07/04/2009 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Detroit Tigers will try to put distance between them and the Minnesota Twins when the two teams collide this afternoon in the second matchup of a three-game series at the Metrodome.
Edwin Jackson will toe the rubber for the Tigers today, as the right-hander hopes for a little run support. Despite not allowing more than four runs in any of his last four starts, Jackson is winless in those outings.
The last time Jackson was on the mound, he tossed seven strong innings, allowing just three runs on five hits, while also striking out five batters. However, despite the strong performance he did not factor in the 4-3 victory over Houston.
Earlier this season Jackson was pounded by the Twins, surrendering five runs on seven hits in six innings. Jackson is no stranger to trouble with the Twins, as the 25-year-old is just 1-3 with a miserable 8.85 earned run average against Minnesota.
As for the Twins they will turn to Francisco Liriano, who is slowly coming into his own. Liriano came into the season with much promise, but he struggled from day one. However, recently he has found the win column, posting two straight victories, including a 6-2 decision over St. Louis on June 28th.
In the victory over the Cardinals the southpaw held Albert Pujols and company to just two runs on four hits and struck out six batters in the process.
Earlier this year the Twins erratic ace shut down Detroit, limiting the Tigers to just two runs in 7 1/3 innings, while also striking out nine batters. Liriano has face Detroit eight times, and has compiled a 3-1 ledger with a 4.50 earned run average.
Yesterday, Ryan Raburn's RBI single in the 16th proved to be the game-winner as the Tigers took an 11-9 win over the Twins in a 16-inning contest.
Placido Polanco went 3-for-8 with three RBI and two runs scored and Marcus Thames had a two-run home run in the win for the Tigers, who had dropped four of six coming into the game.
Lucas French threw 4 2/3 innings in the start for Detroit and was charged with two runs on six hits with two walks and three strikeouts. Freddy Dolsi (1-0) got the win for throwing three innings and giving up two runs -- one earned -- on four hits.
"It was an exciting game, obviously," said Tigers manager Jim Leyland. "Two really good teams going at it bunched up at the top of the division. Give them a lot of credit (for) battling back, being down like they were. It wasn't the best of games, but we won it, and there was a lot of good things in the game and some bad things."
Denard Span went 5-for-8 with two RBI and a run scored while Joe Crede and Delmon Young each hit a solo home run in the loss for the Twins, who had won three of four coming into the game.
Kevin Slowey started on the mound for Minnesota, but was pulled after just three innings as he was tagged for six runs on five hits. R. A. Dickey (1-1) was tagged with the loss as he gave up four runs on nine hits over three innings of work.
"I think more than anything it's concerning because it's in my right wrist," Slowey, who was placed on the 15-day disabled list following the game with a strained right wrist, said. "It's in a pretty significant area, and we'll look at it Monday and go from that. It was something that affected how I held onto the ball. It was very uncomfortable."
The Twins swept a three-game series from Detroit at the Metrodome between May 12-14 and is 4-2 against the Tigers this season. Minnesota has also taken 10 of the past 15 overall meetings between the divisional foes.
<< Home Cooking: Cubs target seventh straight home win against Brewers
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago Cubs have picked the perfect time to get hot.
Today, they try to win their seventh straight game at home and their fourth
consecutive game overall, as they continue a four-game set with the Milwaukee
Brewers at W
<< Duke goes for win No. 9 against Fish
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Zach Duke goes after his ninth win of the season this
evening when the Pittsburgh Pirates continue their three-game series with the
Florida Marlins at Land Shark Stadium.
Duke has been one of the best left-handers in the l
<< Moyer shoots for third straight win in middle tilt with Mets
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Philadelphia Phillies hope Jamie Moyer can give them
the same type of effort that Rodrigo Lopez did on Friday, when they continue
their three-game series against the New York Mets at Citizens Bank Park.
Lopez (1-0), w
<< Halladay, Wang square off in Bronx
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - In his second start since coming off the disabled list, Roy
Halladay will take the mound for the Blue Jays when Toronto takes on the New
York Yankees in the second matchup of a four-game stint at Yankee Stadium.
The strong
With Manny return behind them, LA gets back to business in San Diego >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - With the return of Manny Ramirez now behind them, the Los
Angeles Dodgers can get back to business, as they continue their three-game
series with the San Diego Padres at Petco Park.
Ramirez returned from a 50-game suspensi
Reds, Owings seek to slow down Pujols >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Right-hander Brad Thompson starts against the Cincinnati
Reds for the second time this season today when the St. Louis Cardinals head
to Great American Ball Park for the middle test of a three-game series with
their Nationa
Braves send Hanson to hill against Washington >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rookie phenom Tommy Hanson looks for a fifth straight
victory today when the Atlanta Braves visit our nation's capital for a holiday
afternoon game with the host Washington Nationals at Nationals Park.
Hanson, who'll tur
Rockies resume homestand with last-place Diamondbacks >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Streaking Colorado right-hander Aaron Cook makes his 20th
career appearance against the Arizona Diamondbacks tonight, when the Rockies
host their National League West Division foes at Coors Field for the middle
test of a thre
Brandon Roy Favorite to Win 2007 NBA Rookie of the Year
Portland TrailBlazer’s guard, Brandon Roy, is MySportsbook.com’s overwhelming favorite to win the NBA Rookie of the Year odds.
Despite missing 20 games due to an injury earlier this season, Roy has definitely put up the best numbers of his 1st year peers. In 32 games, Roy is averaging 15.3 PPG, 4.2 boards and 3.5 assists in over 33 minutes of play per game. While most rookies breakdown as the season progresses (see Morrison), Roy is only getting stronger as his playing time and scoring average has increased each month.
