Red Sox hold off Blue Jays

Baseball Betting Lines

05/10/2010 - Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Victor Martinez drove in three runs and the Boston Red Sox held on for a 7-6 win over Toronto in the opener of a three- game series.

Dustin Pedroia added two RBI for the Red Sox, who swept a three-game set at Toronto, April 26-28. John Lackey (4-1) allowed eight hits and six runs in six frames while fanning six to win his third consecutive decision, as Boston won for the sixth time in eight games.

Toronto starter Brandon Morrow (2-3) was lifted after surrendering three hits and six runs with six walks in 1 2/3 innings. He also had four strikeouts, but was part of a horrible outcome in the second inning when the Blue Jays walked six Boston batters.

Jose Bautista hit a two-run homer for the Blue Jays, who lost for just the second time in nine contests. John Buck added a two-run double in defeat.

Morrow allowed the first three batters to reach base safely, resulting in the Red Sox grabbing a 2-0 lead. Marco Scutaro walked, Pedroia doubled and both runners scored on a Martinez base hit to center. Morrow then struck out the next three batters, but more trouble ensued in the second when each team scored four times.

Toronto loaded the bases with nobody out and Buck doubled in two. Travis Snider and Fred Lewis added RBI singles, but Toronto couldn't add to the 4-2 lead despite having runners at the corners with nobody out.

Morrow walked the bases full in the bottom half with one out and then Pedroia drew a free pass to force in a run. Martinez then reached base on a fielder's choice, but two runs scored thanks in part to a throwing error on second baseman Aaron Hill.

Kevin Youkilis walked and David Ortiz followed with an RBI single to right field. With the score at 6-4, that spelled the end of the night for Morrow, who was replaced by Josh Roenicke. He walked Adrian Beltre to load the bases again, but Jeremy Hermida grounded into a force play to finally end the second inning.

Pedroia singled to center to drive in Jonathan Van Every in the third before Bautista drilled his seventh homer of the season, getting Toronto within 7-6 in the fifth. Alex Gonzalez singled with two outs and Bautista then homered into the seats over the Green Monster.

Lackey retired the ensuing four batters before Hideki Okajima recorded three groundouts in a perfect seventh inning. Daniel Bard allowed a one-out walk to Bautista in the eighth, but retired the ensuing two batters, one a foul pop down the right field line by Buck. Van Every ranged over to make a catch into the stands.

Jonathan Papelbon had a 1-2-3 ninth inning for his ninth save of the season.

Game Notes

Papelbon converted each of his last 22 save opportunities. It's the longest of his career and the most by a Red Sox since Derek Lowe's 25 consecutive saves from July 15, 2000 to April 19, 2001...Boston has taken 10 of the past 13 meetings between these teams. The Blue Jays came away with a three-game sweep in their last visit to Fenway Park, though, during late September of last season.

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Horse Betting

(This is an update of a sportsbook for the May 4th issue of ESPN The Magazine).

The Kentucky Derby's post-position draw happened on Wednesday. And, as is always the case, shortly afterwards, a buzz raced around Churchill Downs. It was a low rumble at first, nothing that the squares in the mint julep crowd pick up right away. But by the time the sun set over the twin spires, the chatter was impossible to ignore. Everyone -- sharps, trainers, owners -- was talking about one thing: the wise guy horse, the pre-draw long shot us mopes didn't have on our radar until it was too late.

"You think you're hearing the scoop," says handicapper Lane Gold. "Then you get to the window, the odds are short, and you missed it."

Recognizing a wise-guy horse early is as hard as picking a Derby bonnet. That's because handicappers don't like hype (see ya, I Want Revenge). They want Thoroughbreds who look good losing prep races like the Santa Anita Derby. They eye horses who ate up the field after starting wide or made an easy transition from synthetic tracks to dirt. They look for ponies who showed muscle gain race to race and those who ran hard after several weeks' rest.

"A wise guy," says John Avello, a bookmaker at Wynn Las Vegas, "looks for a horse who can improve."

