Blue Jays use power to down Phillies

Baseball Betting Lines

06/26/2010 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Alex Gonzalez and John Buck each hit two- run homers and Aaron Hill added a solo round-tripper to pace the Blue Jays over the Phillies, 5-1, in the middle test of a three-game set.

Shaun Marcum (7-3) tossed six solid innings and struck out six compared to one walk and five hits allowed, one of which was Ryan Howard's solo home run, to earn the win for Toronto, which had lost four of five coming in.

Cole Hamels (6-6) was touched for all five runs on seven hits and three walks in a four-inning start for the Phillies, who had their four-game winning streak snapped.

Buck's two-run shot came in the second inning, and Hill provided a solo blast in the home third after the Phillies stranded runners on the corners in the top of the frame.

Gonzalez tacked on his 14th homer following Fred Lewis' infield single in the fourth to make it 5-0.

Despite three Phillies relievers -- Nelson Figueroa, Danys Baez and Mike Zagurski -- holding the Blue Jays from there, the Phillies only managed Howard's bomb into the bullpen beyond the center field wall in the sixth.

Scott Downs pitched two perfect innings in relief for Toronto, and Shawn Camp set down the Phillies' 4-5-6 hitters in order in the ninth to close out the win.

Game Notes

This series was moved to Citizens Bank Park as a result of Toronto's hosting of world leaders for the G20 Summit. The Blue Jays batted last and both teams played with a designated hitter...Toronto upped its MLB-best home run total to 114...Chase Utley had two of Philadelphia's five hits...Lewis went 2-for-3 and also walked twice.

Wwwone-and-only Baseball Betting News

<< Orioles rally again to beat Nats for third straight win
Baltimore, MD (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Luke Scott scored the winning run on a wild pitch in the seventh inning as Baltimore overcame an early five-run deficit to down Washington, 6-5, in the middle contest of a three-game interleague set. Matt

<< Kinsler, Wilson lead Rangers past Astros
Arlington, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ian Kinsler finished with two hits including a three-run homer as Texas got back on the winning track with a 7-2 decision over Houston in the middle test of a three-game interleague set.

<< UCLA pounds TCU to advance to CWS title series
Omaha, NE (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Trevor Bauer threw eight stellar innings, striking out 13, and Blair Dunlap hit a three-run homer, as UCLA advanced to the College World Series title series with a convincing 10-3 victory over TCU. Baue

<< Busch has record Nationwide day with N.H. win
Loudon, NH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kyle Busch put on a dominating performance in Saturday's New England 200 to become the first repeat Nationwide race winner at New Hampshire Motor Speedway and set a new record for most career laps led in NASCAR's s

<< Red Sox lose Pedroia indefinitely with broken foot
San Francisco, CA(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Boston Red Sox placed second baseman Dustin Pedroia on the 15-day disabled list Saturday with a non-displaced fracture of the navicular bone in his left foot. Pedroia exited Friday's game aga

Lopez, Mariners halt Brewers' win streak >>
Milwaukee, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jose Lopez's two-run homer in the fourth proved to be the difference as the Seattle Mariners took a 5-4 win over the Milwaukee Brewers in the second of a three-game interleague set. Milton Bradley ad

Kawakami gets first win in Braves' victory over Tigers >>
Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chipper Jones hit a three-run home run, and Kenshin Kawakami snapped a long winless streak to lift the Atlanta Braves to a 4-3 win over the Detroit Tigers in the middle installment of a three-game interle

Rays rebound against D'Backs >>
St. Petersburg, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jason Bartlett and Sean Rodriguez paced the offense by driving in two runs apiece, as Tampa Bay bested Arizona, 5-3, in the second of a three-game interleague set from Tropicana Field. Carlos Pena a

A's send Patterson to BoSox for pitcher >>
Oakland, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Oakland Athletics shipped outfielder Eric Patterson to the Boston Red Sox on Saturday in exchange for pitching prospect Fabian Williamson. Patterson was hitting a paltry .204 with four home runs, five do

