05/08/2008 - Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Dioner Navarro belted a grand slam as part of a five-run 13th frame, leading Tampa Bay past Toronto, 8-3, in a lengthy extra- inning affair at Rogers Centre.
A game going on at a brisk pace came to a streaking halt in the bottom of the ninth. Troy Percival finally squandered runs, surrendering a two-run home run to Vernon Wells, and the tying run in Toronto's at-bat.
Percival had not allowed a run in 11 innings before stepping onto the mound Thursday night. He allowed a Scott Rolen single before striking out Matt Stairs. Wells then hammered a 2-0 fastball over the right-field fence to trim the Blue Jays' deficit to 3-2.
Lyle Overbay then doubled, but the game was still in Percival's right hand. Just-recalled Joe Inglett pinch-ran for Overbay, and his speed tied the game. Percival sawed off Aaron Hill, who served a low-and-away pitch over the second baseman's head into center field. B.J. Upton came up throwing, but his two- hopper was just late, allowing Inglett to slide in safely for a 3-3 game.
Toronto threatened to win in the 10th. Alex Rios drove a pitch past Upton in center and scampered to third for a triple. Shannon Stewart was called out on strikes and Rolen was intentionally walked to set up a double play. Stairs struck out before Wells was pitched around for a walk to load the bases. Dan Wheeler escaped by striking out pinch-hitter Rod Barajas.
The Rays ended the game in the 13th frame. Jason Bartlett and Akinori Iwamura each singled and Carl Crawford drove home Bartlett with a sacrifice fly. Upton singled and Carlos Pena was intentionally walked. One out later, Navarro capped the explosion with a grand slam to right-center.
J.P. Howell (1-0) got the victory after throwing three scoreless innings of relief, while Shawn Camp (0-1) was saddled with the loss after pitching the 13th and allowing all five runs.
Edwin Jackson pitched an eight-inning gem for the Rays, allowing just six hits with three strikeouts and no walks. His counterpart Jesse Litsch surrendered three runs on five hits with a pair of strikeouts over seven frames.
The Rays went in front with a pair of runs in the fifth. Navarro singled with two outs and Gabe Gross followed with a two-run shot out to right. Tampa Bay added an insurance tally in the seventh on Pena's lead-off home run, his eighth of the season.
Game Notes
Toronto placed shortstops David Eckstein (strained right hip flexor) and John McDonald (sprained right ankle) on the 15-day disabled list Thursday. Both players were injured in a loss to Tampa Bay on Tuesday with the DL stints made retroactive to Wednesday. The club called up the infielder Inglett from Triple-A Syracuse to take one of the roster spots...The game took four hours, four minutes...Attendance was 21,118.
<< Treanor, Cantu power Fish past Brewers
Miami, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Matt Treanor went 2-for-3 with a three-run homer,
and Jorge Cantu finished with a two-run shot, as the Florida Marlins beat
Milwaukee, 7-2, to sweep a three-game series with the Brewers.
Luis Gonzalez went 3
<< Rangers activate Gabbard from DL
Seattle, WA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Texas Rangers activated Kason Gabbard
from the 15-day disabled list on Thursday, allowing the left-hander to start
against the Seattle Mariners.
Gabbard was placed on the disabled list on April 24 w
<< USA edges Germany at Worlds
Halifax, Nova Scotia (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Zach Parise's third-period power-play
goal proved to be the game-winner, as Team USA held on to defeat Germany, 6-4,
in a Group F Qualifying Round game at the 2008 World Hockey Championship.
Parise f
<< Youkilis, Beckett lead Boston past Detroit
Detroit, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kevin Youkilis hit a two-run homer, as Boston
topped Detroit, 5-1, in the finale of a four-game series at Comerica Park.
Jason Varitek also drove in two for the Red Sox, who won three of four in the
set and
Customers wait hours for 23-cent pizzas in Ohio >>
UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS, Ohio (AP) -Maybe Cleveland Cavaliers fans can hope for cheap gas if an oil company insults All-Star LeBron James.Lines were so long Thursday at some of the 86 Papa John's stores offering a large, one-topping pizza for 23 cents th
Sexson ejected after charging mound and throwing helmet >>
Seattle, WA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Seattle first baseman Richie Sexson was
ejected in the fourth inning of Thursday's game against the Texas Rangers.
