Thome's HR in 10th pushes Twins' division lead to four
Baseball Betting Lines
08/18/2010 -
Minneapolis, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jim Thome played hero against his former
team, drilling a two-run homer off Matt Thornton in the 10th inning, as the
Twins edged Chicago, 7-6, to widen their lead to four games over the White Sox
in the AL Central.
Alexei Ramirez hit the tying homer off Matt Capps to start the ninth inning
and then singled in Brent Lillibridge with the go-ahead run in the 10th for
Chicago, but Thome delivered in a big spot to send Minnesota to its fifth
straight win.
Delmon Young singled to center to start the bottom of the 10th and Thome, who
played for nearly four full seasons (2006-09) for the White Sox, then
clobbered an 0-1 pitch from Thornton (3-4) into the crowd beyond the wall in
right field.
Thome's 581 career home runs rank 10th on baseball's all-time list, two behind
Mark McGwire.
After the game, Thome received a celebratory shaving cream pie to the face
while he was being interviewed on the field.
"With them (White Sox) you take it day-by-day, you don't get ahead of
yourselves," Thome said. "Any time you can gain ground or gain a game in the
standings against a team like that, they can get hot like they did and run off
a win streak. Our big thing is to keep the approach we have every day and stay
true to our approach. Each of us knows our role and we've done a nice job with
that."
Orlando Hudson and Young both homered off starter John Danks. Thome had three
hits and drove in three runs in Minnesota's biggest win yet at new Target
Field. Young also had three hits as the Twins moved to 9-4 this season against
the White Sox.
Ron Mahay (1-1) retired the final batter in the top of the 10th to get the
win in the opener of the big three-game series.
Paul Konerko and Mark Kotsay also homered for the White Sox, who lost for the
seventh time in nine games.
Young homered to left field in the fifth, putting the Twins up 5-4.
Thornton escaped a jam in the eighth by retiring Denard Span on a fly ball to
center, leaving runners at the corners.
Ramirez then homered to left field, but the White Sox lost an opportunity to
add to their lead after loading the bases. Konerko, though, grounded into a
4-6-3 double play with first baseman Michael Cuddyer digging a low throw out
of the dirt.
Kotsay and A.J. Pierzynski each singled in the 10th. Ramirez singled beyond
diving shortstop J.J. Hardy to give Chicago the short-lived lead.
Hudson homered to left-center in the first inning, Kubel added a two-run
triple just after singles from Joe Mauer and Cuddyer. Thome singled in Kubel
later in the frame.
Konerko and Kotsay went deep in the second for a 4-3 game.
Thome was thrown out at the plate trying to score on Danny Valencia's double
to end the third, and the White Sox tied it in the fourth on Pierzynski's RBI
double.
Twins starter Scott Baker loaded the bases in the fifth, but Glen Perkins got
Kotsay on a ground ball to keep the game tied.
"We fought back," White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen said. "They're playing hard,
they played very good. The only thing you can do is go out and get them
tomorrow."
Game Notes
Hardy missed the previous four games with a sore wrist...Danks allowed 11 hits
over his seven innings...Baker yielded four hits in 4 2/3 frames...Chicago
left 10 men on base and Minnesota nine.
<< Top seeded Jankovic falls in Montreal
Montreal, QC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Iveta Benesova, a qualifier from the Czech
Republic, upended top-seeded Jelena Jankovic, 7-6 (7-3), 6-3, Tuesday at the
$2 million Rogers Cup, a U.S. Open tune-up. The event is being played on the
hardcou
<< Greinke helps Royals edge Indians
Kansas City, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Wilson Betemit and Yuniesky Betancourt each
hit a home run to back six strong innings from Zack Greinke, as the Kansas
City Royals edged the Cleveland Indians, 2-1, in opener of a three-game set.
Greink
<< Pettitte, A-Rod each get MRIs
Bronx, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez and
pitcher Andy Pettitte both had MRI exams taken on Tuesday.
Rodriguez, who departed Monday's game against Detroit and sat out Tuesday's
contest, underwent an
<< Garland, Padres edge Cubs
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jon Garland threw seven scoreless innings and
out-pitched Chicago starter Randy Wells to help the San Diego Padres edge the
Cubs, 1-0, in a pitchers' duel at Wrigley Field.
