05/13/2008 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Tampa Bay Rays try to extend their franchise-record home-winning streak to 11 games this evening, when they continue their four- game series with the New York Yankees at Tropicana Field.
Tampa moved six games above .500 for the first time in team history on Monday, as Matt Garza threw seven shutout innings in a 7-1 victory. Jonny Gomes had two hits with an RBI and scored three times for Tampa Bay, which has won five in a row overall.
The Rays (22-16), who now sit a half-game behind Boston for first place in the AL East, also got three hits and two RBI from Dioner Navarro. Jason Bartlett added a two-run triple for Tampa Bay, which won for the 14th time in its last 19 contests.
Garza (2-1) allowed five hits, walked one and fanned three before being removed after throwing 108 pitches in his longest outing of the season.
Andy Pettitte (3-4) was pounded for eight hits and five runs over four innings to suffer a rare loss against the Rays. The lefty fell to 14-4 lifetime versus Tampa Bay and had his seven-game Tropicana Field winning streak broken. It was his first road loss versus the Rays since September 16, 1998.
Alberto Gonzalez had two of the six hits for the Yankees, losers in four of their last six games. To make matters worse, the club learned that star third baseman Alex Rodriguez will be out a little longer with his strained quadriceps and will likely miss this weekend's series with the New York Mets.
Extending the streaks may be easier said than done tonight for the Rays, who have dropped four of five and six of their last nine to the Yanks. Tampa is also just 16-27 in the series since the start of the 2006 campaign, including losses in six of its last eight at home to New York.
Tampa will also have its hands full tonight when it faces Yankees ace Chien- Ming Wang, who is coming off his first loss of the season. Wang was defeated by the Cleveland Indians on Wednesday, when he allowed three runs and five hits in seven innings. That dropped him to 6-1 on the year and raised his earned run average to 3.12.
Wang picked up a win over the Rays earlier in the season and is 7-4 lifetime against them with a 3.53 ERA in 12 starts.
The Rays will counter with righty Edwin Jackson, who is winless in his last five starts and 2-3 with a 4.04 ERA on the season. Jackson received a no decision against the Toronto Blue Jays on Thursday, despite pitching eight scoreless innings during his team's 8-3 win.
Jackson lost to the Yanks back on April 5 and is 2-2 in his career against them with a 5.40 ERA in nine games, five of which have been starts.
<< D'Backs try to stop slide vs. Rockies
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Suddenly, the Diamondbacks are a team that can be beat.
Arizona will try to halt its season-long losing streak tonight in the opener
of a three-game series against the Colorado Rockies at Chase Field.
Arizona was sw
<< Red-hot Berkman, Astros square off against Giants
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Both Lance Berkman and his Houston Astro teammates aim to
keep up their recent hot streaks when the surging club plays the second of
four consecutive clashes with the San Francisco Giants tonight at AT&T Park.
Houston
<< Tigers continue to be victimized by poor starting pitching
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Having completed the first quarter of the season, there is
no question what has been the culprit for the Detroit Tigers' horrendous
start.
The starting pitching, by and large, has just been awful. Entering play
Tuesday, D
<< Weaver leads Angels vs. White Sox
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jered Weaver hopes to bounce back from one of the worst
starts in his career this evening when the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
resume their four-game series with the Chicago White Sox at Angel Stadium.
Weaver
Struggling Dodgers begin trek in Milwaukee >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Brad Penny will try to rebound from a horrible outing when
he takes the hill tonight for the Los Angeles Dodgers, who will open a six-
game road trip with the first of three straight matchups against the Milwaukee
Brewers
Cardinals limp home to take on Pirates >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The St. Louis Cardinals hope that the home crowd can lift
their depleted spirits, as the slumping club opens a six-game homestand
tonight with the first of three straight games versus the Pittsburgh Pirates
at Busc
Royals sliding down AL Central standings >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Kansas City Royals have officially fizzled out.
After getting off to a decent start to the season, the losses are occurring
more frequently and just like that they are five games below .500. They've
lost five of their
Former Pats employee Walsh meets with NFL commissioner >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Former New England Patriots employee Matt
Walsh met with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell on Tuesday to discuss what he
knows about the team's videotaping practices.
Walsh is now on his way to a separa
In part two of MySportsbook.com’s draft preview, we’ll take a look at a division that was extremely disappointing last season: the NFC South. Many “experts” predicted the Panthers to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl, of course they could not even make the playoffs in an extremely weak NFC. The Saints definitely made up for the disappointing seasons of their NFC South brethren by exploding out of no where en route to the NFC Championship game. For the avid NFL gambler, it is imperative to pay attention to the NFL draft. Although free agency gets a ton of publicity, the successful franchises build their teams around the draft.
