Posted on 10/15/2007 1:20:18 PM

Baseball Betting Odds - Red Sox, Indians head to Cleveland

By BetUS Staff

The Boston Red Sox and the Cleveland Indians will head to Ohio for Game 3 of the American League Championship Series on Monday night, with the Tribe having stolen home-field advantage in this seven-game set. And if you’ve been doing some MLB betting on this series, you’ve probably been experiencing some ups and downs.

Indians ace C.C. Sabathia was expected to give the Red Sox a tough battle in Game 1 of this championship series last week. The big lefthander was less than stellar in his ALDS start, but the general consensus was that he would bounce back with a solid, Sabathia-like outing. However, that kind of thinking only served to lose cash for bettors.

Sabathia gave up eight earned runs on seven hits over 4 1-3 innings pitched in Game 1, walking five Red Sox batters and striking out just three. Boston had a 5-1 lead after three innings in that contest, and that was all the scoring they really needed to do as they cruised to a 10-3 victory. Travis Hafner homered in the first inning for Cleveland in that loss, while Asdrubal Cabrera drove in a pair of runs and Casey Blake scored twice.

For the Red Sox, ace Josh Beckett lived up to his reputation as a big-game pitcher once again – he allowed just two earned runs on four hits over six innings of work, walking none and striking out seven. Boston didn’t hit a home run in the victory, but Manny Ramirez led their attack with two hits, two runs scored, and three RBI. Mike Lowell also drove in three runs on the day, while Kevin Youkilis had two hits and scored three times.

Cleveland, therefore, headed into Game 2 with something to prove – both to the baseball world and to the bettors who were shying away from them after that Game 1 drubbing. The Tribe sent Fausto Carmona to the hill at Fenway Park, where he was matched up with veteran righthander (and postseason legend) Curt Schilling. Neither starter, though, would end up factoring into the decision in a game that went to the 11th inning.

Boston jumped out to a 3-1 lead in the third inning with a rally keyed by Manny Ramirez and Mike Lowell, who would both end up driving in three runs in the contest. Cleveland responded with home runs by Jhonny Peralta and Grady Sizemore, but Ramirez and Lowell got the BoSox back on top with home runs in the fifth inning. Cleveland managed to tie the game in the sixth, and both teams were then held off the board for four innings.

In the top of the 11th Franklin Gutierrez blasted a three-run home run to highlight a seven-run rally, and Cleveland would cruise from there to a 13-6 victory. Carmona’s final line was four innings pitched, four hits, and four earned runs, while Schilling ended up surrendering five earned runs on nine hits over just 4 2-3 innings in his Game 2 outing.

Both teams, then, will be looking for better starting pitching when they meet at Jacobs Field in Game 3 on Monday night, with the series tied at 1-1. Boston will send Daisuke Matsuzaka to the mound in that contest, while Cleveland counters with Jake Westbrook.

Dice-K didn’t get a win in his ALDS start against the Los Angeles Angels, but his team rallied for three runs in the bottom of the ninth inning to get the 6-3 victory. Matsuzaka went 4 2-3 innings in that contest, allowing three earned runs on seven hits while striking out three batters. During the season the rookie righthander went 15-12 with a middling 4.40 ERA and 201 strikeouts (with 80 walks) over his 204 2-3 innings of work.

Westbrook was tagged with a loss by the New York Yankees in his ALDS start, allowing six earned runs on nine hits over five innings of work, and fanning just one batter. The righthander was 6-9 in 2007, with a 4.32 ERA and 93 strikeouts over 152 innings pitched.

And Westbrook has been pegged as the underdog in Game 3 – Matsuzaka and the visiting Red Sox are listed as the -120 favorites on the BetUS baseball lines, while the Tribe are sitting at +110 odds. The OVER/UNDER is listed at 10 runs. For the series, the Red Sox are pegged as the -160 favorites, with the Indians currently the +130 ‘dogs.

Game 4 of the ALCS will be played in Cleveland on Tuesday night, with Tim Wakefield scheduled to take on Paul Byrd. Game 5 will also be at Jacobs Field, and it’ll be contested on Thursday.

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