Bautista, Jays outlast Twins

Baseball Betting Lines

07/07/2010 - Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jose Bautista hit an inside-the-park homer and scored the go-ahead run on Vernon Wells' double in the seventh inning, as Toronto outlasted Minnesota, 6-5, in a roller-coaster affair at Rogers Centre.

Alex Gonzalez added a solo home run and tacked on a sacrifice fly for the Blue Jays, who had lost eight of nine coming in.

Scott Downs (3-5) was credited with the win in relief of starter Marc Rzepczynski, who yielded four runs on eight hits and a walk while striking out seven in 5 2/3 innings in his 2010 debut.

Orlando Hudson went 3-for-4 with a home run and three RBI, and Delmon Young added a solo blast for the Twins, who won the opener of this three game series on Tuesday, 7-6.

Minnesota's Kevin Slowey took a no-decision after giving up five runs on nine hits in 6 1/3 frames.

With the score tied, 4-4, Denard Span singled off Shawn Camp with two away in the seventh and raced around to score when Hudson sent a ball to the right- field corner for a triple.

Fred Lewis answered with his own three-bagger with one out in the bottom half, ending Slowey's night. Matt Guerrier (1-5) got Gonzalez to fly out to center, but Lewis easily sped in with the tying run.

Bautista worked a walk, and fellow All-Star Wells, mired in an 0-for-21 slump, doubled high off the wall in center to plate the go-ahead tally.

Downs, who stranded Hudson in the seventh by getting Joe Mauer on a flyout, pitched a scoreless eighth before Kevin Gregg turned in a 1-2-3 ninth to record his 19th save of the season.

Gonzalez got just enough of a Slowey breaking ball in the first inning to notch his 16th home run of the year.

The 1-0 lead stood until the fourth, when Span singled and Hudson golfed one down the left-field line and over the fence to begin the back-and-forth scoring.

John Buck doubled in the bottom half and came around to score on Edwin Encarnacion's bloop hit to right. The Twins got the lead back in their next at-bat thanks to Young's solo shot to left.

With two outs and John McDonald on first in Toronto's turn, Bautista laced a liner to the left-field gap that got between Span and Young, with the latter's slide for the ball taking out the former. The ball rolled to the wall and Span's relay throw was not nearly in enough time to get the hustling Bautista at the plate. It was Bautista's 22nd home run of the season.

Minnesota responded by loading the bases with one out, and Mauer scored to make it 4-4 on Jason Kubel's sacrifice fly.

Game Notes

Rzepczynski, who went 2-4 with a 3.67 earned-run average in 11 starts last season as a rookie, was called up from Triple-A Las Vegas last week to take the rotation spot of the injured Shaun Marcum (elbow)...Bautista's homer was Toronto's first inside-the-parker since Greg Myers accomplished the feat on September 13, 2003...Bautista reached base in all four plate-appearances, going 2-for-2 with a pair of walks...Span and Justin Morneau each had two hits for the Twins.

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MySportsbook.com: NFL draft - The NFC South


In part two of MySportsbook.com’s draft preview, we’ll take a look at a division that was extremely disappointing last season: the NFC South.  Many “experts” predicted the Panthers to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl, of course they could not even make the playoffs in an extremely weak NFC.  The Saints definitely made up for the disappointing seasons of their NFC South brethren by exploding out of no where en route to the NFC Championship game.  For the avid NFL gambler, it is imperative to pay attention to the NFL draft.  Although free agency gets a ton of publicity, the successful franchises build their teams around the draft.

1. New Orleans Saints
Who would have thought this time last year that the Saints would be the favorites to win the NFC South for the 2007 campaign?  New Orleans is loaded with firepower on the offensive side of the ball but with the exodus of Joe Horn they will most likely look to draft a WR on Day 1.  Despite having the NFL’s 3rd ranked pass defense last season, the Saints will most likely upgrade their CB’s with one of their first two picks. Other possibilities for the Saints will be TE and DT.  Because of where they will be selecting (27th), the Saints could go the “best available player” route which could net a LB.

