OK people, time to shift our attention to baseball for a little bit.

With so much attention focused on the 2008 Beijing Olympics, let us shift our gear to America’s favorite past time for a change, baseball. Teams are already making that push for the playoffs which means it only gets better at this point, especially if you’re a baseball fan.

And as the 2008 MLB baseball season continues, two teams slug it out starting Friday as the three-game season series between the Boston Red Sox and the Toronto Blue Jays unfolds at Fenway Park in Boston.

The Toronto Blue Jays has 61-59 record coming into this one while the Boston Red Sox has an even better 69-51 mark.

The Red Sox - Blue Jays series start at 7pm when Toronto’s Roy Halladay will be matched-up against Boston’s Paul Byrd. Halladay toiled through a career-high 130 pitches in a loss at home to the Indians on Saturday, which makes you wonder how long can his arm hold up against the Boston sluggers.

Paul Byrd on the other hand, who was acquired from Cleveland last Tuesday, will be making his debut for the Boston Red Sox against Toronto. He has been pitching well. He needed just 94 pitches last time out to get through his first complete game in nearly a year, retiring 12 of the last 13 batters he faced and 20 of the last 22 in a victory over the Blue Jays.

The three-game season series between the Boston Red Sox and the Toronto Blue Jays continue Saturday, same time when Shaun Marcum of Toronto goes up against the incomparable Josh Beckett of Boston.

Shaun Marcum has started to locate his fastball better, and that has allowed the right-hander to more effectively mix in his other pitches. In his last two outings, Marcum looked sharper, going 2-0 with a 2.08 ERA. In nine career appearances against the Red Sox, Marcum is 3-1 with a 3.00 ERA.

Meanwhile, Boston’s ace right-hander Josh Beckett is looking primed to go on his most dominant run of the season. Beckett won his past two starts, giving up only three earned runs over 14 2/3 innings. However, Beckett has struggled at Fenway Park this season, going 5-3 with a 5.03 ERA in nine starts. Saturday will be Beckett’s first start against the Blue Jays since April 6, when he gave up three hits and five runs in 4 2/3 innings.

The final game of the three-game season series ends Sunday afternoon.

Toronto’s A.J Burnett battles Boston’s right hand pitcher Charlie Zink then. Burnett has a 4.67 ERA with a 15-9 win loss record to his name. Boston’s Charlie Zink, on the other hand, has an average of 16.6 ERA looking to seal the win for Boston in the last game of the series.

Which team will win the 2008 MLB World Series? AcesAce sportsbook has the odds.

Boston Red Sox +300

New York Yankees +400

Cleveland Indians +1,000

Los Angeles Dodgers +2,000

Want more odds? Visit Bodog for more baseball betting odds and the best betting lines on some of today’s biggest sporting events.

Boston Red Sox Toronto Blue Jays