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04/23/2007 - Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mike Lowell hit one of four consecutive Boston homers in the third inning and belted the go-ahead three-run blast in the seventh, as the Red Sox held on for a 7-6 win over the Yankees, completing a weekend sweep.
Manny Ramirez, J.D. Drew, Lowell and Jason Varitek all hit solo shots in the third off Chase Wright, with the four consecutive homers equaling a major league record.
Daisuke Matsuzaka (2-2), pitching against the Yankees for the first time in his career, struck out seven over seven-plus frames, but gave up eight hits and six runs, as Boston swept the three-game set and won its fifth straight overall.
"I wanted very badly to record my first win at Fenway Park," Matsuzaka said. "The opponents being the Yankees and the fact that my teammates had already twice made me want to win even more."
Jason Giambi drove in three runs and Derek Jeter belted a solo homer for the Yankees, who were swept in a three-game series at Fenway Park for the first time since August 31 - September 2, 1990.
Wright gave up five hits and four runs over three innings for the Yankees, who also pressed Andy Pettitte into relief duty, as he threw a scoreless frame.
Second baseman Dustin Pedroia made a diving catch to keep the Red Sox ahead in the eighth inning and Jonathan Papelbon pitched the ninth for his sixth save of the year, getting Alex Rodriguez to ground into a force out to end the game.
Ramirez, who finished with three hits, singled off Scott Proctor (0-1) to start the bottom of the seventh and Drew doubled off the wall in left. Lowell then took a 1-0 offering barely over the Green Monster to give Boston a 7-5 lead.
The Yankees loaded the bases with one out in the eighth before Brendan Donnelly got Melky Cabrera to hit a ball on the ground toward first base. Kevin Youkilis threw the ball to second for a force play, but Rodriguez scored. Pinch-hitter Josh Phelps then lined a ball up the middle, but Pedroia made a diving grab to keep Boston ahead.
Papelbon walked Bobby Abreu with two down in the ninth before Rodriguez hit a ball to the left side of the infield, forcing out Abreu at second.
"Three games we battled," Yankees manager Joe Torre said. "That's all you can do. We just came out on the short end. They made some great plays."
Giambi stroked a two-run double to left-center field in the opening inning and Wright escaped a jam in the first and second frames. Giambi made it 3-0 with an RBI single in the third before Boston's powerful display.
Wright retired Youkilis and David Ortiz to start the bottom of the third, but Ramirez then blasted a ball to left-center field. Drew followed with a shot to right-center before Lowell got hold of a pitch and crushed it out of the stadium to left, before Varitek ended the barrage with another ball over the Green Monster, moving Boston to a 4-3 lead.
"Like total disbelief in the dugout because usually four straight hitters don't square up a ball for base hits, let alone home runs," Lowell said of his feelings. "Then, being down three, you get there, you tie it, and then you go ahead, that's a big momentum shift because you're doing it in a way that kind of gets the crowd going and they're totally on our side. I think it kind of pumps up Daisuke because you're not looking for a couple of bloops and a blast."
The Red Sox became the fifth team in major league history to hit four consecutive home runs The 1961 Braves, 1963 Indians and 1964 Twins also turned the trick before the Dodgers did it in a game last September 18 against San Diego, with Drew also involved in that home run parade in the ninth inning, on the way to an 11-10 win in 10 innings.
"I don't want to take anything away from it because it was a really cool thing to be a part of," Drew said. "The situation we were in, in September of last year, with chasing the Padres in the middle of that pennant race and [using] the bottom of the ninth to do it. I think with the way the game had played out to that point was a little different situation [than tonight]."
Wright is the second pitcher in history to allow four consecutive homers in an inning. The other was Paul Foytack of the Los Angeles Angels in 1963.
Jeter led off the fifth with a homer to left and Robinson Cano scored on Cabrera's double-play grounder in the sixth to give the Yankees a 5-4 edge.
Game Notes
Rodriguez has hit safely in each of the first 17 games of the season, the longest streak to open a season by a Yankee since Bobby Richardson hit safely in each of the first 17 games in 1962. Rodriguez' overall hitting streak stands at 22 dating back to last year...The four homers in the third inning ties the Red Sox record for the most in one frame. It was the 10th time, last on July 23, 2002 versus Tampa Bay in the opener of a doubleheader...Jeter hit his first homer of the year and the 184th in his career, passing Tommy Henrich and tied Charlie Keller for 15th on the Yankees all-time list...The Red Sox celebrated the 60th anniversary of Jackie Robinson's breaking the Major League Baseball color barrier on Sunday. The tribute to Robinson was originally set to take place last Sunday, but the Red Sox-Angels game was rained out that day. Ortiz and center fielder Coco Crisp, and third base coach DeMarlo Hale wore Robinson's No. 42...Boston center fielder Coco Crisp was a late scratch from the lineup with a mild left oblique strain...The Red Sox will play at Yankee Stadium for three games next weekend...This was Lowell's 12th career multi-homer game...This was Boston's first sweep of the Yankees overall since a three-gamer at Yankee Stadium from April 23-25, 2004...Boston manager Terry Francona celebrated his 48th birthday Sunday...Pettitte made his 10th career major league relief appearance and his second this season.
<< Howland goes wire-to-wire for Duramed Futures win
Lafayette, LA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Janell Howland closed with a four-under 68
Sunday to close out a wire-to-wire victory at the Duramed Futures Tour's
Louisiana Pelican Classic.
Howland completed her first tour win at The Wetlands at
<< Duffy leads Pirates over Dodgers
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chris Duffy went 3-for-5 with three runs
scored and two stolen bases and Jason Bay notched two RBI as Pittsburgh edged
Los Angeles, 7-5, in the finale of a three-game series at Dodger Stadium.
