Thames' tie-breaking homer pushes Yanks past Jays

Baseball Betting Lines

09/04/2010 - Bronx, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Marcus Thames clubbed a two-run homer to snap a seventh-inning tie, lifting the New York Yankees to a 7-5 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays in the second of a three-game series at Yankee Stadium.

Robinson Cano singled home a pair of runs in New York's season-high eighth straight victory. Brett Gardner and Derek Jeter also knocked in a run apiece as the Yankees increased their lead in the AL East to two games over Tampa Bay, which is set to play Saturday night against Baltimore.

Javier Vazquez was back in New York's starting rotation after a stint in the bullpen and was roughed up for five runs on four hits and four walks in 4 2/3 innings. Joba Chamberlain (2-4) picked up the win with a scoreless inning of relief and Mariano Rivera worked around a two-out single in the ninth for his 29th save.

Lyle Overbay homered, doubled and drove in three runs for Toronto, which has lost three straight and five of its last six. John McDonald also connected for a two-run homer in defeat.

The Yankees snapped a 5-5 deadlock with a two-out rally in the seventh against Toronto reliever Jason Frasor (3-4). After the first two batters were retired, Cano singled and Thames followed with a blast over the wall in left-center field for his 11th home run of the season.

"Big. Huge home run," said Yankees manager Joe Girardi about Thames' homer. "Marcus has been a huge addition for us."

Kerry Wood took over for Chamberlain in the eighth and set Toronto down in order and Rivera came on in the ninth, striking out Aaron Hill to end it.

Vazquez retired the side in order in the first, but immediately ran into trouble in the second. Overbay connected for a one-out homer, his 17th of the season, and McDonald added his two-run shot off the left field foul pole to make it 3-0.

The Yankees tied it in the third. Francisco Cervelli hustled out a double with one out and Gardner drew a walk before Jeter doubled just inside the bag at third to score one run. Mark Teixeira walked to load the bases for Cano, who came through with a two-run single to center.

New York then went ahead with two in the fourth. Cervelli doubled to put two aboard for Gardner, who scored one with a grounder to shortstop. After Jeter walked, Cervelli scored on a wild pitch to make it 5-3.

Vazquez issued a two-out walk to Jose Bautista in the fifth and Vernon Wells singled. Dustin Moseley came on for the Yankees and Overbay greeted him with a double to chase home both runners.

"I was battling all day," said Vazquez, who was surprised at being lifted one out away from qualifying for a win. "It could have been a better outing, but the fact that I got taken out early...I didn't have a chance. He's still the manager and you have to respect that."

Game Notes

Bautista, the big league leader with 43 homers, was ejected in the seventh inning for arguing a called third strike...Toronto starter Mark Rzepczynski was tagged for five runs on six hits in four innings...The Yankees evened the season series at seven wins apiece...Yankees lefty Andy Pettitte, sidelined with a groin strain, threw a simulated game and reported no pain...Yankee slugger Alex Rodriguez also hit during the simulated game and could be activated off the disabled list Sunday.

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Elite 8 NCAA Tournament Betting at online sportsbook MySportsbook.com

In what should be an outstanding Saturday of March Madness betting action, the top four teams in the South and West Regions square off in what should be extremely close match-ups. Three of the four teams are coming off extremely close games on Thursday evening, only UCLA won semi comfortably over Pitt 64-55.

Ohio State is coming off their second game in a row where in all reality they should have lost. Of course that doesn’t matter now since the name of the game is “survive and advance” but as the tournament continues, they can’t afford to keep getting down to their opponents early. Kansas also avoided a scare by holding off a scrappy Southern Illinois squad. In the third thrilling game of the evening Memphis pulled off the minor upset (+3.5) despite being the higher seed to Texas A&M.

Although the spreads are fairly small for Saturday’s games, MySportsbook.com continue to bet against the underdogs. Despite OSU’s two scares, 86% of the “betting public” feels the Buckeyes (-1.5) have what it takes to make the Final Four. In fact, so much of the early money is on OSU that the line has already moved from -1 to -1.5. In the second game of the doubleheader, Kansas and their high-powered offense are 2 point favorites as they take on UCLA and their effective defense. About 63% of the early money thus far is once again backing the favorites. If those percentages stay that high, don’t be surprised if this line moves as well. If you like Kansas (-2) you might want to jump on it early.

Memphis vs. Ohio State

Both squads were involved in thrillers on Thursday evening and should come out fired up. OSU can ill afford to get behind early like they did versus their previous two opponents (Xavier, Tennessee). Greg Oden needs to stay out of foul trouble; the Buckeyes are a completely different team when he is on the court. Memphis definitely has the athleticism and length to match-up with OSU. Of Memphis’ five leading minute earners, the shortest of the bunch is 6’5”. Each team has a very effective defense; Memphis surrenders 62.3 PPG whereas the Buckeyes give up only 61 PPG. With those type of numbers, it isn’t surprising that Memphis covered the UNDER almost 69% of the time this season. As a favorite, OSU has covered the UNDER almost 66% of the time over the last three seasons. The major concern for Memphis which is magnifies this time of the year is their brutal foul shooting (62%). This season, OSU is 17-11 ATS versus teams with a winning record and 7-2 ATS in all tournament games. Memphis has been an extremely reliable cover in tournament play in recent years with a 23-8 ATS record over the last three seasons.

UCLA vs. Kansas

In the second game of Saturday’s doubleheader, UCLA will play in a role which they are very unfamiliar with that of the underdog. Only twice this season have they been getting points from the handicappers and both times they covered. Over the last three seasons UCLA is a reliable 23-7 ATS in this unfamiliar role. UCLA has not fared well against Big 12 opponents recently going 1-7 ATS since 1997. Giving up only 59.6 PPG, UCLA will definitely look to do what they do best: keep this game as low scoring as possible. Their defense has been especially tough during the tournament. UCLA opponents have been able to muster up only 48.7 PPG while shooting a combined 34.5% from the field. UCLA definitely has a challenge at hand with a Kansas team that is capable of putting points on the board in bunches. As a team, they average 79 PPG and shoot an impressive 49.6% from the field and 39.4% from beyond the arc. During the tournament Kansas has been “lights out” from the field having shot 56.2%.

With Friday -105 juice on Basketball betting, MySportsbook.com is the place to bet on all of the “March Madness” action.  Don’t forget to monitor who the public is backing at MySportsbook.com’s “Betting Trends”.  By doing so, you have the best chance of predicting a possible line change, thus getting the best value for your wager.

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