Key additions: Eric Johnson TE, Troy Evans LB, David Patten WR
Key loses: Joe Horn WR,
Team needs: CB, WR, TE, LB, DT
Possible draftees: Aaron Ross CB Texas, Darrelle Revis CB Pitt, Ted Ginn Jr. WR OSU, Paul Posluszny LB PSU, Chris Houston CB Arkansas, Greg Olsen TE Miami

2. Carolina Panthers
Carolina was one of the biggest disappointments in the NFL last season.  With the signing of David Carr, expect the very first quarterback controversy to come out of Carolina if Jake Delhomme doesn’t rebound quickly from an average 2007 season. With veteran safety Mike Minter getting up there in age, they will look to draft a safety on Day 1 but probably not in the first round.  LB is another need with the loss of Chris Draft to go along with Dan Morgan’s concussion problems.  If TE Greg Olsen is still on the board, he might be too good to pass up despite their needs on the defensive side of the ball.

Key additions: David Carr QB
Key loses: Chris Draft LB
Team needs: LB, TE, S, OT
Possible draftees: Greg Olsen TE Miami, Patrick Willis LB Ole Miss, Paul Posluszny LB PSU, Levi Brown OT PSU

3. Atlanta Falcons
The Falcons were another NFC South team to have a disappointing 2007 season.  The Falcons have been plenty busy during the off season with plenty of players coming and going including a new head coach.  The Falcons were able to improve their draft position with the trade of coveted backup QB Matt Schaub.  High on the list of Day 1 needs will be a defensive end to replace Patrick Kerney and a hard hitting safety since Lawyer Milloy is nearing the end of his career.  With an additional 2nd round pick, the Falcons could attempt to trade up to acquire local product WR Calvin Johnson. 

Key additions: Joey Harrington QB, Toniu Fonoti OG, Joe Horn WR
Key loses: Justin Griffen RB, Patrick Kerney DE, Matt Lehr OG, Ashley Lelie WR, Matt Schaub QB
Team needs: DE, S, OT, WR, DT
Possible draftees: LaRon Landry S LSU, Amobi Okoye DT Louisville, Levi Brown OT PSU, Jamaal Anderson DE Arkansas, Alan Branch DT Michigan

4. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Age really caught up to the Bucs last season.  The Bucs still have plenty of household names on defense in Ronde Barber, Simeon Rice and Derrick Brooks but the one thing those three have in common is unfortunately age.  It is imperative for the Bucs to get much younger, especially on the defensive side of the ball. Despite having bigger needs on the defensive side of the ball, WR Calvin Johnson is the most likely pick if he is still available when the Bucs pick at the four spot.  This would suit Bucs’ faithful just fine as Johnson is widely considered the top talent in the draft and it is a position of need for the Bucs.

Key additions: Jeff Garcia QB, Kevin Carter DE, Torrie Cox CB, Cato June LB
Key loses: Dewayne White DE, Sean Mahan OG
Team needs: WR, LB, DE, CB (Youth on defense!)
Possible draftees: Calvin Johnson WR Georgia Tech, Gains Adams DE Clemson, Jamaal Anderson DE Arkansas

It is never too early to start betting on the NFL. Log on to MySportsbook.com to checkout all of the NFL futures for the upcoming season.  On the clock: the NFC North

Odds to win the NFC South:
New Orleans Saints 8-5
Carolina Panthers 2-1
Atlanta Falcons 12-5
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 9-2    

Odds to win the NFC:
New Orleans Saints 13-2
Carolina Panthers 7-1
Atlanta Falcons 20-1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 25-1

Odds to win the Super Bowl:
New Orleans Saints 18-1
Carolina Panthers 20-1
Atlanta Falcons 50-1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 75-1

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