MLB Odds Preview: Giants and Red Sox Send Aces to AT&T Mound
The finale of the three-game set in San Francisco between the Giants and Red Sox is a dandy with staff aces Tim Lincecum and Jon Lester featured on the mound.
Staff aces collide at AT&T Park on Sunday when the Giants host the Red Sox for the finale of a three-game set. Boston will send left-hander Jon Lester (9-6, 3.03) to the mound against two-time Cy Young winner Tim Lincecum (11-4, 2.86).
The Giants are the MLB odds favorites in the 120-125 range for the contest. Sunday's total for the 1:05 p.m. (4:05 ET) local start is 6½.
San Francisco rallied in Friday's opener for a 5-4 win as 125 chalk. Giants starter Jonathan Sanchez was touched for a three-run jack by Kevin Youkilis in the first inning. That would be the last Red Sox scoring until a single tally in the ninth that sent the game just above the eight-run closing total.
Boston evened the series on Saturday with a 4-2 win as a 140-145 favorite. Mike Cameron connected for his first home run of the season, a three-run job off Giants rookie Madison Bumgarner in the second, to propel the Sox to the victory.
In addition to losing the game on Friday, Boston lost offensive catalyst Dustin Pedroia to the DL with a fractured bone in his left foot. Pedroia slapped a foul off the foot in the third inning, completed the at bat but was then removed from the baseball contest.
The Red Sox discovered the fracture on Saturday and immediately placed Pedroia on the injured list while recalling Angel Sanchez from Triple-A Pawtucket.
Boston starts play today with a 45-31 mark, up nearly five units at the baseball betting window and 38-33-5 'over.' The Red Sox are third in the AL East, two games behind the division-leading Yankees.
Saturday's loss left the Giants 40-33 (plus 1.2 units), good for second in the NL West 3.5 games behind the Padres. San Francisco is 35-33-5 'over' on the campaign with Saturday's 'under' snapping a three-game 'over' run.
Disappointment awaits bettors hoping to find some stat among the starters to sway them to one side or the other. Both Lincecum and Lester will be making their first starts against the Red Sox and Giants, respectively. Both have also endured a shaky spell along the way and come out in fine form.
Lincecum's rocky stretch came in his final three starts of May when the Giants lost three in a row with their diminutive right-hander on the hill. Over a span of 15 1/3 innings against the D-Backs, Nats and Rockies, Lincecum allowed 14 earned runs, walking five in each assignment.
He has since rebounded with four consecutive winning efforts, one a no-decision on his personal ledger. Lincecum's most recent outing was eight innings in Houston on June 22 when he allowed just one unearned run in a 3-1 triumph. It was his third win over Roy Oswalt and the Astros this season.
Lester's trouble came right out of the gate to start the 2010 campaign when he faced three tough lineups in the Yankees, Twins and Rays. Boston lost all three games with their left-hander tossing 16 innings combined and surrendering 15 runs, all earned.
He has since settled down with the Red Sox winning nine of his 12 starting assignments since. The only blemish on his card in that span was a six-inning, six-run linescore in an 8-7 loss at Cleveland on June 10.
Mike DiMuro, now working his 12th season in the majors, will don the mask and call balls and strikes for Sunday's affair. This will be his 16th plate assignment of 2010 with visitors cashing nine of the previous 15. The 'under' has a 9-4-2 season advantage and is currently on a 6-1-2 run.
San Francisco weather looks fine for the contest with the weatherman calling for sunny skies and an afternoon high in the upper-60s. Winds are presently forecast out of the west at 10-12 mph (straight out to center).
The Giants will remain at home after this game to host the Dodgers for three starting Monday. Boston heads home, takes Monday off and then opens a three-game series Tuesday against the visiting Rays.
NOTE: The W-L records shown for starting pitchers are their team's W-L mark when they started games in the 2010 season. Statistical sources for this article were Retrosheet.org, Baseball-Reference.com, ESPN.com and, of course, S-BEE-R-dot-com!