With two outs in the inning, Keith Gabbard came up and in with a fastball that
caused
Smith named head coach at Alcorn State >>
Vicksburg, MS (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Alcorn State named Larry Smith it's new
men's basketball coach Thursday.
Smith lettered for four years at Alcorn State and was part of the undefeated
1979-80 team at the school before moving on to an
Ginobili, Parker push Spurs past Hornets in Game 3 >>
San Antonio, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker each poured
in 31 points as San Antonio used a strong second half to beat New Orleans,
110-99, in the pivotal Game 3 of their Western Conference semifinal series.
The Sp
Chiefs' Treen Green out for Sunday's game
How long Trent Green will remain sidelined is unknown. Coach Herm Edwards said Monday he will miss a second straight start Sunday when the Chiefs host the San Francisco 49ers.
A two-time Pro Bowler, Green was going into a feet-first hook slide when he was knocked unconscious by a thunderous, head-snapping hit from Cincinnati's Robert Geathers.
Oddsmakers at online sportsbook MySportsbook.com currently have the Chiefs listed as 7-point favorites versus the 49ers.
The 49ers got beat by Philadelphia 38-24 as a 6.5-point underdog last week. The combined score went OVER the posted over/under total (42.5).
Alex Smith completed 27-of-46 passes for 293 yards with a touchdown. Michael Robinson rushed for 29 yards and a pair of touchdowns on five carries.
The Chiefs lost 9-6 to Denver last week as an 11-point underdog. The combined score was well UNDER the posted over/under total (38).
Larry Johnson rushed for 126 yards on 27 carries. Damon Huard completed 17-of-23 passes for 133 yards with no touchdowns and no interceptions.
To visit this online sports book got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs.
“You play to win the game!”
Those are the words of notoriously intense head coach Herman Edwards. Unfortunately, from a bettors’ perspective, most coaches don’t feel that way about the NFL preseason. August is a time to evaluate young players, finalize the depth chart and pray your star players stay healthy.
The trick to making money during the exhibition schedule is identifying coaches – like Edwards – who can’t stand losing even when there's nothing on the line.
The New York Jets betting won 15 of 21 preseason games and went 14-7 against the spread (ATS) during Edwards’s five-year tenure with the club. In his first season as the Kansas City Chiefs field boss, the team improved from 0-4 to 2-2.
Identifying win-a-holics like Edwards is a good start if you plan betting the preseason – even though most say you shouldn’t ... but what the hell do they know anyway?
Here’s a brief rundown of two teams that have a habit of winning during the second-stringers’ season, and another club that has a good chance of exceeding this year.
Playing in the media hub of North America can be stressful but the press can’t write anything negative about the way Tom Coughlin’s boys play in the preseason. The Giants won and covered all four games last summer, improving their record to 7-1 both straight up (SU) and against the spread over the last two years.
Coughlin has shown he’s not afraid to give his starters more time in the second preseason game than most of his colleagues, no doubt one of the reasons his team has been so dominant.
Bettors can count on America’s team early on. The Cowboys are 14-6 both SU and ATS since 2002 in warm-up contests. Former coach Bill Parcells, the coach of the team the last four years, has an intimidating, in-your-face presence – surely a reason Dallas has had so much early success.
The Big Tuna won’t be strolling the sidelines with looks of disgust, but new coach Wade Phillips will be anxious to make a good first impression for owner Jerry Jones.
Dallas plays the Indianapolis Colts and the Denver Broncos before things get serious. They then face the Houston Texans in their third contest (the game starters see most game time) and finish off with the Minnesota Vikings.
Expect a Dallas team able to walk away with another 3-1 preseason record.
This team scored a league-worst 12 offensive touchdowns last season, so the rookies and veterans each have something to prove. There’s a bounty of first-unit jobs up for grabs and plenty of bodies competing for those slots.
First-time head coach Lane Kiffin will be eager to impress an owner who employs the philosophy, “Just win, baby!”
The 32-year-old Kiffin has to command respect from a locker room full of players older than him. All of these factors should lead to purpose in preseason.
Don’t forget: before playing like a team that belonged in NFL Europe, Oakland went 4-1 (both SU and ATS) in exhibition games.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your football wagering needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.