09/27/2008 - Detroit, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Gary Sheffield homered twice -- Nos. 498 and 499 of his career -- and the Detroit Tigers temporarily prevented the Rays from clinching the AL East with a 6-4 win over Tampa Bay in the second of a four-game set.
Tampa Bay, which clinched the first postseason berth in franchise history earlier this week, was handed its first division crown later Friday when the Yankees trounced the Red Sox 19-8. The Rays magic number entering this series was one, needing just a win or a Red Sox loss to clinch the division. The Rays didn't get either on Thursday and stumbled further with the loss Friday before backing into the top spot in the AL East.
"We were definitely disappointed, it would have been nice to win it on the field," Rays first baseman Carlos Pena said of having to wait for the outcome of the Red Sox/Yankees later Friday. "It's amazing, what this team has accomplished."
Justin Verlander (11-17) fanned eight in five innings, giving up two runs on five hits with three walks to get the win for the Tigers, who had dropped six straight before this series.
Andy Sonnanstine (13-9) gave up five runs on five hits in 5 2/3 innings, with seven strikeouts and three walks for the loss. B.J. Upton went 3-for-4 with a homer, two RBI, and scored twice for Tampa Bay, which swept a four-game series in Baltimore before coming to Detroit.
Trailing 6-3 entering the ninth, the Rays nearly battled back against Fernando Rodney. Rocco Baldelli walked with one out, and a Dioner Navarro single put runners at the corners. Miguel Cabrera muffed a liner by Willy Aybar, scoring Baldelli to cut the deficit to two.
Ben Zobrist fouled out, though, and Jason Bartlett flied out, giving Rodney his 12th save.
"We had plenty of opportunities. We hit the ball well in some situations where we had to, but right at guys," Rays manager Joe Maddon said.
The Tigers plated three runs in the first, but lost their second baseman in the process. Curtis Granderson and Placido Polanco both walked to start the frame, and Magglio Ordonez laced a double to left, plating both. Polanco knocked legs with Rays catcher Navarro at the plate, though, and yelled in pain. Polanco limped off the field, and left the game with a sprained ankle.
Cabrera lined into a double play, but Sheffield followed with a screaming line drive over the fence in right. The solo homer gave the Tigers a 3-0 lead.
"It wasn't something I thought about," Sheffield said of being one shy of the milestone 500th home run. "I didn't try to rush things and let the game come to me."
Ramon Santiago belted his third homer in two days -- just his fourth of the season and the 10th of his career -- in the second, a two-run shot to right that put the Rays in a 5-0 hole.
Tampa Bay came back with a run in the third on Upton's RBI fielder's choice grounder, and Pena's RBI single in the fifth plated Upton, who had doubled, and cut the deficit to three runs.
Upton's solo homer to left with one out in the seventh, his ninth, pulled Tampa Bay within 5-3. Pena and Evan Longoria followed with singles, but pinch- hitter Baldelli struck out and Navarro flied out to end the threat. The Rays loaded the bases with two outs in the eighth, but Pena lined out.
Sheffield ripped his second solo homer of the day in the eighth, a shot to left with one out, extending the Tigers lead to 6-3. The home runs for Sheffield were his 18th and 19th of the season, giving him his 38th career multi-homer game, and his third this season.
Game Notes
The makeup of the rained out game on September 13 between the Tigers and the Chicago White Sox is scheduled for Monday at 2:05 p.m. (et) in Chicago, if the game is necessary. If either Minnesota or Chicago leads the AL Central by more than one-half game after Sunday, then the game will not be needed...Verlander needed 113 pitches to get through five innings...Rays outfielder Carl Crawford was activated from the disabled list and pinch-ran in the ninth inning. Crawford had been sidelined for six weeks after surgery on his right middle finger.
<< Bombers ruin Ray's record-setting game, edge Eskimos
Winnipeg, MB (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Despite Ricky Ray's record-setting day,
Winnipeg quarterback Kevin Glenn passed for 268 yards and two scores on 18-
of-26 passing to lead the Blue Bombers to a 30-23 win over the Edmonton
Eskimos
<< Garko's grand slam propels Tribe; ChiSox continue to trail Twins
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ryan Garko hit two homers -- including a grand
slam -- to give the Cleveland Indians an 11-8 victory over the Chicago White
Sox, denying the Sox a chance to regain first place in the AL Central.
With the l
<< Davies, Royals stay hot in win over Minnesota
Minneapolis, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kyle Davies hurled six solid innings, and
Billy Butler and Mike Aviles both homered as Kansas City stunned Minnesota,
8-1, in the opener of a three-game at the Metrodome.
The Twins received some help,
<< Streaking Brewers down Cubs, move into wild card lead
Milwaukee, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rickie Weeks' three-run homer in the seventh
inning broke open a one-run game and helped the Milwaukee Brewers take sole
possession of the National League wild card spot with a 5-1 victory over the
NL Cent
Doumit homers to give Pirates win over Padres >>
San Diego, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ryan Doumit clubbed a three-run homer, as the
Pittsburgh Pirates downed the San Diego Padres, 6-3, in the opener of a three-
game series at PETCO Park.
