Saturday night in Baltimore, Manny Ramirez hit the magic number of 500 career home runs off of Orioles submariner Chad Bradford in the seventh inning.  The Red Sox also won the game 6-3.  Ramirez became the 24th player to reach the MLB homerun standings milestone.  Ramirez hit the first pitch into the bleacher seats in right-center.  He stood at the plate and watched it go over the wall like he usually does, then he got in a slow trot around the bases with a big smile on his face.  Ramirez after the game had this to say, " As soon as I hit it I knew it was gone, so I was happy to move on.  It feels great, especially with me trying so hard the past three weeks to get it done.  It finally came and I'm happy and I'm proud of myself [and] all the things I have accomplished.  So now I can go and have fun."  The oddsmakers at bodoglife.com currently have Boston Red Sox 9/2 to win the 2008 World Series Championship
  
Congrats Manny!  You might be a little out there at times but the truth is that you can hit with the best of them!  Manny has to be consider as the best right hand MLB homerun hitter in Red Sox history.  In 2004 Manny was the MVP of the league and he will be in Cooperstown someday. "Every time you get to the hotel, (people say), 'Hey, when you going to hit it?'  I'm just happy everything's done for now," Ramirez said.  "I can go be myself and have fun."  People make fun of him with all of the things he does on the field, but he did help Boston win two MLB Championships . 
  
Manny brings a lot of fun to the game.  He is one of a few players that actually look like they are enjoying themselves.  If you can't enjoy watching someone that actually is having a goodtime maybe it is time to try another sport.  Obviously, he will go down as one of the greatest power hitters of all time and always known for "Manny being Manny"  a statement well known to the Boston MLB fans.  
  Favorite opponents Manny Ramirez hit homeruns against:
  New York Yankees 55
  Toronto Blue Jays 52
  Tampa Bay Rays 40
  Oakland Athletics 39
  Kansas City Royals 37
  Seattle Mariners 37
  
  Favorite ballparks where Manny Ramirez hit homeruns:
  Fenway Park 135
  Progressive Field 132
  Yankee Stadium 29
  Rogers Centre 27
  Tropicana Field 25

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Watch Manny Ramirez hit his 500th homerun in this MLB Sports Video Replay from Youtube 

The Mets and Dodgers conclude their four-game series on Sunday night with Hiroki Kuroda facing Johan Santana.  It should be an excellent matchup as both pitchers come into the game with low earned run averages.  Kuroda is only 2-4 on the season but has an ERA of 3.29.  He has been the hard luck starter for the Dodgers this season.  He allowed only one earned run in 6 1/3 against the Cubs in his last start but lost.  He has allowed more than three earned runs only once in 11 starts this season.

MLB Betting Preview
Los Angeles Dodgers at New York Mets
Sunday, 8:05 pm Eastern – ESPN

Check out the current line for this game at SBG Global. 

The Mets go with their ace on Sunday.  Santana is 6-3 with a 3.41 ERA this season.  He went 7 innings and struck our seven in a 5-3 win over Florida in his last start.  The Mets are playing better and it has started to show on the field with wins. "Winning equals fun in my book," Mets third baseman David Wright said, "When we win a few games, guys can smile a little bit. Those off-field distractions are behind us. We can just go out there and do what we love to do, and that's play baseball." 

The Dodgers have not been playing well lately and they are still fighting a number of injuries including a key one to shortstop Rafael Furcal.  The Dodgers have struggled to score runs with him out of the lineup.  The Dodgers are still in the race though. "We're fortunate where we sit, considering how many games we've lost," said manager Joe Torre.  This series has been a homecoming of sorts for Torre who was the long time manager of the Yankees. "I'm in the opposite dugout," he said. "Mets fans are different than Yankees fans, that's for sure. I don't anticipate anything will be different than when I came there with the Yankees. I don't think that will change. If you like one [team], you don't like the other. Like the Cubs and White Sox. It's a matter of who they hate. Mets fans hate the Yankees to the point they root for the Red Sox." 

Here are some MLB betting stats for the series.  The Dodgers are 14-37 in their last 51 games as a road underdog. The Dodgers are 1-4 in their last 5 games following a loss. The Dodgers are 0-4 in their last 4 games vs. a right-handed starter. The Dodgers are 0-5 in their last 5 road games vs. a team with a winning home record. The Dodgers are 1-5 in the last 6 meetings in New York.