Garland (12-8) allowed four hits a
<< McGehee, Bush lead Brewers over Cardinals
St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Casey McGehee hit a two-run homer and Dave
Bush was solid in six innings on the mound, as the Milwaukee Brewers held off
the St. Louis Cardinals, 3-2, in the opener of a brief two-game set at Busch
Stadium
Royals put Bannister on DL >>
Kansas City, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Kansas City Royals have placed pitcher
Brian Bannister on the 15-day disabled list because of right rotator cuff
tendinitis.
Bannister has not pitched since August 2. In 22 starts this season, the
Rolen, Arroyo help Reds top D'Backs >>
Phoenix, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Scott Rolen went 3-for-4 with three runs batted
in to back Bronson Arroyo's solid performance on the mound, as the Cincinnati
Reds rallied from an early two-run deficit to beat the Arizona Diamondbacks,
6-2, in
A's surge late to beat Jays >>
Oakland, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Coco Crisp went 3-for-4 with a walk and scored
the go-ahead run in the seventh inning, as the Oakland Athletics rallied for a
6-2 win over the Toronto Blue Jays in the middle contest of a three-game
series.
Kershaw pitches Dodgers past Rockies >>
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Clayton Kershaw pitched seven scoreless
innings to lead the Los Angeles Dodgers to a 6-0 win over the Colorado Rockies
in the opener of a three-game series.
Kershaw (11-7) allowed five hits and recorde
Hurricanes' Thomas granted extra year >>
Coral Gables, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Miami-Florida forward Adrian Thomas was
given an extra year of eligibility by the NCAA after injuries cost him nearly
two full seasons.
Thomas suffered back-to-back season-ending injuries four gam
NFL Football Sports Betting
Two playoff teams from 2007 take center stage on the NFL Network Sunday night in a Week 2 NFL betting match-up when the (0-1) New England Patriots betting head south to Florida for a contest with the (1-0) Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
New England HC Bill Belichick couldn’t care less about the way his team plays in the preseason. With a chance to tie last week’s game with the Baltimore Ravens betting, He elected to go for the two-point conversion and outright victory. The conversion failed, and the Pats ended up falling to the Ravens by a 16-15 final count.
New England rolled off twelve unanswered points to give it a chance at securing the victory, but it never threatened to cover the 3.5-point spread. NFL bettors saw this one coming, as they bet the Ravens down from +6 to +3.5 as the week progressed. QB Tom Brady didn’t take part in the Patriots first preseason clash, but could see action this weekend.
His three replacements all put up embarrassing numbers. They went a combined 17 for 33, and threw three interceptions and no touchdowns. The New England defense was encouraging, as they held the Ravens to 2/12 third down conversions and surrendered just ten first downs. That ‘D’ should be bolstered with the addition of former Bucs and Denver Broncos betting safety John Lynch, who could make his Patriots debut on Sunday against his former mates.
HC Jon Gruden had to be impressed with the way his Bucs played on both sides of the ball in their dominating 17-6 victory over the Miami Dolphins in Week 1’s NFL pre-season betting action. Bucs bettors were quite happy with the effort, as they made a mockery of the fact that they were underdogs in the game.
The logjam at the quarterback position didn’t get any easier to separate for Gruden, as all four of his QBs had positive experiences in the first exhibition of 2008. The four combined to complete 28 of their 40 passes for 204 yards and a touchdown, and that was without starting QB Jeff Garcia in the lineup.
RB Michael Bennett had 19 carries and four receptions, totaling 90 yards and a touchdown. Expect to see more of Bennett, Kenneth Darby, and Earnest Graham, as they all compete for playing time with Warrick Dunn in the backfield this season. Defensively, the Bucs recorded four sacks and held the Fins offense in check all day.
First round draft pick Aqib Talib was impressive in the secondary, recording a tackle and two pass defenses in his debut. Don’t be surprised to see Talib in the starting lineup opposite Ronde Barber for the Bucs in ’08.
The betting trends suggest that NFL bettors should be backing the Bucs in this intra-conference exhibition.
These two teams hooked up last year in Tampa Bay, with the Bucs winning that game 13-10. The Buccaneers have only lost one preseason game at home dating back to the beginning of the ’05 preseason. The Patriots have had a mixed bag of results in their recent exhibitions. They have gone 2-2 ATS and SU each of the last three years.
New England currently sits as modest 1-point favorites in this preseason showdown with the ‘total’ now sitting at 34.5.
You can find these lines and all of the NFL betting lines , so be sure to login and get your wagers down before kickoff!
Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting lines .
To visit this sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs. Mysportsbook.com online sports betting
|