Freddy Sanchez had three hits, including a solo homer
Tracy lifts Diamondbacks over Rox >>
Phoenix, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chad Tracy's pinch-hit, two-run double in the
eighth inning was the difference as the Arizona Diamondbacks edged Colorado,
6-4, in the first of three games with the Rockies.
Arizona starter Dan Haren allow
Angels lock up home-field despite blowout loss to Rangers >>
Anaheim, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Vicente Padilla hurled six solid innings and
Hank Blalock homered in his fifth straight game as Texas routed the LA Angels
of Anaheim, 12-1.
Despite the embarrassing loss, the Angels clinched home-fie
Kirilenko, Stosur advance to final in Seoul >>
Seoul, Korea (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Top-seeded Russian Maria Kirilenko
and Aussie Samantha Stosur both won semifinal matches Saturday at the $145,000
hardcourt Korea Open.
Both, however, took different routes to the championship matc
Mayweather picked to beat De La Hoya
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA -- Golden Boy Oscar De La Hoya and his rival Floyd Mayweather Jr. arrived at the MGM Grand here Wednesday amid the pomp and pandemonium befitting two of the biggest stars in the sport who are about to duke it out for the WBC super welterweight crown this Saturday (Sunday in Manila).
As of Wednesday, MySportsbook.com closed its book with Mayweather a favorite to defeat De La Hoya at -170 (a $100 bet wins $70), while De La Hoya is a +140 underdog (a $100 bet wins $140).
Mayweather arrived at about 11:30 a.m. on a big truck with his face and a big "World's Best Pound-for-Pound" sign scribbled across the vehicle. He was accompanied by his entourage made up of rappers and his training team.
A crowd of close to 3,000 eager fans packed the MGM Grand lobby, with their cameras in tow, all trying to vie for position to get a good angle at Mayweather, who is acknowledged as the world's best fighter pound-for-pound.
Eric Gomez, Golden Boy Promotions vice-president, described the fan turnout as "amazing" and swore he had never seen anything quite like this event.
"The crowd was fantastic. Everybody was just too eager to see the two fighters," said ALA manager Michael Aldeguer, who was among those who waited at the lobby together with his ward Rey "Boom Boom" Bautista and AJ Banal.
De La Hoya made his own grand entrance at the hotel lobby at around 12:30 p.m. accompanied by GBP chief executive officer Richard Schaefer and trainer Freddie Roach.
The same group of fans who trooped to see Mayweather also lingered around to get a close look at De La Hoya, who has been secretly working out at a Las Vegas gym for days after arriving from his main training camp in Puerto Rico.
The golden boy then took part in a closed-door afternoon workout with Bautista and Banal. The two, along with Aldeguer and wife Christine, as well as an HBO crew were the only ones allowed inside the gym.
De La Hoya and Mayweather take part in today's final press conference before the official weigh-in this Friday.
Ring Magazine, the acknowledged bible of boxing, reported in its June 2007 issue that 12 out of 20 boxing experts it interviewed have favored Mayweather to defeat De la Hoya, with only 8 favoring the latter.
But Filipino ring icon Manny Pacquiao said in a recent interview with The Freeman's Emmanuel Villaruel that De La Hoya will win by unanimous decision over Mayweather.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your bet on boxing needs.
BILLS (+10) at Steelers SPORTSBOOK LINES
It's impossible to gauge how a team will react after something like the Steve Everett situation, and it probably doesn't matter. That being said, the Bills are going to lose several games this year where they keep things close but fall short in the end to superior teams. Ben Roethlisberger and company could have a field day against Buffalo's decimated defense, but I like the Bills to cover.
BENGALS (-7) at Browns SPORTSBOOK LINES
All you can ask out of your NFL team is that it has a plan. You may not always agree with it as a fan, but as long as it appears the organization is going in some sort of direction, you have to go with it. Which brings us to the Cleveland Browns. You flip a coin to determine whether Chuck Frye or Derek Anderson should start the preseason opener. You start Frye in Week 1, but pull him in the first half. And then you deal him to the Seahawks for a sixth-round pick? Hmm... the Bengals could get six turnovers again this week.
COLTS (-7) at Titans SPORTSBOOK LINES
Tennessee signed ex-Colts cornerback Nick Harper in the offseason so that should help slow down Peyton Manning. Just ask Jason David and the Saints. Oh wait... One of these weeks, I'm going to learn to not pick against Tennessee, which has won seven of its last eight games. But it's not happening against Indy.