The Under is 5-2 in the Dodgers last 7 games as a road underdog. The Over is 5-1 in the Mets last 6 vs. the National League West. The Under is 4-1 in the last 5 meetings in New York between the two teams.

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Today the L.A. Dodgers will head to Shea Stadium to take on the New York Mets.  The Dodgers are 26-26 and fell back to .500 for the first time since they were 19-19 on May 13th.  They send their ace Brad Penny to the mound.  He is 5-5 with an era of 5.32 and is off to a bad start this season.  In his last four starts he is 0-3 with a 9.13 era.  On Saturday during his last start he went seven innings but gave up four runs in a 4-0 loss to St Louis.  In his career he has struggled vs the Mets going 5-12 with an era of 6.21.  He is 1-9 at Shea with an era of 6.54.  Currently Oddsmakers at Sportsbook.com have the Dodgers as +112 underdogs heading into todays game.

MLB Baseball is going to consider joining all four other major sports and begin to use instant replay.  They will first implement it in the Arizona fall league.  If it works out well then they will use it in the World Baseball Classic and also Spring Training.  Then eventually use it in MLB games.  They would only use it initially to determine if a ball is a home run or not.  The recent string of bad calls has called for the use of instant replay.  The umpires are not in a good position to tell if a home run ball is fair or foul or if it actually left the park.  Every other call should be made by the on field umpire and instant replay should not be taken to far as it will just get out of hand.

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The Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Mets open up a four games series in New York on Thursday with Brad Penny facing Claudio Vargas.  Penny has struggled this year going 5-5 with a 5.32 ERA.  He pitched better in his last start against St. Louis, giving up four runs and four hits in 7 innings but still didn’t get the win.  Vargas is 1-2 on the season with a 3.93 ERA. He won at Colorado last Saturday and went 7 innings giving up only two runs on four hits.  Vargas has not faced the Dodgers since 2005 when he allowed one run on six hits against them in a complete game victory. SBG Global reports that early MLB betting has the public taking Mets at Home.

MLB Betting Preview
Los Angeles Dodgers at New York Mets
Thursday, 7:10 pm Eastern

SBG Global Opening Line: Mets  - 114 ,  Total  8.5 Over -120

The Dodgers continue to battle injuries with Rafael Furcal and Andruw Jones still out of the lineup.  The latest player to have injury trouble is second baseman Jeff Kent who has been in and out of the lineup and did not start against the Cubs on Wednesday.

SBG Global Current Line: Mets  - 116,  Total  8.5 Over -125 

Here are the MLB betting stats for Thursday’s game.  The Dodgers are 8-1 in their last 9 vs. a team with a losing record. The Dodgers are 5-1 in their last 6 vs. the National League East. The Dodgers are 7-3 in their last 10 Thursday games. The Dodgers are 4-10 in their last 14 road games vs. a right-handed starter. The Dodgers are 1-4 in their last 5 road games. The Dodgers are 1-4 in their last 5 overall. The Dodgers are 12-4 in Penny’s last 16 starts vs. the National League East. The Dodgers are 14-6 in Penny’s last 20 road starts.

The Dodgers are 2-6 in Penny’s last 8 Thursday starts. The Dodgers are 1-4 in the last 5 meetings in New York. 

The Mets are 2-7 in their last 9 overall. The Mets are 1-4 in their last 5 home games vs. a right-handed starter. The Mets are 2-9 in their last 11 Thursday games. The Mets are 0-6 in their last 6 games vs. a right-handed starter. 

The Under is 7-0 in the Dodgers last 7 games vs. a right-handed starter. The Under is 7-0 in the Dodgers last 7 overall. The Over is 5-1 in the Dodgers last 6 Thursday games. The Under is 4-1 in the Dodgers last 5 road games.

The Over is 7-1 in Penny’s last 8 starts vs. the National League East. The Over is 7-2 in Penny’s last 9 starts overall. The Under is 7-3 in Penny’s last 10 road starts. 

The Under is 5-1 in the Mets last 6 Thursday games. The Over is 4-1 in the Mets last 5 vs. the National League West. The Over is 8-3-1 in the Mets last 12 home games. The Under is 4-0 in the last 4 meetings in New York between the two teams.

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