Staten and Tomasulo remain on top in Mexico >>
Leon, Mexico (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - B.J. Staten and Peter Tomasulo both shot rounds of even-par 72 on Saturday to remain in the lead after three rounds of the Nationwide Tour's Mexico Open. Staten birdied the 18th hole to join Tomasulo at nine-u

FOOTBALL BETTING

Sportsbook Betting

After all the trouble that’s ensued since Braylon Edwards allegedly punched one of LeBron James’ homeboys in the face at a club, the Cleveland Browns have sent away their last remaining player of worth to the New York Jets. This is a great move for Dirty Sanchez and all, but it’s even better for the Knicks. Now Donnie Walsh can say, “You get to haunt Braylon Edwards with your posse if you sign here!” next summer.

Putting that aside for a moment, the move is a clear indication that the new-look Jets are gunning for the Super Bowl this year. I don’t think that New York thought that Dirty Sanchez was going to be such a rock star. With a 75.2 passer rating that was killed against the Jets, Sanchez is doing an admirable job of managing games and putting the Jets in a position to win. The defense has been the major story in New York thus far, but the acquisition of Braylon Edwards makes this offense loaded with talent that can dent any defense…as long as Dirty Sanchez continues his meteoric rise.

Thus far, Edwards has been a non-factor in the NFL piling up just 139 receiving yards on 10 catches. He has yet to find the endzone, and with the Browns mired in the most unsexy quarterback controversy of all time (Anderson vs. Quinn...yawn), there going nowhere fast. Edwards is two seasons removed from a career year which saw him catch 80 passes for 1,289 yards and 16 touchdowns when the Browns were the spread killing monsters of 2007. In 2008, injuries slowed the receiver down to just 873 yards and three touchdowns though he played in all 16 games.

So that being said, we really don’t know if Braylon Edwards is just a flash in the pan, or a legit threat. At 6-foot-3 and 215 pounds, he is a prototypical receiver. But he’s also shown a strange, and unwarranted, talent for dropping passes. Lining up opposite Jericho Cotchery, a speed demon with 23 catches, 356 yards and a single touchdown, may give Braylon the open looks he needs. A change of scenery may also rejuvenate the star receiver.

In return, the Browns will receive Chansi Stuckey, online football betting a special teams player you’ve never heard of and a pair of draft picks. That’s a tall order for a guy whose only real value right now is in his name, and it shows no promise to the Browns that they can rebuild around those acquisitions. Braylon was the only reason to hope for the Browns to go 3-14 SU this year. Without him, they don’t have a single guy on offense that can scare any team.

For the Jets, it’s a response to the pounding that they took at the hand of the Saints. Thomas Jones and Leon Washington have averaged around 4.0 yards per carry each on the ground, but striking a fair balance between the passing and rushing attacks in New York has been a struggle. You have to believe that the trio of Dustin Keller, Jericho Cotchery and Braylon Edwards will give Sanchez the weapons he needs to unleash through the air. Theoretically, that would open up holes for the rushing game. But the proposed public option health care plan works in theory too. We need to see the proof in the pudding before we start loading up mega bucks on the New York Jets to take the AFC.

The one wrinkle in this whole thing is that Braylon could very well be suspended by the league for disciplinary action due to his “brawl” with LeBron’s friend. If that’s the case, the Jets may have to bench him for a few games leaving them with a somewhat depleted receiving corps for a few games. Also, this is a guy who gets in fights with people at clubs. New York may not be the best place for him. Just sayin’.

The Jets have a long week before they meet the Miami Dolphins on Monday Night Football Betting in a virtual pick ‘em game. Braylon’s excess baggage may be a distraction, and his curiously low production may be what we should be expecting of him overall, but for the Jets, taking a chance to strike gold is well worth it. At the end of the year, they can simply just blame it on their rookie quarterback.

NFL Betting Lines

To visit this sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your college football betting needs.

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

For more College Basketball betting lines go to BettingExpress.com

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.