1. New Orleans Saints
Who would have thought this time last year that the Saints would be the favorites to win the NFC South for the 2007 campaign? New Orleans is loaded with firepower on the offensive side of the ball but with the exodus of Joe Horn they will most likely look to draft a WR on Day 1. Despite having the NFL’s 3rd ranked pass defense last season, the Saints will most likely upgrade their CB’s with one of their first two picks. Other possibilities for the Saints will be TE and DT. Because of where they will be selecting (27th), the Saints could go the “best available player” route which could net a LB.
Key additions: Eric Johnson TE, Troy Evans LB, David Patten WR
Key loses: Joe Horn WR,
Team needs: CB, WR, TE, LB, DT
Possible draftees: Aaron Ross CB Texas, Darrelle Revis CB Pitt, Ted Ginn Jr. WR OSU, Paul Posluszny LB PSU, Chris Houston CB Arkansas, Greg Olsen TE Miami
2. Carolina Panthers
Carolina was one of the biggest disappointments in the NFL last season. With the signing of David Carr, expect the very first quarterback controversy to come out of Carolina if Jake Delhomme doesn’t rebound quickly from an average 2007 season. With veteran safety Mike Minter getting up there in age, they will look to draft a safety on Day 1 but probably not in the first round. LB is another need with the loss of Chris Draft to go along with Dan Morgan’s concussion problems. If TE Greg Olsen is still on the board, he might be too good to pass up despite their needs on the defensive side of the ball.
Key additions: David Carr QB
Key loses: Chris Draft LB
Team needs: LB, TE, S, OT
Possible draftees: Greg Olsen TE Miami, Patrick Willis LB Ole Miss, Paul Posluszny LB PSU, Levi Brown OT PSU
3. Atlanta Falcons
The Falcons were another NFC South team to have a disappointing 2007 season. The Falcons have been plenty busy during the off season with plenty of players coming and going including a new head coach. The Falcons were able to improve their draft position with the trade of coveted backup QB Matt Schaub. High on the list of Day 1 needs will be a defensive end to replace Patrick Kerney and a hard hitting safety since Lawyer Milloy is nearing the end of his career. With an additional 2nd round pick, the Falcons could attempt to trade up to acquire local product WR Calvin Johnson.
Key additions: Joey Harrington QB, Toniu Fonoti OG, Joe Horn WR
Key loses: Justin Griffen RB, Patrick Kerney DE, Matt Lehr OG, Ashley Lelie WR, Matt Schaub QB
Team needs: DE, S, OT, WR, DT
Possible draftees: LaRon Landry S LSU, Amobi Okoye DT Louisville, Levi Brown OT PSU, Jamaal Anderson DE Arkansas, Alan Branch DT Michigan
4. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Age really caught up to the Bucs last season. The Bucs still have plenty of household names on defense in Ronde Barber, Simeon Rice and Derrick Brooks but the one thing those three have in common is unfortunately age. It is imperative for the Bucs to get much younger, especially on the defensive side of the ball. Despite having bigger needs on the defensive side of the ball, WR Calvin Johnson is the most likely pick if he is still available when the Bucs pick at the four spot. This would suit Bucs’ faithful just fine as Johnson is widely considered the top talent in the draft and it is a position of need for the Bucs.
Key additions: Jeff Garcia QB, Kevin Carter DE, Torrie Cox CB, Cato June LB
Key loses: Dewayne White DE, Sean Mahan OG
Team needs: WR, LB, DE, CB (Youth on defense!)
Possible draftees: Calvin Johnson WR Georgia Tech, Gains Adams DE Clemson, Jamaal Anderson DE Arkansas
It is never too early to start betting on the NFL. Log on to MySportsbook.com to checkout all of the NFL futures for the upcoming season. On the clock: the NFC North
Odds to win the NFC South:
New Orleans Saints 8-5
Carolina Panthers 2-1
Atlanta Falcons 12-5
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 9-2
Odds to win the NFC:
New Orleans Saints 13-2
Carolina Panthers 7-1
Atlanta Falcons 20-1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 25-1
Odds to win the Super Bowl:
New Orleans Saints 18-1
Carolina Panthers 20-1
Atlanta Falcons 50-1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 75-1
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