Burnett baffles Bronx Bombers as Jays draw closer in standings

Baseball Betting Lines

08/19/2008 - Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A.J. Burnett was sensational on the hill, Adam Lind hit a game-tying homer in the seventh and the Blue Jays got a lift from Johnny Damon's fielding gaffe in the eighth, as Toronto edged the New York Yankees, 2-1, in the opener of a three-game set.

Burnett (16-9) allowed just one run on five hits over eight frames while striking out a season-high 13 batters and walking one to move within a game of Cleveland's Cliff Lee for the AL lead in wins. The right-hander also recorded his sixth straight win. B.J. Ryan threw a scoreless ninth to earn his 24th save.

Marco Scutaro had the go-ahead RBI double in the eighth for the Jays, who have won six of their last seven to move one game behind the Yankees for third place in the AL East and a game back of NY in the Wild Card standings for the third spot. Joe Inglett scored the run on Scutaro's double. Alex Rios went 0- for-4 to snap a 26-game hitting streak against the Yankees.

Darrell Rasner did not factor in the decision despite a phenomenal outing in which he yielded one run on three hits over 6 2/3 frames. Jose Veras (3-2) was saddled with the loss as he gave up the deciding run in 1 1/3 innings.

Damon scored the lone run for the Yankees, who have recorded just three wins over their last 10 games. Bobby Abreu was the only Yankee with multiple hits, a pair of doubles, and drove Damon in. The Yankees have fallen 11 games behind Tampa Bay for the lead in the AL East and 6 1/2 behind Boston in the Wild Card standings.

Inglett sparked a go-ahead, two-out rally in the eighth with a single. Scutaro then hit a routine fly ball to Damon in center, who moved into position to catch the ball. Damon, though, let the ball bounce out of his glove before crashing into the wall. It was ultimately ruled a double for Scutaro as Inglett easily crossed home.

The fielding mistake was the second of the game for Damon, who let a similar situation occur in the first inning. The original blooper moved two runners into scoring position, though Rasner worked around it to continue unscathed.

Alex Rodriguez led off the ninth with a bloop single to shallow right off Ryan, but was thrown out at second trying to turn it into a double. Jason Giambi went down swinging for the second out and Xavier Nady flied out to Rios in right on the first pitch he saw to end the game.

The Yankees got on the board in the first inning. Damon led off with a walk and, after Derek Jeter went down swinging, Abreu followed with an RBI double.

Lind then stepped to the plate with one out in the seventh and single- handedly ruined Rasner's outing. Toronto had only two hits before its left fielder deposited Rasner's 3-2 slider just over the fence in right to tie the game at 1-1.

Rasner responded by getting Lyle Overbay to ground out, though Veras was called in to record the final out.

Game Notes

The Blue Jays kicked off a crucial six-game homestand against the Yankees and Boston Tuesday. Toronto is a solid 35-26 as the host this season...The Yankees and Blue Jays are tied 5-5 in this year's season series, but NY has lost three of four games at the Rogers Centre.

Wwwdonbest Baseball Betting News

<< Werth's homer lifts Phils, dooms Nats to 11th straight loss
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jayson Werth hit a go-ahead home run in the eighth inning, lifting the Philadelphia Phillies to a 5-4 win over Washington in the first of three games with the Nationals. Shane Victorino finishe

<< Mets closer Wagner out indefinitely
Flushing, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - New York Mets closer Billy Wagner will be out indefinitely as he is experiencing more pain and swelling in his left elbow. Wagner had an MRI exam at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York on T

<< Andreev, Fish, Karlovic all reach third round in New Haven
New Haven, CT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Fourth-seeded Russian Igor Andreev, second- seeded Croat Ivo Karlovic and eighth-seeded American Mardy Fish were second- round winners Tuesday at the $708,000 Pilot Pen Tennis event, a final U.S. Open tu

<< Jets sign WR Brackins
Hempstead, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Jets signed wide receiver Larry Brackins on Tuesday following the injury to start-up wideout David Clowney during Saturday's 13-10 preseason setback to Washington. Brackins is fres

<< Tennessee gains TE Warren, loses Cottam to surgery
Knoxville, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The University of Tennessee received NCAA approval Tuesday for sophomore tight end Brandon Warren to suit up for the Vols this season. Head coach Phillip Fulmer also announced that junior tight en

Sizemore and Tribe pound hapless Royals >>
Cleveland, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Grady Sizemore hit a three-run homer, while Ryan Garko and Shin-Soo Choo chipped in solo shots as the Indians turned away the Royals, 9-4, in the opener of a three-game series Anthony Reyes (2-1), in hi

Youkilis, Dice-K lead Sox past O's >>
Baltimore, MD (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kevin Youkilis hit a two-run homer and Daisuke Matsuzaka remained perfect on the road, as the Boston Red Sox defeated the Baltimore Orioles, 7-2, at Camden Yards. Matsuzaka (15-2) pitched five innin

Big eighth inning helps Mets top Braves >>
Flushing, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Carlos Delgado's two-run double was part of a five-run eighth inning, as the New York Mets took a 7-3 win over the Atlanta Braves in the opener of a three-game set at Shea Stadium. Damion Easley hit a tw

New AL-best Rays top Angels with help from Shields, Aybar >>
St. Petersburg, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Willie Aybar had a two-run single in a decisive eighth and James Shields tossed eight effective innings, as the Tampa Bay Rays downed the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim 4-2, in the middle contest of a th

Harden, Cubs blank Reds >>
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rich Harden dominated for seven innings, and the Cubs tagged the Cincinnati bullpen for four runs in the eighth as Chicago downed the Reds, 5-0, in the opener of a three-game set. Harden (3-1) surrendered


Big 12 Conference betting odds

Work left to do: Texas Tech, Oklahoma State, Kansas State

Texas joins Texas A&M and Kansas as locks after getting league win No. 11. Texas Tech greatly helped its own hopes and crippled OK State's with the two-point win Saturday. Is K-State the last reasonable hopeful? Could be an elimination match in Stillwater on Tuesday, at least for the Cowboys.

