Red Sox turn to Lester in opener against Indians

Baseball Betting Lines

07/23/2007 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Red Sox are sure to receive an emotional boost in the form of Jon Lester tonight, when Boston begins a four-game series with the Cleveland Indians at Jacobs Field.

Lester is expected to be recalled from Triple-A Pawtucket to make the start tonight for the Red Sox nearly a year after being diagnosed with a treatable form of lymphoma.

The 23-year-old made 15 starts for the Red Sox last season, going 7-2 with a 4.76 earned run average, but baseball took a back seat after his last start on August 23 of 2006. Days later, it was announced that Lester had lymphoma.

The left-hander underwent treatment and was then brought along slowly by Boston, which sent him to Single-A on a rehab assignment to begin the season. He then hit a minor bump in the road on May 2 when he experienced muscle cramping in his left forearm.

After recovering from that injury, Lester was reinstated from the disabled list and optioned to Pawtucket on June 11 and has gone 4-5 with a 3.89 ERA in 14 starts.

Lester, who is replacing the struggling Julian Tavarez in the rotation, faced Cleveland once last year on August 2 and received a no-decision after allowing three runs on eight hits over six innings.

Reliever Joel Pineiro is expected to be designated for assignment to make room on the roster for Lester.

Boston was again without David Ortiz on Sunday for the second straight game, but saw Manny Ramirez and Mike Lowell supplement the power loss with a three- run homer each in the club's 8-5 victory over the White Sox.

Ortiz had an MRI taken on his left shoulder Saturday that revealed no structural damage and is listed as day-to-day. However, he could be sidelined until Wednesday.

Coco Crisp added three hits and Ramirez scored two runs as the Red Sox won three straight over the White Sox after dropping the series opener. Tim Wakefield (11-9) earned the win despite being charged with six hits and four runs in 6 1/3 innings.

The Red Sox have matched the New York Yankees current three-game winning streak to maintain their 7 1/2-game lead for first place in the American League East.

The Indians, meanwhile, won three of four against the Rangers over the weekend, including an 8-3 victory on Sunday. Josh Barfield went 3-for-4 with two runs scored and a pair of RBI to pace Cleveland.

Casey Blake also had three hits, including a pair of doubles, for the Indians, who trail Detroit by one game for the top spot in the AL Central and hold a 2 1/2-game edge over Seattle for the wild card spot.

Paul Byrd (8-4) started for Cleveland and pitched 5 2/3 innings, giving up two runs on three hits.

Jake Westbrook will try again for his first win since returning from the disabled list when he takes the mound for the Indians tonight. Westbrook received a no-decision on May 2 against Toronto before being sidelined for over six weeks due to a left abdominal strain.

He returned on June 24 and has gone 0-3 in five starts since to extend his winless streak to a career-high tying six starts that he set from June 19 through July 15 of 2004.

In his last start on Wednesday against the White Sox, the right-hander took the loss to fall to 1-5 on the year with a 6.07 ERA after yielding four runs on seven hits over six innings of a 5-1 setback.

Westbrook is 3-1 with a 4.23 ERA in five career starts against Boston.

The Red Sox and Indians met for three games in Boston in late May, with the Red Sox taking two of three.

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Pro Football Odds : NFC SOUTH BETTING ODDS

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NFL betting action is back! At MySportsbook, all of the pro football odds are posted for the NFC North. Check out how we see the four teams in this cloudy division stacking up this year in the chase for the playoffs! Green Bay Packers (+125) - With QB Aaron Rodgers leading the offense and DC Dom Capers working his magic on defense, the Packers are a real force to be reckoned with.

Virtually nothing changed on this offense for Green Bay from last year to this year, save for the addition of rookie OT Brian Bulaga to the bunch. Expect more huge numbers from the Pack, and a relatively favorable schedule should get them over the hump and into the playoffs once again this season. My NFL Betting Predictions: 11-5, 1st place in NFC North Minnesota Vikings (+130) - There are still too many unknowns about the Vikes this year. There is a huge difference between QB Brett Favre and either Tarvaris Jackson or Sage Rosenfels under center. Plus, is Favre comes back, is he really going to be able to keep his pick total under double digits again? Depth at running back looked like it might have been an issue with RB Chester Taylor fleeing in free agency, but drafting RB Toby Gerhart should pick up the difference. This defense is still suitable, but with a first place schedule, making the playoffs is going to be very tough regardless of whether #4 comes back or not.

There is a huge difference between QB Brett Favre and either Tarvaris Jackson or Sage Rosenfels under center. Plus, is Favre comes back, is he really going to be able to keep his pick total under double digits again? Depth at running back looked like it might have been an issue with RB Chester Taylor fleeing in free agency, but drafting RB Toby Gerhart should pick up the difference. This defense is still suitable, but with a first place schedule, making the playoffs is going to be very tough regardless of whether #4 comes back or not. Play this weekly NFL Football Contestto see if you can win.

Chicago Bears (+350) - The Bears are probably a bit of an overhyped team once again this year.No, we don't think it is plausible for QB Jay Cutler to have as bad of a season as he did last year, and we do think the additions of RB Chester Taylor and DE Julius Peppers are going to help immensely, but there's still something in the water in the Windy City that we aren't so sure about. Maybe Chicago finds its way to .500... but then again, maybe it doesn't. If Favre comes back, Cutler might be the worst quarterback in this division this year.

Detroit Lions (+1500) - The Lions are probably once again going to be the whipping boys for the rest of the teams in the NFC North, but they aren't just going to roll over and die once again. There is some real talent amassing on this team offensively, as the combination of QB Matt Stafford, RB Jahvid Best, WR Calvin Johnson, and TE Brandon Pettigrew should put a bunch of points on the board if the offensive line can even remotely hold up. The questions really lie on defense, where it feels like DT Ndamukong Suh is going to be trying to stop opposing teams all by himself. This year should show some marked improvement in the Motor City.

The Patriots will make NFL betting fans a lot of money this season, get in early and enjoy the cash.

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