White Sox target rare sweep at Fenway

Baseball Betting Lines

09/05/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - After putting what could be the final nail in the coffin in regards to the Boston Red Sox' playoff hopes with Saturday's performance, the Chicago White Sox now set their sights on earning their first series sweep in Fenway Park in 19 years when they take the field this afternoon.

Chicago took both ends of yesterday's doubleheader between these teams by identical 3-1 scores, with the two losses moving Boston 7 1/2 games behind Tampa Bay for the lead in the American League Wild Card standings with under a month to go in the regular season.

The White Sox received terrific starting pitching in both contests. John Danks (13-9) held Boston to a run and six hits over seven innings of work in the opener, while Gavin Floyd (10-11) yielded just one run and five hits through six frames in game two to help Chicago register its fifth straight win on its current road trip.

Bobby Jenks closed out both wins for the White Sox, tossing a scoreless ninth in game one and retiring all four batters he faced in the nightcap.

Chicago banged out 13 hits in taking the opener, with Paul Konerko going 3- for-4 with two runs scored to lead the way. Carlos Quentin was the hitting star in the second test, delivering a double and a triple and crossing the plate twice.

Former Red Sox great Manny Ramirez, acquired by Chicago in a waiver claim from the Dodgers on Monday, served as the White Sox' designated hitter in both games and went 3-for-8 over the course of the twinbill.

The White Sox closed within 3 1/2 games of first-place Minnesota in the AL Central race with Saturday's results and will be shooting for their first road sweep of Boston since July 27-28, 1991.

"If you're not winning the other games, when you play the Twins it's not going to matter," said Jenks. "It doesn't seem like they're going to lose any time soon either."

The White Sox, who had last won a series in Fenway Park back in 2004, have now prevailed in six of their last seven matchups with Boston dating back to last season.

Chicago turns to Mark Buehrle this afternoon in hopes of continuing its winning ways. The steady veteran owns a 12-10 record with a respectable 3.95 earned run average over 27 starts this season, but hasn't been able to pick up a win in either of his last two outings.

Buehrle allowed three runs in a six-inning no-decision this past Monday in Cleveland, five days after the left-hander was reached for four runs and walked four over seven frames in a home loss to Baltimore on August 25.

The four-time All-Star is 6-5 with a 4.43 ERA in 14 lifetime appearances (13 starts) against Boston and 3-2 in four career trips to the Fenway Park mound. Buehrle has lost in each of his past two starts at the historic venue, however, including a lopsided defeat in 2008 in which he was tagged for seven runs and 11 hits in only 4 2/3 innings of work.

Boston mustered only seven hits in the opener and six in the nightcap and has now dropped five of its last seven games. Marco Scutaro drove in both of the Red Sox' runs on the day with a pair of RBI singles.

"We're in a tough spot for sure," said starting pitcher John Lackey, who surrendered three runs (one earned) over seven innings in losing game two. "We're in a tough division with two real quality teams in front of us. We have to keep battling the rest of the way. It's frustrating."

Josh Beckett has endured his share of frustration during what's been a subpar and injury-plagued season for the Red Sox hurler. The right-hander enters today's assignment with a 6.21 ERA over 16 starts in 2010 and has let up six runs or more in three of his past five times out.

Beckett has been significantly better as of late, however. After halting a three-start winless skid by limiting Seattle to three runs and fanning seven over 6 1/3 innings on August 25, the former World Series MVP allowed three runs -- two earned -- through seven frames of Tuesday's start at Baltimore. He did end up with a loss in that game, though, as Boston fell by a 5-2 count.

The 30-year-old does sport a 4-1 lifetime record along with a 3.72 ERA over six meetings with the White Sox, although the lone loss took place in his only start against the club last season.

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Super Bowl 2009 Betting

Super Bowl 2009 Betting propositions

Underdog bettors love the Super Bowl and, history suggests, the underdogs love them back. And the big dogs bite harder.

Even so, there is a warning in store for Super Bowl gamblers who must love dogs: The Arizona Cardinals Super Bowl betting lines might not be enough of a Cinderella to make it worth your while.

Although the Cardinals were widely panned as one of the worst division winners and least playoff-worthy teams in recent memory, their trip to Super Bowl XLIII Jan. 31 in Tampa against the Pittsburgh Steelers Super Bowl betting lines comes with a little more respect from the oddsmakers than you might imagine. They are a 7-point underdog at most sports books.

If you count yourself among those who covet the big dog in the big game, this isn’t exactly great news. You should have been hoping for more points. This is because the facts show that the bigger the dog, the better the bet in the Super Bowl.

Case in point: Over the past 13 seasons, double-figure underdogs in the Super Bowl are 4-0-1 ATS and have won the past three outright. In fact, the last double-digit chalk to do the deed for bettors was the 1995 San Francisco 49ers, who managed to beat the astounding 19-point spot afforded backers of the San Diego Chargers in the 49-26 romp in Super Bowl XXIX.

By contrast, 7-point favorites are 2-1-1 ATS in the same span, the last such contest resulting a cover grinded out by the Colts in their 29-17 win over the Bears two seasons ago in Super Bowl XLI.

In 2004, the Patriots failed to cover the number in their 32-29 triumph over the Carolina Panthers in Super Bowl props while the Rams and Titans gave everyone a refund in 2000 after the Rams posted a 23-16 win as a seven-point favorite.

So while Arizona’s run has included impressive upsets as a 10-point road underdog to the Carolina Panthers and Sunday’s 32-25 win in the NFC championship game to the 4-point favored Philadelphia Eagles, their long-shot story lacks a bit of the David vs. Goliath storyline of past Super Bowl underdogs.

While the seven-point spread represents a significant gap in the perception of strength between the two teams, it is far from monumental. For example, last season the Giants were the wild-card afterthought turned road-warrior buzzsaw, with stunning wins over the Buccaneers, Cowboys and Packers to earn their place in the Super Bowl.

There, they played spoiler to New England’s bid to become the first 19-0 team in NFL history and cemented their place in sports betting lore with a 17-14 win as a 12.5-point underdog.

In other words, the Cardinals appear to have their work cut out for them as a mid-range underdog. But in homage to the spread beaters who have come before them, here is a brief look back at recent colossal upsets in the Super Bowl:

SB XLII -- 2008 -- New York Giants 17, New England Patriots 14 (Giants +12.5) – Eli Manning’s 13-yard touchdown pass to Plaxico Burress in the final minute clinched the historic upset for the Giants, who used a masterful defensive plan to slow down Tom Brady and the previously undefeated New England Patriots.

XXXVI -- 2002 -- Patriots 20, Rams 17 (Patriots +14) – This was the coming out party for the aforementioned Brady, who went from obscure sixth-round draft pick to Super Bowl hero in one fell swoop. He led the game-winning drive in the final minute – eschewing analyst John Madden’s advice to take a knee and play for overtime – leading to Adam Vinatieri’s memorable 48-yard field goal that split the uprights as time expired.

XXXII 1998 Broncos 31, Packers 24 (Denver +12) – The first of John Elway’s two consecutive Super Bowl titles to put an end to his Hall of Fame career was an upset for the ages. The Broncos used the determination of Elway and a 157-yard, three-touchdown performance from Terrell Davis to turn back Brett Favre and the heavily favored Packers.

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