Buchholz fell to 10-5 this season with the loss.

"Little rough," Buchholz said on the team's site. "I was up in the zone and when I tried to get down in the zone it ended up bouncing in front of home plate. The umpire had a low strike zone, too. The balls that I thought were good pitches to hit but still strikes -- he didn't call them. I got behind in the count and it was just a little bit off."

Adrian Beltre finished 3-for-4 with a home run and three RBI while Jed Lowrie knocked in a run for the Red Sox, who have lost 10 of 14 games and are seven games off the pace in the American League East Division. Lowrie was activated from the 60-day disabled list before the contest.

Boston will also visit the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim on its 10-day, 10- game road trip out West. It will send John Lackey to the Safeco Field mound tonight, and he is 9-5 with a 4.65 ERA in 19 starts in his first season with the BoSox. Lackey is 0-2 in his last three starts and did not record a decision in Saturday's 3-2 win over Texas, but he tossed seven innings of two- run ball.

Lackey, who was reached for seven runs in 4 2/3 innings at Toronto the start before, looks to even his road record Thursday night. He is 2-3 in eight starts away from Fenway Park and 12-9 with a 3.89 ERA in 25 career starts against the Mariners. The righty last faced Seattle on September 10, 2009 and threw a five-hit shutout with seven strikeouts.

Seattle salvaged the finale of a three-game series versus the Chicago White Sox with last night's 2-1 win in 11 innings. After the Pale Hose took a 1-0 lead in the top of the 11th inning on an Omar Vizquel RBI single, Franklin Gutierrez led the M's to victory in the home half with a two-run single.

Jack Wilson and Chone Figgins both scored on the hit for the Mariners, who are just 4-14 this month. Gutierrez ended with a game-best three hits and both Figgins and Ryan Langerhans contributed a pair of hits in the win.

Brandon League earned the win despite giving up a run in two innings, while starter Felix Hernandez did his best with eight shutout frames and eight strikeouts. "King Felix" also held the White Sox to just two hits.

"Felix did everything he could and everything we asked of him," said Seattle manager Don Wakamatsu.

In injury news for Wakamatsu's club, first baseman Russell Branyan has been hampered by back spasms and is listed as day-to-day. Branyan owns 13 homers and 34 RBI this season and has missed back-to-back games.

The Mariners, who are last in the AL West standings at 18 games off the pace, will send Ryan Rowland-Smith to the mound Thursday. Rowland-Smith is battling through a rough season, as evidenced by his 1-9 mark and 6.18 earned run average through 20 games (17 starts).

Rowland-Smith previously took the mound in Saturday's 7-6 road loss to the Angels and surrendered six runs -- five earned -- in 3 1/3 innings. The left-hander hasn't fared that well at home either, having gone 1-4 in 10 games, seven of which have been starts.

He will make his first career start against the Red Sox tonight and is 0-0 with a 2.70 ERA in seven relief appearances versus Boston.

The Red Sox and Mariners are meeting for the first time since Seattle won four of six matchups a year ago. Boston, however, is 7-4 in the past 11 contests in this series.

Wwparadisepoker Baseball Betting News

<< Giants resume playoff quest in Arizona
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The San Francisco Giants are still fighting for the top spot in the National League West Division. An upcoming four-game series against the Arizona Diamondbacks could help with that quest. The Giants, who are four games be

<< Cardinals go for ninth win in a row, sweep of slumping Phils
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Adam Wainwright will try to become just the second 15-game winner in the major leagues and remain unbeaten at home when he attempts to lead the St. Louis Cardinals to their ninth straight win and a four-game sweep of the Phil

<< Golf Hall of Fame ceremony moves to spring
St. Augustine, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The induction ceremony for the World Golf Hall of Fame has been moved to a spring date. Previously held in the fall, it will take place on Monday, May 9, 2011, which is the same week as The Players Champ

<< CC seeks ninth straight win as Yankees open set with Royals
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - CC Sabathia has been nearly unbeatable for the New York Yankees over the past two months. With a matchup against the Kansas City Royals next on tap for the All-Star hurler, that string of success doesn't figure to change.

<< Rangers turn to Lee for opener of key set with Angels
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) -- The Texas Rangers acquired Cliff Lee to help end the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim's reign of dominance in the American League West. The All-Star hurler gets his first crack at the three-time defending division champions sin

Reeling Mets continue West Coast tour with stop in LA >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Citi Field must feel many moons away for the New York Mets, who will continue their disappointing road trip tonight with the first of four straight games against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Chavez Ravine. New York was just

Minnesota Vikings 2010 Training Camp Preview >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - REPORT DATE: July 30th SITE: Minnesota State University, Mankato, MN CAMP OBJECTIVES: All other stories in Vikings camp figure to be overshadowed by the Brett Favre drama, which is exactly the way the venerable 40-yea

Seattle Seahawks 2010 Training Camp Preview >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - REPORT DATES: July 29th (Rookies), July 30th (Veterans) SITE: Virginia Mason Athletic Center, Renton, WA CAMP OBJECTIVES: The first training camp of the Pete Carroll era in Seattle will have to follow an aggressive ag

New Orleans Saints 2010 Training Camp Preview >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - REPORT DATE: July 29th SITE: Saints Training Facility, Metairie, LA CAMP OBJECTIVES: The defending Super Bowl champs have very few pressing questions on the offensive side of the ball, with the work of soon-to-be acq

Washington Redskins 2010 Training Camp Preview >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - REPORT DATE: July 29th SITE: Redskins Park, Ashburn, VA CAMP OBJECTIVES: Expectations are extremely high for the Redskins in 2010, but the degree of personnel and staff turnover this team faced in the offseason makes

Chiefs' Treen Green out for Sunday's game

How long Trent Green will remain sidelined is unknown. Coach Herm Edwards said Monday he will miss a second straight start Sunday when the Chiefs host the San Francisco 49ers.

A two-time Pro Bowler, Green was going into a feet-first hook slide when he was knocked unconscious by a thunderous, head-snapping hit from Cincinnati's Robert Geathers.

Oddsmakers at online sportsbook MySportsbook.com currently have the Chiefs listed as 7-point favorites versus the 49ers.

The 49ers got beat by Philadelphia 38-24 as a 6.5-point underdog last week. The combined score went OVER the posted over/under total (42.5).

Alex Smith completed 27-of-46 passes for 293 yards with a touchdown. Michael Robinson rushed for 29 yards and a pair of touchdowns on five carries.

The Chiefs lost 9-6 to Denver last week as an 11-point underdog. The combined score was well UNDER the posted over/under total (38).

Larry Johnson rushed for 126 yards on 27 carries. Damon Huard completed 17-of-23 passes for 133 yards with no touchdowns and no interceptions.

To visit this online sports book got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs.

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.