Rays try again to snap slide against Red Sox

Baseball Betting Lines

09/07/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Tampa Bay Rays try to avoid their fourth straight loss this evening when they continue a three-game series against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park.

The Red Sox kept their fleeting postseason hopes alive in the opener of this set on Monday, as rookie Ryan Kalish belted his second grand slam and David Ortiz also went deep, propelling Boston to a 12-5 win.

With this being the final series for Boston against the Rays, it's imperative that the Red Sox sweep to continue hopes for a postseason spot. Monday's win moved Boston within 6 1/2 games of the Rays for the wild card lead. Chicago is six back.

Jon Lester (16-8) struck out exactly 10 batters for a third straight game, all victories. The lefty limited the Rays to four hits and two runs over six innings.

Ortiz and Adrian Beltre hit back-to-back homers in the first inning for Boston, which was swept at home by the White Sox in a three-game series over the weekend. Victor Martinez added a two-run single in the second.

"I think after the first I got in a little bit better rhythm," Lester said. "Vick did a good job kind of controlling that. It makes pitching easier when guys go out and score runs like we did tonight."

The Rays remained 2 1/2 games behind the first- place New York Yankees in the AL East.

Jeff Niemann (10-6) was pounded for a third straight start. This time the right-hander surrendered four hits and six runs over 1 2/3 frames. He's given up 19 hits and 23 runs over his last three outings for an ERA of 20.70 in that span.

"Command was off, big time," Niemann said. "I went into a lot of bad counts and they were sitting on some pitches."

Hoping to turn things around tonight for Tampa will be left-hander David Price, who is 16-6 with a 2.92 earned run average. Price won for the first time in four starts on Wednesday against Toronto, as he held the Jays to a run and four hits in eight innings. He also struck out seven in the win.

Price lost to the Red Sox the last time he faced them and is 2-2 in four starts against Boston with a 3.81 ERA.

Boston will counter with Japanese right-hander Daisuke Matsuzaka, who is 9-4 on the year with a 4.29 ERA. MAtsuzaka beat the Baltimore Orioles on Thursday, as he allowed four runs and six hits in 5 2/3 innings.

Matsuzaka has faced the Rays 11 times and is 2-5 against them with a 4.34 ERA.

Tampa is 10-6 against the Red Sox this season.

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MySportsbook.com favors Bears, Bengals, Chargers and Colts to remain perfect

LAS VEGAS , Sept. 28 - Two big match-ups of undefeated teams have fans salivating at the Week Four schedule in the NFL. The Chicago Bears stifling defense looks to provide a less than hospitable welcome to the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday night in a battle of two 3-0 teams in the NFC conference. In the AFC, the San Diego Chargers (2-0) head to Maryland to face the surprising Baltimore Ravens (3-0) as both try to keep pace atop the conference standings. Betting Lines makers at MySportsbook.com, online sportsbook and casino, have set the Bears as 3.5 point favorites while the Chargers are a 2.5 point bet.

Of the three remaining undefeated teams, only one, New Orleans, enters this week's game as an underdog. Despite an emotional and resounding win over Atlanta on Monday night, the Saints are a 7.5 point underdog against the struggling Carolina Panthers. Indianapolis looks to stay perfect when they face the New York Jets as a 9 point road favorite while the Cincinnati Bengals are a 6 point favorite at home to the New England Patriots.

Six teams enter the week still looking for their first win, with a seventh, Tampa Bay, on a bye week. The prospect of dropping another game would not bode well for a potential playoff run. Since 1990, just three teams -- the 1992 Chargers, 1995 Detroit Lions and 1998 Buffalo Bills -- have overcome losing their first three games of the season to earn a postseason berth. And only the Chargers managed to accomplish the feat after starting 0-4.

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