The finale of the three-game set in San Francisco between the Giants and Red Sox is a dandy with staff aces Tim Lincecum and Jon Lester featured on the mound.
Staff aces collide at AT&T Park on Sunday when the Giants host the Red Sox for the finale of a three-game set. Boston will send left-hander Jon Lester (9-6, 3.03) to the mound against two-time Cy Young winner Tim Lincecum (11-4, 2.86).
The Giants are the MLB odds favorites in the 120-125 range for the contest. Sunday's total for the 1:05 p.m. (4:05 ET) local start is 6½.
San Francisco rallied in Friday's opener for a 5-4 win as 125 chalk. Giants starter Jonathan Sanchez was touched for a three-run jack by Kevin Youkilis in the first inning. That would be the last Red Sox scoring until a single tally in the ninth that sent the game just above the eight-run closing total.
Boston evened the series on Saturday with a 4-2 win as a 140-145 favorite. Mike Cameron connected for his first home run of the season, a three-run job off Giants rookie Madison Bumgarner in the second, to propel the Sox to the victory.
In addition to losing the game on Friday, Boston lost offensive catalyst Dustin Pedroia to the DL with a fractured bone in his left foot. Pedroia slapped a foul off the foot in the third inning, completed the at bat but was then removed from the baseball contest.
The Red Sox discovered the fracture on Saturday and immediately placed Pedroia on the injured list while recalling Angel Sanchez from Triple-A Pawtucket.
Boston starts play today with a 45-31 mark, up nearly five units at the baseball betting window and 38-33-5 'over.' The Red Sox are third in the AL East, two games behind the division-leading Yankees.
Saturday's loss left the Giants 40-33 (plus 1.2 units), good for second in the NL West 3.5 games behind the Padres. San Francisco is 35-33-5 'over' on the campaign with Saturday's 'under' snapping a three-game 'over' run.
Disappointment awaits bettors hoping to find some stat among the starters to sway them to one side or the other. Both Lincecum and Lester will be making their first starts against the Red Sox and Giants, respectively. Both have also endured a shaky spell along the way and come out in fine form.
Lincecum's rocky stretch came in his final three starts of May when the Giants lost three in a row with their diminutive right-hander on the hill. Over a span of 15 1/3 innings against the D-Backs, Nats and Rockies, Lincecum allowed 14 earned runs, walking five in each assignment.
He has since rebounded with four consecutive winning efforts, one a no-decision on his personal ledger. Lincecum's most recent outing was eight innings in Houston on June 22 when he allowed just one unearned run in a 3-1 triumph. It was his third win over Roy Oswalt and the Astros this season.
Lester's trouble came right out of the gate to start the 2010 campaign when he faced three tough lineups in the Yankees, Twins and Rays. Boston lost all three games with their left-hander tossing 16 innings combined and surrendering 15 runs, all earned.
He has since settled down with the Red Sox winning nine of his 12 starting assignments since. The only blemish on his card in that span was a six-inning, six-run linescore in an 8-7 loss at Cleveland on June 10.
Mike DiMuro, now working his 12th season in the majors, will don the mask and call balls and strikes for Sunday's affair. This will be his 16th plate assignment of 2010 with visitors cashing nine of the previous 15. The 'under' has a 9-4-2 season advantage and is currently on a 6-1-2 run.
San Francisco weather looks fine for the contest with the weatherman calling for sunny skies and an afternoon high in the upper-60s. Winds are presently forecast out of the west at 10-12 mph (straight out to center).
The Giants will remain at home after this game to host the Dodgers for three starting Monday. Boston heads home, takes Monday off and then opens a three-game series Tuesday against the visiting Rays.
NOTE: The W-L records shown for starting pitchers are their team's W-L mark when they started games in the 2010 season. Statistical sources for this article were Retrosheet.org, Baseball-Reference.com, ESPN.com and, of course, S-BEE-R-dot-com!
