07/05/2008 - (Baseball Betting) - Baseball's best rivalry continues in the Bronx as the New York Yankees play host to the Boston Red Sox.
On Friday, Mike Lowell's three-run homer in the fifth inning broke up a tie game, and the Red Sox held on for a 6-4 win in the rain-soaked Independence Day matchup. Lowell added a sacrifice fly for the Red Sox, who have rebounded from a five- game skid and a three-game sweep in Tampa to take the first two of this four-game set.
Jacoby Ellsbury went 3-for-5 and scored for Boston, which pounded out 12 hits to the Yankees' six.
Josh Beckett (8-5) allowed three runs -- all in the first inning -- on four hits and four strikeouts and two walks to get the win.
Darrell Rasner (4-7) continued to struggle for the Yankees. Staked to an early 3-0 lead, Rasner was ripped for six runs on 10 hits in five innings to lose for the seventh time in eight starts.
Alex Rodriguez had a two-run double for the Yankees, who fell for the fifth time in six games. New York lost left fielder Johnny Damon in the third inning to a left shoulder contusion, suffered on a bizarre play that almost resulted in a home run for Boston's Kevin Youkilis.
Damon is expected to miss the remainder of this series.
On the mound for the Red Sox this afternoon will be Justin Masterson, and impressive righty poised to make his ninth appearance of the season. He is currently 4-2 with a 3.75 ERA and has allowed only 34 hits in 48 innings. Unfortunately, he has surrendered 26 walks.
Masterson has never faced the Yankees.
Set to oppose Masterson will be Mike Mussina, who continues to be one of the bright spots for an otherwise disappointing Yankee team. The veteran hurler is 10-6 with a 3.87 ERA, and while he has given up 103 hits in 95 1/3 innings of action, his 15 walks are proof of outstanding control.
Mussina has been roughed up badly by Boston this season, as he is 0-2 with a 9.35 ERA. On a positive note, he is 19-17 lifetime against the Red Sox with a 3.80 ERA.
Boston owns a 5-2 advantage over New York in this year's season series, with the teams having split a two-game set at Yankee Stadium in mid-April. The Yankees won six of nine tests with the Red Sox as the host last year.
<< Baek, Gonzalez lead Padres over D-Backs
Phoenix, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Cha Seung Baek allowed just two hits over six
shutout innings, as the San Diego Padres dispatched the Arizona Diamondbacks,
5-1, in the opener of a three-game set.
Baek (2-3) carried a no-hitter into the
<< Cristman leads New England over L.A., Beckham
Carson, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Adam Cristman scored two first-half goals and the
New England Revolution held off David Beckham and the Los Angeles Galaxy, 2-1,
on Friday to win a battle conference leaders at The Home Depot Center.
Cristman s
<< Rockies top Marlins in slugfest
Denver, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chris Iannetta drove in four runs, including the
game-winner in the bottom of the ninth, as the Colorado Rockies trailed by as
many as nine runs but rallied for a wild, improbable 18-17 win over the
Florida
<< Angels rout Blue Jays
Anaheim, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Howie Kendrick finished 2-for-4 and drove in
three runs as Los Angeles drubbed Toronto, 8-2, in the first of a three-game
set.
Garret Anderson went 3-for-4 with a two-run homer and a pair of runs scored
Aces Wild: Halladay, Lackey face off in Anaheim >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The American League West-leading Los Angeles Angels of
Anaheim will play the middle contest of a three-game weekend set against the
Toronto Blue Jays this evening at Angel Stadium.
Although John Lackey has only pitched in
Mets, Phillies resume key weekend set >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jamie Moyer hopes for some run support this evening when
the Philadelphia Phillies continue their four-game series with the New York
Mets at Citizens Bank Park.
Moyer lost his third straight start on Sunday against Texas,
Zito tries to find way against Dodgers >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Barry Zito tries to avoid his 13th loss of the season this
evening when the San Francisco Giants and Los Angeles Dodgers resume their
three-game series at AT&T Park.
Zito failed to put back-to-back wins together the l
Nats, Reds continue four-game set in Cincy >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Right-hander Josh Fogg returns from a month-long stint on
the disabled list to start for the Cincinnati Reds in game three of their
four-game weekend series with the visiting Washington Nationals at Great
American Ball Park.
The NFL preseason is approaching. Time for players, coaches and teams to turn over a new leaf. General managers have hired some new coaches, while coaches have added some offensive and defensive assistants to try and improve things. Here’s a look at some changes to look for in the preseason.
New York Jets: The Jets were one of the surprise teams in the NFL last season, making the playoffs under hard-driving first-year coach Eric Mangini. Mangini rebuilt the offensive line with rookies D'Brickashaw Ferguson (the No. 4 pick in the 2007 Draft) and Ohio State center Nick Mangold (the 29th pick in the first round). This season he upgraded the defense with rookie linebacker David Harris (Michigan) while the secondary picked up a much needed top-notch corner in Pitt CB Darrelle Revis (No. 14 overall).
