05/14/2008 - Minneapolis, MN (Baseball Betting) - Jesse Litsch notched his fifth win and the Toronto Blue Jays got their offense going with 10 hits to defeat the Minnesota Twins, 5-3, in the opener of a three-game series at the Metrodome.
Litsch (5-1) went 5 2/3 innings, giving up two runs on four hits with no walks and two strikeouts, helping Toronto post back-to-back wins after a horrid offensive stretch and four straight losses.
Lyle Overbay went 2-for-4 with an RBI and scored a run. Matt Stairs homered, walked twice and scored two runs for the Blue Jays.
Toronto scratched out three runs in the tenth inning Monday in the second half of a doubleheader at Cleveland to halt a five-game losing streak and snap a streak of scoreless innings at 31 1/3.
"We did a lot of good things tonight," Toronto manager John Gibbons said. "We pitched very good. Rolen had that great at-bat and wore him (Slowey) out and then Stairs came up with the big homer."
Twins starter Kevin Slowey (0-3) lasted 5 2/3 innings, allowing three runs on five hits and two walks. He struck out five in his third start of the season and second since coming off the disabled list due to a right biceps strain.
Carlos Gomez was 2-for-4 with a home run for the Twins, who were coming off of taking three of four from the Red Sox at home. Jason Kubel clubbed a pinch-hit homer.
The teams traded runs in the eighth inning of a tight game. A Gregg Zaun sacrifice fly in the top half off the Twins' Brian Bass added insurance, but Kubel took Toronto's Armando Benitez deep in his first appearance of the season to lead off the bottom half, keeping Minnesota within two.
B.J. Ryan came on in the ninth, giving up a leadoff single to Michael Cuddyer but retired the next three batters, earning his sixth save.
Minnesota got on the board first with a two-out Gomez home run to left in the third.
Toronto came on in the fourth to take the lead on consecutive two-out RBI doubles from Overbay and Shannon Stewart.
Stairs added another run for the Jays in the sixth with a two-out homer to right and chased Slowey from the game in favor of Matt Guerrier.
The Twins pulled to within 3-2 in the bottom half. Litsch allowed a leadoff single to Gomez, retired the next two batters before giving way to Jesse Carlson, who allowed a Justin Morneau triple to right-center. Jason Frasor came on to retire Michael Cuddyer to end the inning.
Toronto got the run right back in the seventh on an Aaron Hill RBI single off Guerrier.
Game Notes
Toronto won six of its 10 matchups with Minnesota last year and is 12-6 versus the Twins since the start of the 2006 season. The Blue Jays are 7-5 at the Metrodome in that span...Boof Bonser (2-4) is scheduled to pitch for the Twins against Roy Halladay (3-5) on Wednesday...Litsch is 3-0, with a 2.67 ERA with an opponent batting average of just .194 and zero walks over his last four starts, he has given up two runs-or-fewer in 17 of 28 career starts...Ryan is 6-for-6 in save opportunities this season for Toronto and has yet to give up a run in 11 innings pitched.
<< Church continues torrid start as Mets double up Nationals
Flushing, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ryan Church homered, doubled and drove in four
runs, as the New York Mets surged past the Washington Nationals, 6-3, in the
second of a four-game series at Shea Stadium.
Brian Schneider went 3-for-4, knocke
<< Scott homers as Orioles hold off Red Sox
Baltimore, MD (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Luke Scott ripped the go-ahead three-run
homer and the Orioles touched Josh Beckett for five runs, lifting Baltimore to
a 5-4 victory over the Boston Red Sox in the opener of a brief two-game
series.
<< Greene's blast powers Padres over Cubs
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Khalil Greene's three-run home run off Jason
Marquis was the difference, as San Diego edged out Chicago, 4-3, at Wrigley
Field.
The Padres literally slipped past the Cubs on a chilly, rainy night in t
<< Volquez strong again; Reds down Marlins
Cincinnati, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Edinson Volquez continued his strong rookie
year, holding the Marlins to one run in six innings, but Cincinnati's 5-3 win
over Florida came coupled with the loss of shortstop Jeff Keppinger, who left
with a
Laird propels Rangers over Mariners >>
Arlington, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Gerald Laird went 2-for-3 with an RBI and
three runs scored as the Texas Rangers upended the Seattle Mariners, 5-2, in
the second test of a three-game series at Rangers Ballpark.
Texas starter Kason Ga
Pirates' Doumit leaves with thumb injury >>
St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Pirates catcher Ryan Doumit left after one
inning of Tuesday's game against the Cardinals with a left thumb injury.
A pitch from Pittsburgh starter Phil Dumatrait hit the catcher on the thumb of
his glove
Rays climb to first in AL East; top Yankees in 11 >>
St. Petersburg, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Gabe Gross had the game-winning single
off Mariano Rivera in the 11th inning to lead the Tampa Bay Rays past the New
York Yankees, 2-1, and into first place in the AL East.
Akinori Iwamura went 2-fo
Salas, Pirates outlast Cardinals >>
St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Marino Salas, a 27-year-old making his major
league debut the same day he was called up from Triple-A Indianapolis, worked
out of a bases-loaded jam in the ninth and picked up his first career win in
Pittsbu
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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