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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Huskers' Lucky hospitalized for undisclosed reason

LINCOLN, Neb. -- Nebraska running back Marlon Lucky was hospitalized Monday for undisclosed reasons after Lincoln police responded to a call at his residence.

The Nebraska athletic department said in a release Monday that Lucky was admitted Sunday night.

MySportsbook.com has the Cornhuskers listed at +2500 to win the BCS National Championship odds.

A nursing supervisor at the hospital said all questions about Lucky were being referred to the athletic department. The athletic department said there would be no further comment from the department or Lucky's family.

A Lincoln Police spokesman said officers responded to a call at Lucky's residence 11:30 p.m. Sunday. The spokesman said he didn't know Lucky's condition at the time he was taken to the hospital.

Lucky, from North Hollywood, Calif., started six games last season as a sophomore and was the team's second-leading rusher, with 728 yards and six touchdowns. He also caught 32 passes for 383 yards. He averaged 19.1 yards on eight kickoff returns.

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MySportsbook.com favors Bears, Bengals, Chargers and Colts to remain perfect

LAS VEGAS , Sept. 28 - Two big match-ups of undefeated teams have fans salivating at the Week Four schedule in the NFL. The Chicago Bears stifling defense looks to provide a less than hospitable welcome to the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday night in a battle of two 3-0 teams in the NFC conference. In the AFC, the San Diego Chargers (2-0) head to Maryland to face the surprising Baltimore Ravens (3-0) as both try to keep pace atop the conference standings. Betting Lines makers at MySportsbook.com, online sportsbook and casino, have set the Bears as 3.5 point favorites while the Chargers are a 2.5 point bet.

Of the three remaining undefeated teams, only one, New Orleans, enters this week's game as an underdog. Despite an emotional and resounding win over Atlanta on Monday night, the Saints are a 7.5 point underdog against the struggling Carolina Panthers. Indianapolis looks to stay perfect when they face the New York Jets as a 9 point road favorite while the Cincinnati Bengals are a 6 point favorite at home to the New England Patriots.

Six teams enter the week still looking for their first win, with a seventh, Tampa Bay, on a bye week. The prospect of dropping another game would not bode well for a potential playoff run. Since 1990, just three teams -- the 1992 Chargers, 1995 Detroit Lions and 1998 Buffalo Bills -- have overcome losing their first three games of the season to earn a postseason berth. And only the Chargers managed to accomplish the feat after starting 0-4.

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