Posted on 5/9/2008 4:24:48 PM

MLB Baseball Betting Action - Boston at Minnesota

By Charles Jay

BetUS MLB baseball sports betting odds: Boston -130, Minnesota +110, Total 9

The Minnesota Twins (17-16) have been something of a surprise in the American League's Central division. On Friday night they will play host to the surging Boston Red Sox (23-14) in an AL contest that will begin at 8:10 PM ET at the Metrodome (artificial turf) in Minneapolis.

Left-hander Jon Lester (2-2, 3.94 ERA) will get the start for the Red Sox, while Minnesota counters with right-hander Boof Bonser (2-4, 4.29 ERA).

At BetUS Sportsbook, Boston is listed as a -130 favorite (Minnesota is +110), with a posted total of nine runs.

Here are some of the MLB Baseball online betting trends as they relate to this matchup:

* BOS has won six of its last seven games

* BOS has played five of its last eight games OVER the total

* MINN has won six of its last eight games

* MINN has played five of its last eight games UNDER the total

* MINN has won its last seven home games

* MINN has played six of its last eight home games UNDER the total

In the HEAD-TO-HEAD baseball betting trends:

* BOS has won five of the last eight meetings

* Seven of the last eight meetings have gone UNDER the total

* MINN has won eight of the last 11 meetings as the home team

* The last five meetings in Minneapolis have gone UNDER the total

Boston currently leads the American League with 5.1 runs and 9.9 hits per game. And they've been even more offensive than that lately, tallying over seven runs a game over the last seven. In doing so they have gone from playing six unders in a row to playing five games over the total in the last eight.

Jon Lester, who has a 13-4 lifetime record, has been brilliant in his last two outings, giving up just one earned run. On April 29 he allowed just one hit over eight innings against the Blue Jays. The Sox have won four of his last five starts. And six of his eight starts have gone under the total.

Big Boof Bonser sounds like he's out of a comic strip, but there was nothing funny about his last effort against Detroit, when he allowed five runs in six innings. Actually, he's been hot and cold, capable of outstanding pitching like he showed on April 23 against the A's, when he yielded just three hits over six frames. He's still allowing a lot of batters to hit it in the air (56, as opposed to 36 groundouts), so he could be susceptible against the Red Sox lineup, which is batting .290 (first in the majors) and has 35 homers (9th).

Boston's bullpen has Jonathan Papelbom, but otherwise it has been a disappointment, with a 4.82 ERA, which is second from the bottom in all of baseball. Even though seven of the last eight meetings between these teams have been unders, we think this particular matchup points toward an "over," and so that's the direction we're going. It's OVER the nine runs as is posted in the BetUS Major League Baseball betting odds.

JAY'S PLAY: OVER 9

Go to the BetUS sportsbook today and take a swing at Major League Baseball online betting. We have the most current baseball odds and lines, as well as player, game and series props throughout the MLB baseball season. To help you bet on sports, check out the Free Picks section of the Locker Room for sports betting free picks and predictions. Join BetUS to experience the best in online sports betting action!

(Charles Jay of http://www.eBookies.com touches all the bases as a regular contributor to the BetUS Locker Room)