Burnett fans 10 as Jays edge Rays
Baseball Betting Lines
07/29/2008 -
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A.J. Burnett struck out 10 over seven strong
innings, outdueling James Shields in a 3-1 win for the Toronto Blue Jays over
the Tampa Bay Rays in the opener of a three-game set.
Burnett (12-9) allowed only one run on six hits with four walks for Toronto,
which has won six of seven. The right-hander matched his career-high for wins
in a season.
Matt Stairs' two-run homer in the fifth inning was the big blow for Toronto,
which made the most of its five hits.
Shields (9-7) gave up three runs on five hits in 7 1/3 innings, striking out
five with no walks to take the loss for the Rays. An RBI groundout by Carlos
Pena provided the lone run for first-place Tampa Bay, which left nine runners
on base as it lost its second straight.
The Rays, who have dropped nine of 11 on the road, were also limited to a run
in a 6-1 loss at Kansas City on Sunday.
Tampa maintained its one-game lead over the Red Sox in the AL East, as
Boston lost to the Angels, 7-5 on Monday as well.
Trailing 1-0 in the fifth, the Blue Jays jumped in front with one big swing by
Stairs. Rod Barajas led off the frame with a single to right, and Stairs
lifted a long fly ball out to straightaway center, his 11th homer of the
season.
"He's one of the toughest pitchers in the league," Stairs said of Shields.
"Whenever you can get a sinker up a little bit ... I was fortunate to barrel
it out of the ballpark and get a 2-1 lead."
B.J. Upton worked a one-out walk in the seventh for the Rays, and stole
second. Carl Crawford struck out, but the pitch from Burnett was wild,
allowing Crawford to reach first and Upton to head to third, bringing Evan
Longoria to the plate.
Longoria grounded into a 6-4-3 double play, though, ending the threat with
Toronto still holding a 2-1 lead.
"We always try to play hard, we've just got to execute," said Crawford of
Tampa's offensive struggles. "Once we do that better, I think our chances will
be better. We're just struggling to get the offense going."
Consecutive triples by Brad Wilkerson and Joe Inglett plated the third run for
Toronto in the eighth, and B.J. Ryan pitched a 1-2-3 ninth for his 20th save
of the season.
Tampa loaded the bases against Burnett with two outs in the first, but Jason
Bartlett grounded out to first to end that threat.
Akinori Iwamura and Upton rapped consecutive singles to start the third, and
moved up on Burnett's throwing error on a grounder by Crawford, loading the
bases with no outs. Longoria struck out, though, and Pena's groundout to first
plated Iwamura for 1-0 Rays lead. Cliff Floyd then struck out as Burnett
limited the damage to one run.
Game Notes
The Rays outhit the Blue Jays, 6-5...Tampa has scored only 48 runs over its
last 17 games (2.66 per game)...Longoria left six runners on base.
<< Beltre homers twice to power M's past Rangers
Arlington, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Adrian Beltre hit two home runs including a
solo shot in the eighth that put the Mariners ahead for good, as Seattle
topped Texas 7-5, in the opener of a four-game series.
Beltre's home run in the fi
<< Angels solve Dice-K, down Red Sox
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Torii Hunter hit a three-run home run and Casey
Kotchman added a two-run blast as part of a six-run sixth inning that
propelled the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim past the Boston Red Sox, 7-5, in
the ope
<< Orioles hit four homers in rout of Yankees
Bronx, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Adam Jones clubbed his first major league grand
slam and drove in a career-best five runs, as the Baltimore Orioles battered
the Yankees, 13-4, snapping New York's 10-game home winning streak.
Kevin Millar
<< Snell gets rare win as Pirates beat Rockies
Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ryan Doumit finished 3-for-4 with two runs
batted in, and Ian Snell threw seven solid innings to win for just the second
time in his last 18 starts, as Pittsburgh topped Colorado, 8-4, in the opener
of a th
<< Byrd helps Indians blank Tigers
Cleveland, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Paul Byrd and Edward Mujica combined for a
four-hit shutout as the Cleveland Indians downed the Detroit Tigers, 5-0, in
the opener of a four-game set.