When I first wrote Horse Betting for The Mag, which I turned in a three weeks before Wednesday's draw, I predicted these three horses had wise guy potential:

CHOCOLATE CANDY (15-1 in mid-April, currently 20-1 according to Avello): His second-place finish at Santa Anita, following a seven-week layoff, proved two things: He can run after resting, and -- by losing a high-profile prep race -- he wouldn't be overhyped.

DESERT PARTY (15-1; 15-1): He was upset in the UAE Derby by a horse he had beaten twice. The public remembers his loss, but the wise guys his wins.

PIONEEROF THE NILE (8-1; 4-1): The big favorite at Santa Anita struggled to win, so he initially got less hype than Quality Road and I Want Revenge.

You may have noticed that the odds on Pioneerof the Nile have been cut in half, from 8-1 to 4-1. Which means the wise guys took a shine to him long before the post-position draw. But, to be honest, this is one of those years with four elite horses getting everyone's attention, squares and sharps alike.

"You're not gonna get a lot of chatter about a horse that isn't in that group, which includes Pioneer, I Want Revenge, Dunkirk and Friesan Fire," Avello told me Wednesday. "We don't have a group of horses behind those top four who look like real legit contenders."

Come Derby week, the final two elements in picking a wise guy horse are how he's working out and what gate he's coming out of.

(By the way, picking a Preakness favorite is a whole different bale of hay, partially based on how horses finish in the Derby. You can see my analysis of who has the best shot at Pimlico on Insider Sunday morning.)

Well, early in the week I Want Revenge, Pioneerof the Nile and Friesan Fire were working out better than anyone. Some thought Friesan Fire, currently 6-1, might have run too fast, burning a five-furlong run in :57 4/5. "When you are running that fast you have the sense that it took something out of him," says Gold. "The Derby is longer than any horse has run, and if they need that extra surge you worry they won't have it because they burned it in the workout."

But, Gold points out, Friesan Fire's trainer is Larry Jones, Two years ago his horse Hard Spun did a five-eighths workout in :57 3/5 and then went on to finish second, behind Street Sense, in the Derby. "Every trainer has different methods," says Gold. "And clearly he knows what he's doing."

Now, as for starting position, Gold says to remember this: Churchill Downs traditionally has 14 starting gates. For the Derby, it brings out auxiliary gates and between the original 14th gate and the new 15th gate, there is a little more space than there is between gates 1-14. "That 15 position will give you a precious second or two to sort out what's happening to your inside," says Gold. "Sixteen is also okay because you can follow the horse in front of you."

Dunkirk, one of the race favorites, is coming out of gate 15. In 16 is Baffert's Pioneerof the Nile. I Want Revenge drew 13, where Smarty Jones won from in 2004, and Friesan Fire picked the sixth position. "He doesn't have a lot of speed to the inside of him," says Gold. "So he will get a clear shot to be near the front."

All the jibber-jabber means this: Pioneerof the Nile has leapfrogged from 8-1 to being the second favorite, along with Dunkirk, behind I Want Revenge. Meanwhile, Friesan Fire, with a good trainer, a strong week of training and a decent post position, is still at 6-1. "By Saturday, it's possible he could go from fourth to the favorite," says Gold.

In other words, meet Friesan Fire, your 2009 wise guy horse.

"Now," says Avello, "it's time for action."

To visit this horse betting site go to MySportsbook.com for all your horse racing betting needs.

Barry Bonds Watch: Giants Slugger Says He'll Be Back

With only 21 home runs standing between him and Hank Aaron, Barry Bonds is indeed planning on coming back for more in 2007. At least, that's what his agent told the Los Angeles Times.

"Barry's going to play in 2007," Jeff Borris of Beverly Hills Sports Council told the Times on Tuesday. "I've had many discussions with Barry and he's going to play. My intentions are to see to it he's in a big-league uniform next season. Those are my marching orders."

Contract negotiations could get started as early as next week. Let's see which team has the deeper pockets. Will MLB baseball betting lines despite allegations of steroid use? Bet On It at www.MySportsbook.com .

Get all your baseball betting lines, MLB lines and MLB team props at the My Sportbook.

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