Buehrle helps White Sox complete second straight shutout of Royals
Baseball Betting Lines
08/14/2008 -
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mark Buehrle threw seven shutout innings, and
Jermaine Dye finished with a double and run batted in for Chicago, which shut
out Kansas City for the second game in a row, 4-0.
On Tuesday, in the opener of this three-game set, Javier Vazquez blanked the
Royals for eight innings. Buehrle (10-10) followed that performance by giving
up just five hits while walking none and striking out five. Over his past two
outings, both wins, Buehrle has allowed just one run in 14 innings pitched.
"I thought he had one of his better fastballs that he's had this season,"
White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen said of Buehrle. "He wasn't dominant, but he
was darn good."
Paul Konerko and Ken Griffey, Jr. each finished 1-for-3 with an RBI for the
White Sox, who have won three of four. Chicago also maintained its half-game
lead over Minnesota in the AL Central, as the Twins beat the Yankees earlier
Wednesday.
Luke Hochevar (6-11) got tagged with the loss despite a solid start in which
he allowed three runs on five hits in seven frames. The former number one
overall pick in the 2006 MLB Draft struck out four and walked one in the loss.
Billy Butler had two of the five hits for Kansas City, which has lost six of
seven.
"I thought Luke pitched extremely well after the first inning," Royals manager
Trey Hillman said. "He really had trouble using all of his pitches in the
first. After that I thought he was outstanding. They pitched two outstanding
ballgames against us. It's hard to win when you don't score any runs."
The White Sox backed Buehrle with two runs in the first inning. Orlando
Cabrera led off with a single and went to second on Tony Pena's throwing
error. A.J. Pierzynski then sacrificed Cabrera to third, and Dye doubled to
center to bring the run in. Later, Griffey singled to plate Dye for a 2-0
lead.
Consecutive singles from Juan Uribe and Chris Getz began the home fifth,
putting runners on the corners. A ground out put them both in scoring position
for Pierzynski, who drove in Uribe with a ground out to short.
Buehrle, meanwhile, worked out of a few jams. After putting runners in scoring
position with two outs in the second, he struck out John Buck to end the
threat. In the following frame, Kansas City again had runners in scoring
position, with one out -- but Buehrle fanned David DeJesus and Jose Guillen to
escape.
The Chicago starter set the Royals down in order in the fifth, sixth and
seventh before Octavio Dotel took over for the eighth and worked a 1-2-3
inning.
Konerko's RBI single in the home eighth plated Pierzynski for the final White
Sox run, and Bobby Jenks was perfect in the ninth to close out the game.
Game Notes
The White Sox last won consecutive shutouts on April 12-13, both against
Detroit...On Wednesday, Chicago agreed to terms with infielder Gordon Beckham
on a minor league contract. Beckham was the club's first-round pick and the
eighth overall selection of the 2008 draft. The University of Georgia product
hit .411 with 28 homers and 77 runs batted in this past season...Hochevar has
lost his past three starts.
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Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Daniel Murphy clubbed a two-run homer and
added an RBI single, as the New York Mets -- aided by an eight-run third
inning -- cruised to a 12-0 win in the second test of a three-game series
against
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Denver, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Brad Hawpe clubbed a two-run homer in the bottom
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from the Arizona Diamondbacks to hang on for a 6-5 win in the middle
install
<< Cardinals hang on to edge Marlins
Miami, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Troy Glaus collected a game-high four hits and
finished with an RBI and a run scored to lead the St. Louis Cardinals over the
Florida Marlins, 6-4, in the third game of a four-game set at Dolphin Stadium.
Jaso
<< D-Backs reinstate Slaten from DL, option Buckner
Denver, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Arizona Diamondbacks reinstated left-handed
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with a 4.40 earned
<< Wells' slam helps Blue Jays hold off Tigers
Detroit, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Vernon Wells clubbed his fifth career grand
slam and David Purcey was stellar on the hill, as the Toronto Blue Jays
staved off a late rally to edge the Detroit Tigers, 4-3, in the third
install
Blazers' G Roy to undergo surgery >>
Portland, OR (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Portland Trail Blazers guard Brandon Roy will
have arthroscopic knee surgery on Thursday to repair a tear in the meniscus of
his left knee, the club announced Wednesday.