Byrd (5-10) won consecutive starts for the first t
Slowey blanks ChiSox as Twins gain ground >>
Minneapolis, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kevin Slowey tossed a six-hit shutout and
Denard Span homered for the first time in his career as the Twins clobbered
the Chicago White Sox, 7-0, in the opener of a big four-game series between
the AL
Marlins rally in eighth to stun Mets >>
Miami, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Dan Uggla and Cody Ross drove in the game-tying
and go-ahead runs respectively, as the Marlins used a five-run eighth to
climb within one game of the NL East leading Mets with a 7-3 win, in the
opener
Lee, Cubs down Brewers in Central showdown opener >>
Milwaukee, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Derrek Lee went 3-for-5 and drove in three,
including the go-ahead RBI double in the ninth, and the Chicago Cubs edged the
Milwaukee Brewers, 6-4, in a see-saw opener of a crucial four-game set between
the top
Schnyder, Bartoli reach second round in Montreal >>
Montreal, QC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ninth-seeded Swiss veteran Patty Schnyder and
former Wimbledon runner-up Marion Bartoli were a pair of first-round winners
Monday at the $1.34 million Rogers Cup tennis event.
The 29-year-old Schnyder was l
Greinke golden as Royals down A's >>
Oakland, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Zack Greinke struck out a career-high 11 in 7
1/3 innings, and the Kansas City Royals downed the Oakland Athletics, 4-2, in
the opener of a three-game set.
Greinke (8-7) scattered seven hits and two runs an
Big East Conference odds
Work left to do: Villanova, Syracuse, DePaul, West Virginia, Providence
 Notre Dame and Louisville appear to have done enough to make the move, so we'll make them locks. The Cardinals, despite a modest RPI, are trending way up and have clinched at least a tie for third in the Big East, which should be more than enough with their pair of big road wins. Villanova got back to .500 and gets back to more solid footing. Syracuse got a very important road win and crippled a fellow contender in the process. West Virginia's fate could be in its hands Tuesday at Pitt.
Work left to do:
Villanova [18-9 (7-7), RPI: 21, SOS: 5] Pounded Rutgers to get back to .500. If Cats can get their last two (at UConn, vs. Syracuse), that should be enough with strong computer numbers and a host of wins away from The Pavilion. The Cats have beaten Texas and swept the Big 5 (never easy in Philly), but have a couple of losses to bubble teams (Xavier, Drexel), too. I still think they'll be OK, possibly even at 8-8.
Syracuse [20-8 (9-5), RPI: 53, SOS: 62] History says 10 wins will be plenty, but it might be hard for the Orange to get that last one with a final two vs. G'town, which is trying to win the league title, and at Villanova, which will be desperate for a W. The relative lack of nonconference heft and the weak computer numbers are still concerns, but the Orange have won four in a row and got a very, very big win at Providence on Saturday.
DePaul [16-12 (8-7), RPI: 54, SOS: 18] Beat Cincy and should get past South Florida to get to 9-7, but then what? They have beaten Kansas and Cal (right after the DeVon Hardin injury) earlier this season, but also have lost to Bradley and Purdue, among others. They'll likely need a couple of BE tourney wins, too, but we'll see ...
West Virginia [19-7 (8-6), RPI: 58, SOS: 125] The game at Pitt on Tuesday night could decide the Mountaineers' fate (barring a deep tournament run). They can still get to 9-7 in the Big East without it by beating Cincinnati, but the nine wins would be against UConn, Villanova, St. John's, South Florida, DePaul, Rutgers, Seton Hall twice and the Bearcats. Beating bubble foes is fine, but where's the beef? Outside of beating PG-less UCLA in nonconference play (still a top quality win), there's not a lot to fall back on (besides maybe NC State). WVU vs. Syracuse would be an interesting debate, as the teams don't play in the Big East regular season. WVU has the best win, but Cuse has played the much better schedule.
Providence [17-10 (7-7), RPI: 70, SOS: 33] The Friars likely saw their at-large hopes die at home in the four-point loss to Syracuse, barring an unexpected run to the Big East semis or more. The RPI, bad already, won't be helped by playing St. John's and South Florida in the final two league games.
For more March Madness odds go to MySportsbook.com
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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.
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