05/09/2008 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The defending world champion Boston Red Sox make their lone regular-season visit to the Metrodome this weekend, when the American League powerhouses start up a four-game series with the Minnesota Twins that begins this evening.
Jon Lester gets the starting assignment for the Sox in tonight's opener and will attempt to continue an excellent recent roll. The young left-hander held Tampa Bay to a run and four hits over six innings to pick up a victory on Sunday, five days after he fired eight shutout frames of one-run ball in a no decision against Toronto.
Lester has faced the Twins just one time previously, a relief stint at Fenway Park on September 30 of last season. He threw two shutout innings in that matchup and did not allow a hit while striking out two.
Boof Bonser takes the mound tonight for Minnesota and is coming off a wild last start. The right-hander was tagged for six first-inning runs against Detroit on Sunday, but he held the Tigers scoreless over the remainder of his six-inning stint and wound up with a no-decision in a 7-6 Twins' triumph.
Prior to that outing, Bonser limited Chicago to a run and struck out eight batters over seven stellar innings to lead Minnesota to a 3-1 victory on April 29.
Bonser has won both of his previous career starts against Boston and compiled a 3.75 ERA over those tests.
The Red Sox currently lead the AL East with a 23-14 record and have won six of their last seven games, including Thursday's 5-1 decision over Detroit. Josh Beckett threw seven strong innings and Kevin Youkilis belted a two-run homer for Boston, which took three of four matchups from the Tigers.
Beckett (4-2) allowed one run and six hits and did not walk a batter while racking up eight strikeouts on the night.
Jason Varitek also drove in two runs for the Red Sox, while Youkilis delivered his fifth home run in five games.
Minnesota surged into first place in the AL Central on the strength of a recent five-game win streak, but cooled off in this week's series at Chicago. The White Sox won two of the three matchups in the set and downed the Twins by a 6-2 count in Thursday's finale.
In his first start since April 4, Minnesota's Kevin Slowey (0-2) took the loss after surrendering three runs on four hits through five innings. The young righty was placed on the disabled list with a right biceps strain after his lone start earlier this season.
Joe Mauer and Delmon Young each registered two singles for Minnesota, which did not record an extra-base hit in the loss.
Boston won two of three games from the Twins at the Metrodome last May, but the Red Sox have gone just 3-6 as the visitor in this series since the beginning of the 2005 season.
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recent dominance of the Kansas City Royals when the two teams continue a four-
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Albert Pujols to be This Year's Home Run Champ Says Online Sportsbook
Barry Bonds is a 50-1 long shot to be this year's home run champ odds. The favorite to be this year's home run champ is none other than Albert Pujols, however.
Now that Barry Bonds is signed and in Giants camp, it is on to his pursuit of all of sports most prestigious records: the all-time home run mark. Bonds sits just 21 homers shy of tying Hank Aaron for the career mark at 755. Word out of Giants’ camp is that Bonds is the healthiest he has been in a few years. Bonds is just two seasons removed from his injury riddled 2005 campaign where he played in only 14 games and hit only 5 home runs. He did come back last year and had a solid season hitting .270 with 26 bombs. All eyes will be on Bonds this spring and summer not only because of his home run chase but his highly publicized steroid abuse allegations. If and when Bonds breaks the record, he surely will not get the positive attention one should for breaking a record that was once thought of as “unbreakable”. Despite Bonds decent season last year, he is just 50-1 at MySportsbook.com to lead the MLB in long balls this season.
Not surprisingly, the favorites to go deep the most times this season are Albert Pujols 5-1, Ryan Howard 6-1, David Ortiz 8-1 and Alex Rodriguez 12-1. With 49 homers, Pujols finished second in the National League behind Howard (58). Pujols is considered the favorite due to the consistent power numbers that he has posted since breaking into the league in 2001. Also one must consider the fact that he played in 16 fewer games then Howard did due to an injury. Howard smashed 58 homers in his first complete season of big league play en route to the National League MVP odds award. He silenced his critics by successfully hitting left-handed pitching. Howard also displayed the ability to use his power to the opposite field. Two attributes which should keep Howard amongst the league leaders in long balls for years to come. From the American League representatives, David Ortiz leads the field. Ortiz was second in the majors last year with 54 home runs. Except for 1999 when he only played in 10 games, Ortiz has improved on his home run numbers each year he has been in the majors (1997).
Be sure to log onto online sports betting site MySportsbook.com to check out the odds for who will lead the MLB in home runs this season. Below is just a sample of the players listed. With the highest credit card rates in the industry, MySportsbook.com is the place to bet on baseball this summer.
Adam Dunn 15-1
Albert Pujols 5-1
Alex Rodriguez 12-1
Alfonso Soriano 15-1
Andruw Jones 25-1
Barry Bonds 50-1
Carlos Delgado 40-1
David Ortiz 8-1
Jermaine Dye 40-1
Ken Griffey Jr. 100-1
Lance Berkman 40-1
Manny Ramirez 20-1
Richie Sexson 40-1
Ryan Howard 6-1
Travis Hafner 20-1
Vladimir Guerrero 40-1
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.