Scutaro's grand slam helps Red Sox complete sweep of Angels

Baseball Betting Lines

07/28/2010 - Anaheim, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Marco Scutaro's grand slam in the eighth inning helped the Boston Red Sox to a three-game sweep of the LA Angels of Anaheim with a 7-3 win in the finale.

Kevin Youkilis, Adrian Beltre and Bill Hall each hit solo homers for the Red Sox, who have won five of their last seven. Josh Beckett (2-1) went seven innings in the start and was charged with three runs on five hits with a walk and five strikeouts.

"I had to manifest some energy today," said Beckett. "I felt better today than last time out. I did some good things and made some good adjustments. The most important thing is for our team to win now."

Reggie Willits went 2-for-3 with an RBI and a run scored while Maicer Izturis and Bobby Wilson each drove in a run for the Angels, who have dropped four straight and seven of eight.

The team suffered a blow before the game started as pitcher Joel Pineiro strained a muscle in his left side while warming up and will miss the next 6- to-8 weeks. Scot Shields started in Pineiro's place and was charged with two runs over 1 2/3 innings. Fernando Rodney (4-1) got the loss for giving up the grand slam.

"Halfway through my warmup I threw a curveball and it felt like a cramp," said Pineiro. "Just a freak thing to happen, I can't explain it. It's really frustrating and when I heard how long I'll be out my heart sunk to the ground."

With the score tied in the eighth, Boston went ahead. Rodney started on the mound and promptly loaded the bases on a pair of walks and a bunt single. Scutaro then stepped to the plate and smacked a 1-2 pitch just inside the left field pole for a 7-3 lead.

"After two strikes I was just trying to see the ball and I got a changeup," said Scutaro. "I got lucky today."

With two outs in the bottom of the eighth, Alberto Callaspo doubled and Bobby Abreu followed with a walk. Juan Rivera then lofted a soft blooper to shallow center that appeared to be over the head of Hall, but he was able to make a diving catch to preserve the four-run lead.

Ramon Ramirez then set the Angels down in order in the ninth to close the win.

Boston jumped on top in the second as Beltre clubbed a solo homer and, two batters later, Hall smacked a solo shot for a 2-0 lead.

The Angels, though, tied the game in the bottom of the frame on back-to-back RBI singles from Wilson and Willits.

Anaheim went ahead in the fifth as Willits led off with a double, moved to third on a sacrifice bunt from Erick Aybar and came home on a sac fly off the bat of Izturis for a 3-2 lead.

In the sixth, the Red Sox got a two-out triple from Eric Patterson. Scutaro followed with a walk, but Darnell McDonald flied out to end the threat.

Boston did tie the game in the seventh when Youkilis led off the frame with a blast over the left field wall.

Game Notes

Boston returns home to face Detroit for three games starting on Friday...The Angels host Texas for three games beginning Friday...The Red Sox are 15-9 versus the AL West this season...Boston has won all seven games against the Angels this season...Scutaro has two grand slams in his career.

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FOOTBALL TRASH TALK

NFL Football Trash Talk

Trash talk has a place in every competitive endeavor (except baseball; those stirrup-wearers are too busy chewing on their sunflower seeds and their supplements to worry about what their opponents are doing).

Fantasy sports is no exception. Any intelligent discussion of the subject would probably start with a thesis statement or a definition of terms. Thankfully, this wont be an intelligent discussion.

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Trash talking, I would argue, is primarily about amusing your friends, their sheeplike demeanors and sloping foreheads notwithstanding. The best place I have found for football trash talking is at www.SportsAlarm.com.

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But what about you? Hmm? Recall a memorable slam? Have a tried-and-true technique? Know someone who seems impervious to insult? Take a moment and tells us about it. Put together some (fit-for-publication) thoughts. You wont be too busy returning phone messages from your friends, Im sure, to reply.

In addition to the trash talking, the Sports Alarm has a huge gallery of high resolution pictures of beautiful women and models in bikinis. The most popular models are: Lindsay Lohan, Carrie Underwood, Alessandra Ambrosio, and Paris Hilton.