Lester to start for Red Sox on Monday

Baseball Betting Lines

07/23/2007 - Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Boston Red Sox announced Sunday that left- handed pitcher Jon Lester will be recalled from his rehab assignment at Triple-A Pawtucket and will start Monday in Cleveland against the Indians.

"His parents will be there. So much went into this decision," said Sox manager Terry Francona. "We've been keeping up on this kid all year. We're going to do what's best for us and what's best for him. We never let emotion get in the way of making the best baseball decision. We're real hopeful."

Lester, 23, was 7-2 with a 4.76 ERA in 15 starts with the Red Sox after being promoted from Pawtucket in June, 2006. The No. 1 prospect in the organization and Boston's first pick of the 2002 draft, Lester became the first Red Sox rookie lefty in club history to win his first five decisions.

However, his charmed season was cut short in late August when he was placed on the disabled list due to a sore back, an injury which led to a September diagnosis of a treatable form of anaplastic large cell lymphoma.

Lester, who was officially removed from the disabled list on June 11, is 4-5 with a 3.89 ERA in 14 starts with Pawtucket this season. Once he returns to the Sox, he is expected to take the place of Julian Tavarez in Boston's starting rotation. Tavarez, the team's current fifth starter, is just 5-8 with a 5.27 ERA in 18 games in 2007.

"The clincher for (pitching coach) John Farrell and myself is when we said if we're 100 percent and we don't need another pitcher, should he be here on the roster? The answer was yes," added Francona.

The club will designate pitcher Joel Pineiro prior to the game on Monday to make room on the roster. Pineiro was 1-1 with a 5.03 ERA in 31 games this season.

"It's definitely a lot more gratifying than last year, just for the simple fact of the road that I've been on coming back from last year," Lester said. "I don't think it really has sunk in yet and I don't think it will sink in until I get on the mound."

Wwwinsidetheweb Baseball Betting News

<< Blanco scores in American debut
Bridgeview, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Cuauhtemoc Blanco scored in his American debut to help the Chicago Fire walk away with a 1-1 tie in a friendly with Scottish Premier League power Celtic at Toyota Park. The 34-year-old attacker had b

<< Brewers top Giants; Bonds sits
Milwaukee, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ryan Braun homered and drove in three runs, as the Milwaukee Brewers edged the San Francisco Giants, 7-5, in the conclusion of a three-game series at Miller Park. Barry Bonds, sitting two home run

<< Ching nets a pair as Houston earns draw at Revs
Foxborough, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Brian Ching scored two second-half goals within a minute of each other to help the Houston Dynamo leave Gillette Stadium with a point in a 3-3 draw with the New England Revolution. Dwayne De Rosa

<< Retamoza claims Futures event in Syracuse
Syracuse, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Violeta Retamoza fired a bogey-free, four- under 67 Sunday to come from behind and win the Alliance Bank Golf Classic. Retamoza completed her first Duramed Futures Tour victory at five-under-par 208, o

<< Lee downs Miyazato for Match Play crown
New Rochelle, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Seon Hwa Lee rolled in an eight-foot birdie putt on the 17th hole to claim a 2 & 1 win over Ai Miyazato in the final of the HSBC Women's World Match Play Championship on Sunday. Lee, the 22nd se

Guthrie pitches Orioles past Athletics >>
Oakland, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jeremy Guthrie tossed seven innings of two-hit shutout ball as Baltimore bested Oakland, 2-0, in the rubber match of a three- game series at McAfee Coliseum. Guthrie (6-3) struck out six and walked three,

Stepanek wins Countrywide final >>
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Czech Radek Stepanek upset second- seeded American James Blake in three sets on Sunday to win the Countrywide Classic. The 28-year-old Stepanek outlasted Blake 7-6 (9-7), 5-7, 6-2 to win his f

Durbin dazzles as Phils blank Padres >>
San Diego, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - J.D. Durbin tossed nine scoreless innings to notch his first-career shutout, as the Philadelphia Phillies blanked the San Diego Padres, 9-0, at Petco Park. Durbin (2-2) gave up five hits while striking o

Ogilvie finally has first PGA Tour win >>
Milwaukee, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The smile didn't go away, stuck to Joe Ogilvie's face all the way through his post-round interviews. It will likely still be there when he wakes up Monday morning. Why wouldn't it be? Ogilvie, on

Schelotto's double carries Crew to victory over TFC >>
Columbus, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Guillermo Barros Schelotto scored a pair of second-half goals to lead the Columbus Crew to a 2-0 win over Toronto FC at Crew Stadium on Sunday. Schelotto scored his third and fourth goals of the season

Big 12 Conference betting odds

Work left to do: Texas Tech, Oklahoma State, Kansas State

Texas joins Texas A&M and Kansas as locks after getting league win No. 11. Texas Tech greatly helped its own hopes and crippled OK State's with the two-point win Saturday. Is K-State the last reasonable hopeful? Could be an elimination match in Stillwater on Tuesday, at least for the Cowboys.

Work left to do:

Texas Tech [18-11 (7-7), RPI: 44, SOS: 12] A critical two-point win over OK State leaves the Red Raiders with Baylor and at Iowa State left. Get both and the Red Raiders likely are good to go. Get one and there could be some interesting comparisons with a K-State team that could finish two or three games "ahead" of them in the standings but doesn't have any of the quality wins Texas Tech has. Not a lot in nonconference play (against Arkansas in Little Rock being the best win, by far) to lean on.

Oklahoma State [18-9 (5-8), RPI: 50, SOS: 35] Still without a road win, the Cowboys now need to win two on the road just to get to .500 in conference play. It's hard to recall a team (OK, other than Clemson) falling so precipitously from lock status to almost certainly out of the NCAAs at this point. There are wins to be had in the last three, including a very big home game against K-State on Tuesday, but this team is reeling. Can you tell the pressure to win is getting to them with the way the final possession played out at Texas Tech? There are some good nonconference performances to lean on, specifically beating Missouri State and Syracuse on neutral floors and Pitt in OK City, but if the Pokes don't right this very, very soon, that won't be enough.

Kansas State [20-9 (9-5), RPI: 56, SOS: 96] It pays to be in the Big 12 North. The nine league wins are Colorado (twice), Missouri (twice), Iowa State (twice), Baylor, Nebraska and (a good one against) Texas. That helps explain the middling computer profile. The win over USC is nice, but the nonconference leaves a lot to be desired. The game at OK State in Stillwater on Tuesday is huge, as it could KO the Cowboys and leave K-State with a home date against Oklahoma with which to work.