Manny set to return as Dodgers visit Padres

Baseball Betting Lines

07/03/2009 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - He won't have the home crowd on his side until after the All-Star break, but Los Angeles Dodgers star left fielder Manny Ramirez probably doesn't mind, since he is finally done serving his 50-game suspension for violating the league's policy on performance enhancing drugs.

Ramirez will lead the Dodgers into Petco Park Friday night for the first of three straight matchups against the NL West-rival San Diego Padres.

Ramirez was slapped with the suspension back on May 7 after testing positive for a banned substance, and the Dodgers played to a solid 29-21 mark without the slugger in the lineup. Ramirez, whose bobblehead giveaway is scheduled for July 22 at Chavez Ravine, made a few rehab stints in the minor leagues to get back into shape.

"Hopefully, Manny will give us a more consistent offense," Dodgers manager Joe Torre said on the team's site. "We've been lucky to win a lot of close games. We've made the most out of the runs we've scored. But I think the presence he brings to the lineup is a security blanket for the rest of the guys."

The Dodgers didn't really miss a beat without Ramirez in the lineup and still sit atop the NL West with a comfortable 7 1/2-game lead over San Francisco. They were 6 1/2 games ahead of the Giants and 21-8 when the All-Star was suspended in early May. Ramirez was hitting .348 with six homers and 20 RBI at the time.

LA still has the best record in baseball and got a huge lift from Juan Pierre in Ramirez's absence. Pierre started all 50 games in left field and did a fine job for Torre, going 68-for-214 for a .318 average and compiling 14 doubles, 21 RBI, 31 runs, 15 walks and 20 steals in those games. Pierre had a hit in Wednesday's 1-0 victory over the Colorado Rockies in the finale of a three- game series in Los Angeles.

Rafael Furcal drove in the lone run with a pinch-hit RBI single in the eighth inning and Brad Ausmus delivered the lone multi-hit performance for the victors, going 2-for-3 at the plate.

Dodgers starting pitcher Clayton Kershaw tossed five shutout innings in the no-decision, while Ramon Troncoso earned the win with a scoreless eighth and Jonathan Broxton posted two strikeouts in the ninth for his 19th save for Los Angeles, which became the first team in the majors to reach 50 wins (50-29). Ronald Belisario also helped the cause by hurling two shutout innings of relief.

The Dodgers won two of three meetings versus Colorado and will kick off a nine-game road trip against the Padres, Mets and Brewers on Friday.

Los Angeles will hand the ball to Hiroki Kuroda for tonight's game, and he is just 1-4 in six starts since beating San Diego on Opening Day. Kuroda lost his most recent outing on Sunday versus Seattle, as he yielded four runs and eight hits in 6 1/3 innings of a 4-2 loss.

Kuroda, who is 2-4 with a 3.77 ERA in seven starts this season, will face the Padres for the second time in 2009. The right-hander allowed one run in 5 2/3 innings of a 4-1 triumph at Petco Park on April 6, improving to 3-1 with a 4.78 ERA in five career starts against San Diego.

Meanwhile, the Padres just dropped three of four to the Houston Astros and are coming off Thursday's 7-2 setback at Petco Park. Scott Hairston and Everth Cabrera each drove in a run, while starting pitcher Kevin Correia allowed six runs on eight hits with three walks and three strikeouts over five innings to suffer the loss.

"I made a couple of mistakes and they took advantage," said Correia. "It wasn't my day today. Especially that last inning, that's what killed me and the game."

Correia permitted three runs in the fifth for the Padres, who have dropped six of their last nine games.

Taking the hill for the Friars tonight will be Chad Gaudin, who has won two straight starts since going 0-3 through his previous four outings. Gaudin started the streak with seven innings of two-run ball and struck out 11 in a 9-7 victory at Seattle on June 23, then tossed eight shutout innings and recorded nine strikeouts five days later in a 2-0 win at Texas.

Gaudin is 4-6 in 13 games (12 starts) this season and lowered his earned run average from 5.60 to 4.97 the last time out. The righty will face the Dodgers for the second time this season after losing to them on May 3 at Chavez Ravine. Gaudin was tagged for six runs and eight hits in 5 2/3 innings of a 7-3 setback.

He is 0-1 with a 9.45 ERA in two career games (1 start) against Los Angeles.

The Dodgers have won seven of 10 matchups with the Padres this season and 11 of the last 15 contests between the clubs.

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MySportsbook.com week 1 NFL lines


Now that the 2008 NFL schedule is finally out, it is only matter-of-course for lines on “Week 1” to follow.  Of course MySportsbook.com is the first to churn out odds for the NFL’s inaugural week for the upcoming season.   Expect a lot of fireworks the first Thursday night of the season as the defending champion Indianapolis Colts face off against the surprise of the 2008 season, the New Orleans Saints.  These teams were ranked #1 and #3 in the NFL respectively a season ago so a high scoring affair could be in order.  As of now, the Colts will be giving 6 points to the Saints; keep in mind the Saints were one of the better road teams last season going 6-3 SU and 7-2 ATS.  The first Monday night of the season will again provide a “double feature”. Coming off a disappointing season, the Cincinnati Bengals will look to get back to playoffs and improve their public image as they take on the AFC North favorite Baltimore Ravens.  The second game features a couple of teams that haven’t had too much success recently but each could make some noise if the NFC is as weak as it was last year as the San Francisco 49ers host the Arizona Cardinals. The most interesting game of the opening week will feature the NFC champion Bears as they hit the road to take on the NFL’s top team during last year’s regular season, the San Diego Chargers.

MySportsbook.com Week 1 odds:

Saints +6 @ Colts -6

Falcons @ Vikings (pick ‘em)

Panthers @ Rams (pick ‘em)

Broncos -3.5 @ Bills +3.5

Chiefs -1 @ Texans +1

Dolphins +3 @ Redskins -3

Patriots -5 @ Jets +5

Eagles -3.5 @ Packers +3.5

Steelers -4 @ Browns +4

Titans +6 @ Jaguars -6

Bears +6 @ Chargers -6

Lions +3 @ Raiders -3

Bucs +6.5 @ Seahawks -6.5

Giants +4 @ Cowboys -4

Ravens +3 @ Bengals -3

Cardinals +3 @ 49ers -3

 Super Bowl line (2008)

NFC +6.5 vs. AFC -6.5

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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.

World Series odds

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

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