Red Sox send Dice-K to hill in finale with Mariners

Baseball Betting Lines

07/25/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) -The finale of a four-game series will take place this afternoon at Safeco Field when the Seattle Mariners take on the Boston Red Sox.

Heading to the mound this afternoon for Boston will be Daisuke Matsuzaka, who is looking for his third straight victory. The last time the hard-throwing right-hander was on the rubber he led the Red Sox to a 2-1 victory over Oakland.

In the victory over the Athletics, Matsuzaka surrendered just one run on two hits in 6 2/3 innings of duty. The veteran hurler walked just two batters and struck out six. It was the eighth time in the last nine starts that Matsuzaka allowed no more than three runs in a contest.

In eight starts outside of Fenway Park Matsuzaka has claimed a 4-1 ledger, but he has not been overly impressive, posting just a 4.13 earned run average.

This will be the seventh career start for Matsuzaka against Seattle, and in the previous six outings he has posted a 2-1 record with a 3.99 earned run average.

The Mariners will hand the ball to Doug Fister, who will be looking for his first victory since May 14th when he led Seattle to a win over Tampa Bay. Since then the right-hander has gone 0-5 in his last eight starts and that includes a loss to Chicago in his last outing.

In that matchup against the White Sox, Fister did an admirable job, allowing just three runs in six innings, while collecting six strike outs, but a lack of run support doomed the pitcher.

Fister, who will be facing the Red Sox for the first time in his career, has pitched extremely well at home, but his 2-3 record at Safeco Field does not do his performance justice. In nine starts in front of the home crowd Fister has an impressive 2.51 earned run average, allowing just 19 runs in 64 2/3 innings.

Last night, Michael Saunders homered in the sixth inning after Eric Patterson's missed catch ruined a perfect game bid for Boston starter Jon Lester, and the Mariners went on to take a 5-1 victory over the Red Sox.

Lester (11-5) dominated the Mariners, striking out nine through the first five perfect innings. He showed no signs of slowing down after striking out Josh Bard to begin the sixth, but the game quickly went downhill.

Jack Wilson lofted a ball to shallow center field and Patterson ran to get under it, but the ball bounced off the top of his glove and fell to the ground. Saunders followed by ripping a home run to right.

Lester went on to take the loss, allowing five runs (four earned) on four hits and one walk in 7 2/3 innings. He also struck out a season-high 13.

Saunders finished with two hits for the Mariners, who had lost the first two in this four-game series. Friday's loss was marred by a skirmish in the team's dugout in the fifth inning, as tempers flared after second baseman Chone Figgins was pulled from the game after an apparent lack of effort.

However, Figgins was back in the lineup Saturday and hit an RBI double.

While Lester was dominant early on, Mariners starter David Pauley was effective in 5 2/3 innings. He walked one and allowed five hits, one of which was a fourth-inning home run by David Ortiz.

Chris Seddon (1-0) recorded the final out of the sixth and took the win after Saunders' home run put Seattle on top for good.

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Super Bowl XLIII Betting Odds

Super Bowl XLIII, the Arizona Cardinals and the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Super Bowl XLIII is now set, the Arizona Cardinals and the Pittsburgh Steelers will meet each other on February 1st in Tampa's Raymond James Stadium to battle it out for the coveted Lombardi Trophy. The game kicks off at 6:00pm ET on NBC with announcers Al Michaels and John Madden covering the on-field action. Super Bowl XLIII betting odds at online bookmaker MySportsbook.com have the Steelers listed as an early -6.5 against the spread favorite.Super Bowl XLIII Betting Odds

Pittsburgh earned their passage to the big game by beating their division rival, the Baltimore Ravens, 23-14 in yesterday's AFC Championship Game. The Steelers jumped on Baltimore early, building a 13-0 first half lead, and never let up on their way to a fairly easy win. Although the Ravens did close to within two points in the fourth quarter, it never appeared as if they had enough offense to pull off the upset.

The Steelers dominating defense held Baltimore to a total of 198 yards while allowing them to convert just three third downs in 13 attempts. Pittsburgh also forced quarterback Joe Flacco into three interceptions, one of which safety Troy Polamalu returned fourty yards for a touchdown.

The Cardinals, by far the playoff team with the longest odds to reach Super Bowl XLIII, did so yesterday with a 32-25 upset of the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC Championship. Arizona charged out of the gates and built a 24-6 halftime lead that had the Eagles venerable defense reeling. Quarterback Kurt Warner and wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald did most of the damage, connecting on three first half touchdowns.

Arizona, however, could not sustain their momentum and the Eagles took a 25-24 with 10:45 left to play in the fourth. The Cardinals, with the franchise's first Super Bowl appearance hanging in the balance, mounted a fourteen play, 72 yard touchdown drive that consumed 7:52 off the clock. Warner hit running back Tim Hightower on a short screen for the go-ahead, game clinching score that will forever live in Cardinal infamy.

MySportsbook.com's Super Bowl XLIII Betting Odds:

Pittsburgh Steelers -6.5 (-110), Over 46.5 (-110), -260 (Money line)

Arizona Cardinals +6.5 (-110), Under 46.5 (-110), +220 (Money line)

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