Boston goes for sweep of Rays behind Lackey

Baseball Betting Lines

05/26/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Starting pitching was supposed to be one of the Red Sox's strengths in 2010. That has been the case over their current four-game winning streak, but things could go sour quick if John Lackey can't find his form.

The struggling Lackey, who will start opposite of one of the American League's top young hurlers in the Rays' Matt Garza, will try to lead Boston to its first sweep in St. Petersburg in over seven years tonight when his club wraps up a three-game set with Tampa Bay at Tropicana Field.

The Red Sox have matched their longest winning streak of the season, winning for the fourth straight time last night with a 2-0 victory over the Rays. Boston's starters have picked up the win in each of those four victories while posting a collective 0.32 earned run average.

It's been a nice turnaround for the Red Sox, who were swept in four games by the Rays at Fenway Park on April 17-19. Boston aims for its first sweep of the Rays in Tampa Bay since taking all four games of a series in St. Petersburg from Sept. 9-12, 2002.

Boston would love for Lackey to join the pitching parade after signing him to a five-year, $82.5 million deal this offseason. However, he has struggled to just a 4-3 record this season with a 5.07 ERA.

Lackey has pitched to a 7.50 ERA over his last three starts and lost his second in a row on Friday in Philadelphia, giving up four runs on six hits and five walks while needing 107 pitches to get through five innings.

It was Lackey's shortest outing since the 31-year-old righty lasted just 3 1/3 innings in a setback to the Rays on April 19. Lackey was drilled for eight runs on nine hits in that outing, including a five-run third inning in which Evan Longoria hit a two-run double and B.J. Upton followed with a three-run homer.

That outing came one day after Garza threw eight shutout innings of four-hit ball in a win at Fenway Park, improving to 6-2 with a 2.92 ERA in 13 career starts versus the Red Sox.

Garza, who is tied for second in the American League with a 2.37 ERA, has pitched eight innings in five of his starts this year, including Friday versus the Astros. The right-hander allowed two runs on six hits, but took a tough 2-1 loss to fall to 5-2 on the season. The 26-year-old Garza is 0-1 in his last three starts despite a 2.91 ERA.

Garza will be looking to slow down Boston slugger David Ortiz, who is hitting just .136 (3-for-22) lifetime against Garza with two homers and four RBI.

After hitting just .143 in April, Ortiz is batting .359 this month with eight homers and 21 RBI. He slugged a two-run double in the third inning on Tuesday to back six scoreless innings from winning pitcher Jon Lester.

Lester allowed Tampa Bay's only hit, a single to Willy Aybar in the fourth inning, but also walked a season-high five with nine strikeouts to combine with three other pitchers on the shutout. Jonathan Papelbon notched his 11th save of the season and helped the Red Sox win for the seventh time in their last eight games.

"I had a hard time getting into a rhythm," said Lester. "It was one of those nights; it was just kind of a battle from the beginning. I was just not in a rhythm, not in the flow of the game, just kind of had a thick feeling. It's obviously nice to get out of there without any runs."

Jason Bartlett walked three times for the Rays, who have lost three of five since a six-game win streak, and James Shields took a tough-luck loss despite giving up just the two runs over eight innings and retiring the final 16 batters he faced.

"I'm not in any way discouraged," Rays manager Joe Maddon told his team's website. "I just really hate wasting that good of a pitching performance."

Maddon was ejected in the fifth inning along with Carl Crawford for arguing balls and strikes.

Crawford, meanwhile, could have a suspension coming after it appeared his helmet made contact with home-plate umpire Bob Davidson during a heated exchange after a called strike. Tampa Bay could certainly use Crawford tonight as he is 14-for-34 (.412) lifetime versus Lackey with a homer and seven RBI.

The Rays still lead the Yankees by five games for first place in the American League East, while the Red Sox have pulled to within 6 1/2 games.

Casioonnet Baseball Betting News

<< Cardinals, Padres continue set between division leaders
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rookie left-hander Jaime Garcia goes after his fifth win of the season when the St. Louis Cardinals and San Diego Padres resume their three-game set this evening at Petco Park. Garcia has been a pleasant surprise for the C

<< Jimenez goes for win No. 9 as Rockies host D-Backs
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ubaldo Jimenez tries to become the first nine-game winner in the majors this evening, when the Colorado Rockies and Arizona Diamondbacks continue a three-game set at Coors Field. Jimenez was again dominant this past Thursd

<< Federer, Soderling roll into third round at French Open
Paris, France (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Reigning champion Roger Federer and last year's runner-up Robin Soderling were a pair of second-round winners Wednesday at the French Open. The top-seeded/world No. 1 Federer had to wait out some rain delay

<< Oswalt tries to end skid in Astros' bout with Brewers
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Roy Oswalt's tenure in Houston appears to be nearing the end. Tonight, though, he will try for his first win in six starts when the Astros continue their three-game set with the Milwaukee Brewers at Miller Park. Oswalt re