Adam LaR
<< McLennan suspended five games
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The National Hockey League on Sunday
suspended Calgary Flames backup goaltender Jamie McLennan five games for his
actions in Saturday's Flames-Red Wings contest at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit.
McLen
<< Late surge sends Braves past Mets
Flushing, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kelly Johnson homered twice -- including a
three-run shot in the eighth that put the Braves ahead for good -- as Atlanta
topped the New York Mets, 9-6 in the rubber match of a three-game series
at Shea
Rockets try to take 2-0 lead over Jazz >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Houston Rockets try to jump out to a 2-0 lead over the
Utah Jazz, as the teams meet tonight at the Toyota Center for Game 2 of their
first-round matchup.
This is a best-of-seven series. Game 3 is scheduled for Thursda
Pistons welcome Magic to The Palace for Game 2 >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The top-seeded Detroit Pistons hope to take a 2-0 lead
over No. 8 Orlando tonight, as they welcome the Magic to the The Palace of
Auburn Hills for Game 2 of their first-round playoff matchup.
This is a best-of-seven serie
Buehrle takes hill for first time since no-no in opener with Royals >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mark Buehrle takes the mound for the first time since
becoming the latest pitcher to throw a no-hitter as the Chicago White Sox open
up a short two-game series with the host Kansas City Royals tonight at
Kauffman Stadium.
Twins welcome Indians to Metrodome >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Minnesota Twins open up a four-game homestand tonight
as the Cleveland Indians invade the Metrodome for the first of two meetings
between the American League Central foes.
The Twins went 4-2 on last week's six-game ro
Recently I had an email debate with an angry reader who said I did not understand "the science of oddsmaking", as he called it.
He said I was wrong for suggesting oddsmakers care about who wins or loses games.
"Oddsmakers only care about splitting the betting public 50/50 on both sides of the line and keeping the commission (a.k.a. juice)," he wrote.
He might have been right about not understanding "the science of oddsmaking". After all, I'm not an oddsmaker. That said, I stick to my assertion that oddsmakers (a.k.a. sportbooks) often do care about who wins games.
Granted, as a general rule, sportsbooks try to balance their action so that they're not exposed to big losses. However, there are times when this is difficult to pull off, regardless of how much a line has moved. There are also times when that general rule is ignored and a book pursues risk.
Generally speaking, it's safe to say the books in Vegas are risk-adverse. Unlike in the past when the wise guys ruled the town, Vegas is now corporate and the goal of most casinos is to make as much money as possible with as little risk as possible.
Thus, Vegas sportsbooks try everything in their power to balance the action. They're satisfied simply collecting the juice. But these profits are small, especially compared to the take from other casino games, namely slot machines.
Because the profits at Vegas sportsbooks are so small, you could argue that many casinos operate sportsbooks simply as a novelty to keep the tourists happy.
With a growing aversion to risk, it should come as no surprise that Vegas bookmakers have been panicking this NFL season.
Despite huge pointspreads, a disproportionate percentage of bettors are still laying their money on favorites like the Eagles, Colts, Pats and Vikings rather than the dogs (a common trend for the largely recreational bettors that visit Vegas).
And much to the dismay of the books, those favorites are finding ways to cover the thick chalk. In fact, prior to Week 7, the four teams listed above are a combined 16-2-2 (88 percent) against the spread. (The tables turned dramatically in Week 7, but more on that later.)
The result has been an early-season beating for the books, and a bonanza for bettors.
While Vegas increasingly hates risk, it's no longer a major player in the sports betting world. Most of the betting action now takes place offshore where sportsbooks are not as obsessed about balance. In fact, some books encourage exposure to risk because the rewards can be so much bigger.
Consider MySportsbook.com. On its website, the book has odds pages which actually display the amount of action it's getting on games. In other words, you can see how much action the book is taking on both sides of a pointspread, moneyline or over/under.
One look at these numbers and it's obvious MySportsbook.com does not balance every game. In fact, far from it.
Take last weekend's matchup between St. Louis and Miami. By game time on Sunday, 83 percent of the betting action at MySportsbook.com was on the Rams; only 17 percent was on Miami.
What's interesting is that MySportsbook.com opened the pointspread with Miami at +6 1/2. By game time, the spread had lowered to +5.
That goes contrary to the balancing theory. If MySportsbook.com had wanted to balance the action, it would have given Miami more points; instead, it took away 1 1/2. World Series odds are now up as well.
MySportsbook.com exposed itself to even more to risk, and rolled the dice on the underdog Dolphins. Why? I contacted a representative with the book to find out. His answer was simple.
"The line moved early based on 'smart money' from sharp players," said Jeff Gilroy, a spokesperson for the book. "We also knew from early in the week that we would need Miami, therefore (we dropped) the spread to encourage Rams money.
"At the end of the day, we liked the home team."
So the conclusion is this: MySportsbook.com respected the sharp action, and gambled that the sharp bettors had a better take on the game than the recreational bettors, who were hammering the visiting Rams.
In the end, the gamble paid off. Miami, desperate for a win in front of its home fans, pounded the overrated Rams, who are terrible on the road and even worse on grass. Final score: 31-14 Fish.
MySportsbook.com was also heavily exposed on numerous favorites in Week 7, including Philadelphia, Seattle and Denver. All three failed to cover.
The fact that sportsbooks are exposed to risk on certain games is really nothing new. The fact, that Sportsbook.com is willing to show the public where it's exposed is intriguing.
Armed with this type of information, bettors can make more educated wagers. They can get an idea where the sharp money is going and conversely where the public money is headed.
MySportsbook.com is opening up its cashbox, letting bettors look inside and challenging them to take their best shot at grabbing the cash.
To visit this online football betting got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting odds needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.
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