Bonds-Dice K matchup to highlight Giants-Red Sox tilt

Baseball Betting Lines

06/16/2007 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - After nearly homering in his first-ever plate appearance at historic Fenway Park last night, Barry Bonds continues his assault on Hank Aaron's all-time record when his San Francisco Giants play the middle test of a three-game series with the Boston Red Sox this afternoon.

Bonds hit a towering drive off Red Sox starter Julian Tavarez well above the right-field foul pole in the first inning of Friday's 10-2 Boston victory. Following a brief consultation by the umpiring crew, the ball was ruled to be foul.

The superstar slugger ended up popping out in that at-bat and finished the game 1-for-3 with a single and a walk. Bonds remains eight homers shy of matching Aaron's historic mark of 755.

While Bonds' Fenway debut received all the pregame attention, Red Sox rookie Dustin Pedroia wound up as the contest's offensive star. The second baseman went 5-for-5 with a two-run homer and knocked in a career-high five RBI to spark Boston to the rout.

Pedroia's five hits were also a personal best and raised his season average to .331, tops among all rookies.

J.D. Drew added three hits, three RBI and three runs scored to help the Red Sox bounce back from consecutive home losses to Colorado on Wednesday and Thursday. Boston was outscored by a 19-3 margin in those defeats.

Tavarez (4-4) allowed six hits and two runs over seven innings, fanning three and walking two. His counterpart on Friday, Barry Zito, had a rough night on the mound for the Giants.

Zito (6-7) yielded seven runs (six earned) on five hits and issued four walks before being removed after 5 1/3 frames. It was the high-priced lefty's second consecutive defeat.

Today's game features an intriguing pitching matchup, as the struggling Daisuke Matsuzaka goes to the post for the Red Sox opposite Giants' hard-luck right-hander Matt Cain.

Cain has been the more effective pitcher of the pair this season, although the hard-throwing youngster has just two wins to his credit for the year. He's recorded a respectable 3.31 earned run average over 13 starts in 2007, but San Francisco has provided him with two or less runs of support in eight of those outings.

The 22-year-old was victimized by his offense once again on Sunday. Cain limited Oakland to a run and five hits while registering eight strikeouts over eight innings, but wound up on the wrong end of a 2-0 decision. He shut out the Athletics over the first seven frames before yielding a solo homer to Marco Scutaro in the eighth.

This will be the first career appearance against Boston for Cain, who has posted a 2.62 ERA in seven road starts this season.

In contrast, Matsuzaka has won seven games for the Red Sox so far despite bringing a 4.52 ERA into today's showdown. However, the Japanese sensation has also been hindered by his club's offense as of late.

Matsuzaka has taken a loss in each of his last three starts, although he's pitched well enough to win his two most recent times out. The right-hander held Arizona to two runs and four hits while fanning nine over six innings in a 5-1 loss on Sunday. Five days earlier, Matsuzaka gave up just two runs and struck out in seven innings, but got little help in a 2-0 setback at Oakland.

The 26-year-old is 3-2 with a 5.62 ERA in six Fenway Park starts this season.

Last night's encounter was the first meeting between the teams since 2004, when the Giants won two of three games from Boston in San Francisco.

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Pro Football Odds : NFC SOUTH BETTING ODDS

NFL Sports Betting

NFL betting action is back! At MySportsbook, all of the pro football odds are posted for the NFC North. Check out how we see the four teams in this cloudy division stacking up this year in the chase for the playoffs! Green Bay Packers (+125) - With QB Aaron Rodgers leading the offense and DC Dom Capers working his magic on defense, the Packers are a real force to be reckoned with.

Virtually nothing changed on this offense for Green Bay from last year to this year, save for the addition of rookie OT Brian Bulaga to the bunch. Expect more huge numbers from the Pack, and a relatively favorable schedule should get them over the hump and into the playoffs once again this season. My NFL Betting Predictions: 11-5, 1st place in NFC North Minnesota Vikings (+130) - There are still too many unknowns about the Vikes this year. There is a huge difference between QB Brett Favre and either Tarvaris Jackson or Sage Rosenfels under center. Plus, is Favre comes back, is he really going to be able to keep his pick total under double digits again? Depth at running back looked like it might have been an issue with RB Chester Taylor fleeing in free agency, but drafting RB Toby Gerhart should pick up the difference. This defense is still suitable, but with a first place schedule, making the playoffs is going to be very tough regardless of whether #4 comes back or not.

There is a huge difference between QB Brett Favre and either Tarvaris Jackson or Sage Rosenfels under center. Plus, is Favre comes back, is he really going to be able to keep his pick total under double digits again? Depth at running back looked like it might have been an issue with RB Chester Taylor fleeing in free agency, but drafting RB Toby Gerhart should pick up the difference. This defense is still suitable, but with a first place schedule, making the playoffs is going to be very tough regardless of whether #4 comes back or not. Play this weekly NFL Football Contestto see if you can win.

Chicago Bears (+350) - The Bears are probably a bit of an overhyped team once again this year.No, we don't think it is plausible for QB Jay Cutler to have as bad of a season as he did last year, and we do think the additions of RB Chester Taylor and DE Julius Peppers are going to help immensely, but there's still something in the water in the Windy City that we aren't so sure about. Maybe Chicago finds its way to .500... but then again, maybe it doesn't. If Favre comes back, Cutler might be the worst quarterback in this division this year.

Detroit Lions (+1500) - The Lions are probably once again going to be the whipping boys for the rest of the teams in the NFC North, but they aren't just going to roll over and die once again. There is some real talent amassing on this team offensively, as the combination of QB Matt Stafford, RB Jahvid Best, WR Calvin Johnson, and TE Brandon Pettigrew should put a bunch of points on the board if the offensive line can even remotely hold up. The questions really lie on defense, where it feels like DT Ndamukong Suh is going to be trying to stop opposing teams all by himself. This year should show some marked improvement in the Motor City.

The Patriots will make NFL betting fans a lot of money this season, get in early and enjoy the cash.

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