With 30 or so games left in the regular season, Roy isn’t a lock for the award by any means. Other rookies are putting together some pretty impressive campaigns and a few could give Roy a run for the award with increased playing time. Heading the list is first pick, Andrea Bargnani of the Toronto Raptors. Even though he has started only two games all season, Bargnani is averaging 10.3 PPPG while shooting 35% from deep.
Randy Foye of the Minnesota Timberwolves could be set to give Roy the best competition NBA Rookie of the Year betting lines. With the benching of Mike James, Foye looks like he could be the starter in the T-Wolves backcourt for the rest of the season. So far, Foye has averaged 9 PPG and 2.4 assists in just under 21 minutes per game. With his new role of starter, Foye’s numbers will definitely increase. In his first game as the new starting guard this past Sunday, Foye had 10 points; five rebounds and 8 assists. More importantly, he logged 34 minutes of playing time; his third highest run of the season.
Adam Morrison, of the Charlotte Bobcats, was the favorite early on in the season after averaging 15+ PPG through the first month of the season. Ever since his torrid start, Morrison’s point production has declined each month. This really isn’t surprising, considering at 6’8” he only weighs 205 lbs. Obviously he will need to hit the weights big time during the off-season in order to keep from breaking down in the future.
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NEW YORK (AP) -By staying away from the cupcakes, Southern California earned itself a slim new ranking.
No. 1 always seems to fit USC.
Southern California jumped two spots to No. 1 in The Associated Press Top 25 on Tuesday, rewarded by voters for opening the season with a dominant performance on the road against a BCS conference opponent.
Georgia and Ohio State, the preseason Nos. 1 and 2, respectively, started their seasons with glorified scrimmages at home against FCS (formerly I-AA) teams. USC, however, traveled across country to face Virginia and could not have been more impressive in a 52-7 victory.
Georgia fell to No. 2 and Ohio State to No 3.
"We realize that rankings so early in a season are certainly fluid. But rankings do help establish a pecking order for things later in the season," USC coach Pete Carroll said in a statement. "As for moving into the No. 1 spot, it's nice to know that people think highly of our team."
Since reaching No. 1 on Dec. 7, 2003, the final-regular season AP poll of that season, USC has been No. 1 in 39 polls, by far the most of any team during that time.
"Some have said the voters are taking our schedule into consideration," Carroll said. "Our philosophy has always been to schedule outstanding opponents. We need to play challenging games like we just did, traveling across the country to open the season at Virginia. Games like that bring out our best and make us stronger as a team."
The latest voting was close. USC received 21 first-place votes and 1,539 points from the 65-member media panel. Georgia had 20 first-place votes and 1,506 points. Ohio State got 15 first-place votes and 1,497 points.
"I'd say we've evolved as pollsters," said Stewart Mandel of SI.com, who moved USC up to No. 1. "In the past, voters just kind of automatically moved teams up and kept teams where they were if they won."
Georgia beat Georgia Southern 45-21 on Saturday and Ohio State opened with a 43-0 win over Youngstown State.
"There's a bit of a growing backlash for the amount of teams that open with I-AA cupcakes," said Mandel, whose book "Bowls, Polls and Tattered Souls" chronicles college football's controversies. "To see a team [USC] go on the road and play a New Year's Day bowl team from last season, and not only play them but destroy them, how could you not reward that team?"
USC also jumped past Georgia to No. 1 in the USA Today coaches' poll, which has the same top five as the AP poll.
"It's definitely a privilege to be No. 1. But it's not heartbreaking to me if we drop," Georgia offensive lineman Josh Davis said. "It doesn't matter right now what we're ranked. What matters is our next game and right now, that's Central Michigan. The only time the polls matter is in December. That's when the polls matter."
While the Bulldogs opened easy, their schedule ultimately should be as difficult as any team's. Georgia's big nonconference test is at No. 15 Arizona State on Sept. 20. The Bulldogs also face six Southeastern Conference rivals that've been ranked in the first two polls.
As for Ohio State, the Buckeyes play at USC on Sept. 13 before getting into the Big Ten schedule.
But of the teams in this week's top 10, USC and Texas are the only ones that don't play an FCS opponent, and the Trojans are the only team that doesn't play a team from a non-BCS conference.
Get the latest 2009 BCS Championship odds at MySportsbook.com.
The last team to drop from No. 1 after a victory was USC last season. LSU jumped from No. 2 to No. 1 when it beat Tulane 34-9, the same week the Trojans edged Washington 27-24 on the road.
The last preseason No. 1 team to lose the top spot after winning its opening game was Florida in 2001. The Gators beat Marshall 49-14, but preseason No. 2 Miami opened with a 33-7 victory over Penn State and the Hurricanes jumped to No. 1 with Florida slipping to second.
The next four teams in the new Top 25 stayed the same: No. 4 Oklahoma (two first-place votes), No. 5 Florida (five first-place votes), No. 6 Missouri (one first-place vote), No. 7 LSU (one first-place vote) and No. 8 West Virginia.
No. 9 Auburn and No. 10 Texas each moved up a spot, taking advantage of Clemson's big drop. Clemson, ninth in the preseason, fell out after losing 34-10 to Alabama on Saturday.
Also falling out after losses were Virginia Tech, Pittsburgh and Tennessee.
Moving into the rankings were No. 21 Fresno State, No. 22 Utah, No. 23 UCLA and No. 24 South Carolina.
Alabama moved up 11 spots after its big victory over Clemson.
The second 10 started with No. 11 Wisconsin, followed by Texas Tech, Alabama and Kansas. BYU and Arizona State were tied for 15th. Rivals BYU and Utah are both ranked for the first time since 1996.
South Florida was No. 17, ahead of Oregon, Penn State and Wake Forest at No. 20.
The final five were all the teams to move into the ranking, except for Illinois, which dropped four spots and tied South Carolina for No. 24.
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