Work left to do:

Texas Tech [18-11 (7-7), RPI: 44, SOS: 12] A critical two-point win over OK State leaves the Red Raiders with Baylor and at Iowa State left. Get both and the Red Raiders likely are good to go. Get one and there could be some interesting comparisons with a K-State team that could finish two or three games "ahead" of them in the standings but doesn't have any of the quality wins Texas Tech has. Not a lot in nonconference play (against Arkansas in Little Rock being the best win, by far) to lean on.

Oklahoma State [18-9 (5-8), RPI: 50, SOS: 35] Still without a road win, the Cowboys now need to win two on the road just to get to .500 in conference play. It's hard to recall a team (OK, other than Clemson) falling so precipitously from lock status to almost certainly out of the NCAAs at this point. There are wins to be had in the last three, including a very big home game against K-State on Tuesday, but this team is reeling. Can you tell the pressure to win is getting to them with the way the final possession played out at Texas Tech? There are some good nonconference performances to lean on, specifically beating Missouri State and Syracuse on neutral floors and Pitt in OK City, but if the Pokes don't right this very, very soon, that won't be enough.

Kansas State [20-9 (9-5), RPI: 56, SOS: 96] It pays to be in the Big 12 North. The nine league wins are Colorado (twice), Missouri (twice), Iowa State (twice), Baylor, Nebraska and (a good one against) Texas. That helps explain the middling computer profile. The win over USC is nice, but the nonconference leaves a lot to be desired. The game at OK State in Stillwater on Tuesday is huge, as it could KO the Cowboys and leave K-State with a home date against Oklahoma with which to work.








Betting the NFL preseason

Rule No. 1 in the gamblers' handbook states, "Avoid sports betting on meaningless games."

When you're drowning in a sea of baseball monotony, however, things change. Even a hint of pro football betting can persuade the most disciplined bettor to break a few rules. 

The NFL preseason is around the corner, with a tempting Hall of Fame match kicking off on Sunday. But bettors must stay vigilant. Wagering on NFL exhibition games is an entirely different beast than the regular season. Most fans don't recognize the players on the field because starters get as much action in August as Warcraft fans get on Prom night.

The only certainty about the NFL this time of year is uncertainty – and yet there are some who say betting in August can be a gold mine.

“I actually feel the NFL preseason presents solid profit opportunities for sharp bettors and handicappers,” Sports Expert Steve Merril explains. “My experience has been that the sportsbooks fear the preseason, which is evident by lower limits and massive moves.”

The line moves are attributed to the limited knowledge available regarding playing-time distribution. One team’s top unit out on the field for one more series has an impact on the pointspread. Setting lines in the preseason often is a shot in the dark.

“We base the betting lines mostly on public perception,” Pete Korner, founder of the Sports Club in Las Vegas, says. “It’s very tough to predict, almost a guessing game.”

The preseason is all about figuring out who’s in and for how long.

“It becomes a race between bettors and oddsmakers to find out how long the quarterbacks are going to stay in,” Korner admits. “If a sharp gets the information first, he could exploit an early line. I’m a full believer in moving the line in the preseason if the books find out something late in the week.”

Determining what each team’s motive is can help bettors handicap. To do this you must pay close attention to the philosophies head coaches employ in exhibition play.

“You need to know what a coach is trying to accomplish,” says Covers Expert Bryan Leonard. “Sometimes a new coach will want to instill a winning attitude. Others just want to make sure their starters don’t get hurt."

So how do you distinguish who’s playing scared and who’s playing for keeps?

“Head coaches on the hot seat or new coaches trying to implement a winning attitude usually try harder to win in the preseason,” Merril says.

Cleveland Browns head coach Romeo Crennel fits this criteria. He’s entering his third season as the sideline boss and has yet to lead the Browns to more than six wins.

Cleveland is an enticing bet as well because of the unresolved quarterback situation. General manager Phil Savage sacrificed the Browns’ first-round pick in next year’s draft for Brady Quinn, but the former Notre Dame quarterback hasn’t signed or reported to training camp yet.

Charlie Frye and Derek Anderson split time at QB last season and it looks like either player (or even Quinn) could be the opening-day starter.

“If a team has quarterback depth and the pecking order hasn’t been decided, it’s a big advantage,” Leonard says.

Even in the third week of the preseason when starters generally play the most, the final outcome of the game is in the hands of fringe players. A team's talent, all the way down to the last man on the roster, is something to consider.

The New England Patriots have long been considered one of the deeper teams in the NFL and coach Bill Belichick has said in the past he’s unafraid of stars getting hurt in games with nothing on the line. He shocked his colleagues in 2003 by playing some of his starters on special teams in the preseason.

“We want to have the team ready to play a tough, physical game and preparation has to go into that and I imagine a certain amount of injuries go with it,” Belichick told the Providence Journal in August 2003.

Bettors can only hope to find more teams that share the Pats' business-like approach to the preseason (New England is 17-9-3 against the spread since 2000) and take advantage of teams who detest the exhibition schedule.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your bet on football needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.