<< Yanks, Twins set to complete suspended game before scheduled contest
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Neither the New York Yankees nor the Minnesota Twins were able to cross the plate in Tuesday's opener of this three-game series. Runs could be hard to come by when the teams get together again tonight at Target Field, with a

White Sox close out set with Tribe at Progressive Field >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A well-timed matchup against a National League opponent helped get Chicago's Mark Buehrle on track. Now he'll try to lock down his first road victory of the year and give the White Sox their first series win over t

Giants ace Lincecum puts focus on visiting Nats >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Though often a victim of a shaky bullpen this year, Giants ace Tim Lincecum knows the result of his last start is mainly on him. An extra-focused Lincecum is probably the last thing the Nationals want to see tonight

Orioles shoot for series win over A's >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Manager David Trembley saw his Orioles put together one of their best games of the season that, funny enough, came against an Athletics club that they have struggled against over the last few seasons. Baltimore will t

In the FCS Huddle: Top 10 FCS Offensive Linemen >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Members of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee at Villanova are responsible for being liaisons between their teammates, coaches and athletic administration. Their guidelines say they must be willing to be

Spring racing at Pimlico shows decline in handle >>
Baltimore, MD (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The recently concluded spring race meet at Pimlico Race Course showed a noticeable drop in wagering from 2009. The Maryland Jockey Club announced that average wagering figures were down nearly nine pe

FOOTBALL TRASH TALK

NFL Football Trash Talk

Trash talk has a place in every competitive endeavor (except baseball; those stirrup-wearers are too busy chewing on their sunflower seeds and their supplements to worry about what their opponents are doing).

Fantasy sports is no exception. Any intelligent discussion of the subject would probably start with a thesis statement or a definition of terms. Thankfully, this wont be an intelligent discussion.

Let me just say that I am happy to take a place in this space alongside my talented colleagues, even our commissioner. (You should see how she bleats like a demented paper boy about league fees on our fantasy site).

Trash talking, I would argue, is primarily about amusing your friends, their sheeplike demeanors and sloping foreheads notwithstanding. The best place I have found for football trash talking is at www.SportsAlarm.com.

Beyond the entertainment factor, though, I would recognize that the sophomoric ritual has one advantage, when properly applied. It magnifies your fantasy triumphs and mitigates your fantasy failures by transforming the eventual point total into an afterthought. Winning makes it seem like your opponent really is a truss-owning, lapel-pin-wearing nitwit. And in defeat, trash talk can be the air bag to break the fall from your hyperbolic heights. The plug-necked yahoos on your team, you can say, will be sacking groceries by the end of the season.

The best trash talk, in my view, is layered and nuanced. And it doesnt focus only on your opponents team. It picks apart your opponent. The idea is to create a shock-and-awe-scale blizzard of nonsense, and the goal is to make your opponent drop his hands from his keyboard in exasperation.

What team does your opponent root for? Accuse a Giants fan of having a Joe Namath pillowcase. Wheres your opponent from? Give a look of concern no matter his reply, then say, I'll try to type slower for you next time. Is your opponent into politics? Label everyone a tax-and-spend corporate shill.

Cap all that with a liberal application of irrelevance. For instance, dont just conclude by saying your opponent is a twerp who drafts like my grandmother. Say that your opponent is a sweater-wearing, eyebrow-plucking twerp who drafts his team about as well as Zsa Zsa Gabor gave acceptance speeches at the Oscars. By the time your foe makes sense of that, his starting running back will have had puppies.

But what about you? Hmm? Recall a memorable slam? Have a tried-and-true technique? Know someone who seems impervious to insult? Take a moment and tells us about it. Put together some (fit-for-publication) thoughts. You wont be too busy returning phone messages from your friends, Im sure, to reply.

In addition to the trash talking, the Sports Alarm has a huge gallery of high resolution pictures of beautiful women and models in bikinis. The most popular models are: Lindsay Lohan, Carrie Underwood, Alessandra Ambrosio, and Paris Hilton.

MySportsbook.com - The World's Leading Online Sportsbook

For more than 11 years now, MySportsbook.com has been the World’s BEST online sports book website, providing a safe and secure place for sports wagering. Our world-class level of experience and industry sportsbook expertise is unmatched.

Offering a wide array of sports to wager on, MySportsbook.com leaves no stone unturned in our search to provide you with great football betting lines and online blackjack options. From teasers to parlays, from futures to wacky propositions, we add more game excitement than any other sportsbook. Fully licensed in two gaming jurisdictions, MySportsbook.com is open and eager to assist you 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Whatever the sporting event, this online sportsbook has you covered. Enjoy some of sport’s most memorable moments that much more with MySportsbook.com. With increased interest, follow the game-winning field goal, the walk-off homerun, the buzzer-beater or the hole-in-one shot. Bank on that clutch glove save, the upset TKO or an incredible Hail Mary pass. MySportsbook.com quenches your thirst for action.

To visit this online blackjack got to MySportsbook.com for all your Sportsbook accepts credit cards needs.