The Jets have added balance to the offense for QB Chad Pennington with RB Thomas Jones, essentially stolen from the Bears. He will upgrade a New York ground game that was 20th in rushing with a weak 3.5 yards per carry. They have their first true feature back since Curtis Martin. Offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer prefers ball control, like his father Marty. In preseason, behind Pennington you’ll see second-year QB Kellen Clemens and mobile newcomer QB Marques Tuiasosopo.
Jacksonville Jaguars: The heat is on Jack Del Rio in Jacksonville as the Jaguars flopped last season despite a ton of talent. Keep in mind that under Del Rio the Jaguars have been outstanding in preseason with a 12-4 SU, 11-5 ATS August mark. Their defense is loaded, it’s the offense that has been stuck in first gear the last few years.
Enter a new offensive coordinator in Dirk Koetter, the former Boise State and Arizona State pass-happy coach. He will try and upgrade a passing game that ranked 24th last season. Del Rio has criticized wide receivers Reggie Williams and Matt Jones this summer, both of whom have battled injuries. It will be interesting to watch the “new” Jaguars passing game in preseason.
Arizona Cardinals: Word out of Arizona is that the players like new coach Ken Whisenhunt, who was the Steelers offensive coordinator last year. We think of Arizona as all-passing because their running game has been awful of late because of a poor offensive line. However, keep an eye on the running game in preseason as they’ve made a lot of changes.
The new coach brings in Russ Grimm to coach the offensive line (Grimm did a marvelous job building the Steelers line). They took Penn State OT Levi Jones in the first round and signed two offensive linemen, Mike Gandy and Al Johnson, to provide depth. Reggie Wells was moved from right tackle to left guard and they want more speed out of the offensive line for pulling and traps, a Pittsburgh staple under Bill Cowher.
Atlanta Falcons: While all the attention has been focused on QB Mike Vick’s off-field problems, new coach Bobby Petrino is revamping the Falcons from an all-running team to a more balanced one. Petrino likes the experience of backup QB Joey Harrington and he has veteran backup Chris Redman, who used to play for Petrino at Louisville and knows his offenses better than anyone. Petrino wants Vick to be more of a pocket passer.
The addition of FB Ovie Mughelli is a sign Petrino wants a power rushing attack behind a physical fullback and newcomer WR Joe Horn should upgrade what was a below average wideout corps. Petrino is changing their old zone-blocking scheme to a more traditional in-line blocking scheme and the offensive line is bigger. Rookie DE Jamaal Anderson was grabbed in the first round and the secondary got younger with former Auburn cornerback David Irons, who the Falcons think was a steal as a sixth-round pick.
Cleveland Browns: The 2007 Browns look like a double-edged sword. There was the excitement of the offseason, trading for RB Jamel Lewis, upgrading the offensive line with Wisconsin’s Joe Thomas (the No. 2 pick in the draft) and free agent LG Eric Steinbach, then trading for Notre Dame QB Brady Quinn when he fell to No. 22. GM Phil Savage and head coach Romeo Crennel feel they have a talented, balanced offense with these new pieces, plus TE Kellen Winslow and WR Braylon Edwards.
However, were these moves made in desperation? And were they foolish ones? The Browns gave up their 2008 first-round pick for Quinn and we all know QBs take time to develop. And even first-round QBs can be busts (Joey Harrington, Akili Smith). We also don’t know if the offensive line is that much improved (31st in rushing in 2007) and they did nothing to improve a defense that was awful against the run (142 yds pg allowed).
The Browns have a new offensive coordinator in Rob Chudzinski. This is a young offense and Quinn looked tentative, indecisive and inaccurate early in camp. Crennel will play Charlie Frye, Quinn and Derek Anderson in preseason. And there is a mixed bag for rookie QBs receiving significant starts: Tim Couch (14), Kerry Collins (13), Ben Roethlisberger (13), Vince Young (13), Joey Harrington (12), Matt Leinart (11) and Kyle Boller (nine). While all the focus will be on the Browns new-look offense, I’m more concerned with the defense.
Carolina Panthers: Coach Jon Fox loves the ground game, but Carolina has made some interesting changes for 2007. Fox fired offensive coordinator Dan Henning and brings in Jeff Davidson to run the offense. Davidson has brought in zone-blocking schemes to the Panther offense, a dramatic change for a system that's been built around a power-running style.
In zone-blocking, offensive linemen are responsible for blocking any defender who appears in their zone, instead of focusing on one defender. The Broncos and Falcons have had success with the system, which features smaller, more athletic offensive linemen and can create running lanes on the inside and outside. Keep an eye in preseason on how Carolina adjusts as it will take time to learn the system. Fox has been one of the top coaches in preseason, with a 15-5 SU, 12-7-1 ATS August record.
Dallas Cowboys: WR Terrell Owens is still here, but QB Drew Bledsoe and Bill Parcells are gone. New head coach Wade Phillips takes over, replacing Parcells. He ran the Chargers defense last season. Phillips was chosen by teary-eyed owner Jerry Jones partly because he is one of the best 3-4 coaches in football and the Cowboys have loaded up on players for that scheme.
Remember that Phillips was blitz-happy with the Chargers last season and early reports out of the Dallas camp have mentioned how the Cowboys have been blitzing a lot, a departure from Parcells. The theme of the 2007 Dallas defense appears to be one of attack.
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