TEXANS (+6.5) at Panthers SPORTSBOOK LINES
Houston's Mario Williams, the first pick in the '06 draft, has more touchdowns than Reggie Bush after one week. Somehow I don't see that lasting. Meanwhile, Carolina bottled up what was expected to be a pretty high-octane offense in St. Louis in Week 1. Could this be the Panthers' defense everyone expected last year? Maybe. This feels like a 20-16 Carolina win.
RAMS (-3) vs. 49ers SPORTSBOOKS LINES
Absolutely love this game. Everyone's favorite pick for this year's surprise team -- the 49ers -- laid an egg on Monday night (not that anyone was watching with the game ending in the middle of the night for those of us on the East Coast). St. Louis wasn't much better, delivering a lackluster effort against the Panthers that included two Steven Jackson fumbles and panic from his fantasy owners. Jackson rebounds this week, and the Rams get their first win.
PACKERS (+1.5) at Giants SPORTSBOOKS LINES
Do you really trust this guy to win an NFL game if Eli Manning can't go? I say no. I'd feel alot better about this Packers team if it had any semblance of a running game, but I still think Green Bay's defense is good enough to give it a 2-0 start.
JAGUARS (-10) vs. Falcons SPORTSBOOKS LINES
Does it scare me to pick Jacksonville to cover a double-digit spread after it scored just 10 points last week against the Titans? Absolutely. But can I bring myself to pick Atlanta under any circumstances? No. Check out this poll on ajc.com. It asks what Atlanta's most urgent deficiency is: offense, defense, specials teams or all of the above. "All of the above" has 57 percent of the votes. Ouch.
SAINTS (-3) at Buccaneers SPORTSBOOKS LINES
I'm picking way too many road teams this week. Oh well. New Orleans has had some time to reflect on its lackluster showing in the opener, and the Buccanneers just aren't a very good football team. Anyone else surprised Tampa Bay hasn't made a move to sign Byron Leftwich? I thought that's what they do.
VIKINGS (+3) at Lions SPORTS BETTING LINES
Run the ball and stop the run. Minnesota can do both, and that will keep them in a lot of games this season. Even though it was only one week, Adrian Peterson looks like he was a steal at No. 7 in last year's draft. Not only will he produce, but Peterson delivers excitement to what otherwise would be one of the league's most boring teams.
DOLPHINS (+3.5) vs. Cowboys SPORTS BETTING LINES
Lost in the Tony Romo lovefest is just how bad the Cowboys' defense was last week. I know they're banged up, but Dallas' 'D' allowed 438 yards to the Giants' offense, and backup running back Derrick Ward averaged 6.8 yards per carry. Meanwhile, Cam Cameron's decision to split carries between Ronnie Brown and Jesse Chatman sounds about as can't-miss as Larry David's plan to show up to Marty Funkhouser's party a night late. Still, gotta go with Miami to cover at home.
SEAHAWKS (-2.5) at Cardinals SPORTS BETTING LINES
I'm probably missing something, but this game seems too easy. Arizona blew Monday night's game against the 49ers in typical Cardinals fashion, and the Seahawks beat Tampa Bay by two touchdowns. Love Seattle in this one.
BRONCOS (-9.5) vs. Raiders SPORTS BETTING LINES
Special teams was a major story line in Week 1. Take a look at the Broncos. They had to rush on to the field to get a Jason Elam field goal as time expired against the Bills. Denver drove into Buffalo territory on eight of 10 drives but came away with just a pair of field goals and a touchdown. Look for more scoring from the Broncos this week against an Oakland defense that gave up 36 points to Detroit in Week 1.
BEARS (-12) vs. Chiefs SPORTS BETTING LINES
Everyone talks about Rex Grossman when dissecting the Bears' offense, but Chicago's quarterback got no help in last week's loss to the Chargers. Meanwhile, Kansas City confirmed what we all thought while watching Hard Knocks: The Chiefs are going to stink this year. It could be a rough first month for Larry Johnson fantasy owners. Kansas City's RB was limited to 43 yards on 10 carries in Week 1, and the Chiefs face the Bears, Vikings and Chargers the next three weeks, all formidable run defenses.
RAVENS (-10) vs. Jets SPORTS BETTING LINES
A big dose of Willis McGahee and a usual sound defensive effort will give the Ravens their first win. According to Football Outsiders, no team in the NFL rushed only three defenders on pass plays last year more than the Jets. And according to my special Jets correspondent Ben Stauber, New York did the same in Week 1. Whoever starts at quarterback for the Ravens should have all day to throw.
PATRIOTS (-3) vs. Chargers SPORTS TRASH TALK
Friends and I were discussing how Bill Belichick goes about paying his $500,000 fine for cheating. Does he just write one check to the NFL? Do you need some sort of clearance to make such a monstrous financial transaction? I guess I shouldn't complain about the security deposit I have to put down on my new apartment. Anyway, two of the league's best teams square off in what should be a good one Sunday night. The Patriots always respond well just when you think they're in trouble. And their offensive attack was the story in Week 1.
Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting.
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