An MRI taken Tuesday revealed the tear
The San Jose Earthquakes >>
Waived defender/midfielder Amir Lowery.
Oklahoma City >>
Acquired forward Joe Smith from Cleveland and forward Desmond Mason from Milwaukee in exchange for forward Adrian Griffin and guard Luke Ridnour.
Izturis leaves after injuring thumb >>
Anaheim, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim shortstop Maicer
Izturis left Wednesday's contest against the Seattle Mariners in the top of
the ninth with an injury to his thumb.
Yuniesky Betancourt hit a grounder towards
Zobrist, Rays edge A's >>
Oakland, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ben Zobrist hit the go-ahead RBI double in the
seventh and the Rays took the second test of their three-game series against
the Athletics, 3-2, at McAfee Coliseum.
Andy Sonnanstine (12-6) threw his third
Online Sportsbook Football Betting
Colts give the ‘D’ its due
The Indianapolis Colts know that winning the Super Bowl last season put a huge target on their backs, and they expect opponents to go all-out to knock them from the top of the mountain.
They’ll get their first test from the New Orleans Saints this Thursday night. The defending champs had nothing but good things to say about the New Orleans defense this past week, praising their opponents’ pass rush and run-stopping abilities.
"They play very aggressively," head coach Tony Dungy told the New Orleans Times-Picayune. "They play a lot of man-to-man coverage, and they come after you. They have good pass rushers, and they're going to try to pressure us, I'm sure."
Both center Jeff Saturday and quarterback Peyton Manning gave New Orleans’ front four props, admitting keeping guys like Will Smith and Charles Grant contained would be a tall task for the offensive line.
New Orleans ranked second in total defense during the preseason at a sportsbook, allowing just under 233 yards per game. Last season, the defense finished 11th in the league after giving up 307.3 yards and 20.1 points per contest.
Not so sound on the ground
If Indianapolis' efficient offense has a weakness it has to be its running attack. The Colts one-two-punch of Dominic Rhodes and Joseph Addai is no longer, leaving the bulk of the carries to Addai, the second-year back out of LSU.
Former Saskatchewan Roughrider Kenton Keith was named Addai’s backup this week after beating out DeDe Dorsey for the second-string position. Indy has only three backs on the roster right now, including fullback Luke Lawton, and coach Dungy is aware of the thinness of his ground game. Sports Betting lines on the game can be found at BettingExpress.com
“We’ll continue to look. Luke Lawton’s done a good job for us too. So probably getting a third true tailback is something that we’d like to do,” Dungy told the Indiana Tribune-Star.
Last season, Addai rushed for over 1,000 yards in his rookie campaign and scored seven touchdowns on the ground.
Brees says bring it on
Opening the season on the road against the defending Super Bowl champions is not the way most teams would like to kick off their year – unless you’re the New Orleans Saints or their quarterback Drew Brees. This internet Sportsbooks had the Saints as the favorites.
Brees told the New Orleans Times-Picayune that he is excited to get the regular season started and the Colts are a great challenge for him and his teammates. The 28-year-old QB, entering his second season with the Saints, is expecting a wild environment in the RCA Dome this Thursday when the franchise celebrates its 2007-2007 championship.
Brees said he sees the opening game scheduling as an honor and a testament to how well New Orleans did last season. The Saints missed facing the Colts in the Super Bowl by one game, losing to the Chicago Bears in the NFC Championship game.
"I mean, people think we can hang with these guys," Brees told reporters. "Even if they didn't, it wouldn't matter what they thought because as a team we're very confident. We know what we can do. We're not satisfied where we finished the season last year. And we've been looking forward to this opportunity for a long time."
SportsBooks ready for a shootout
Oddsmakers are preparing for some fireworks this Thursday when the NFL season kicks off. online Sportsbooks have Thursday’s total set at a whopping 52 points, accounting for two of the league’s most explosive offenses.
“This is like must-see TV,” Saints cornerback and former Colt Jason David told the Baton Rouge Advocate. “It’s two exciting offenses with great players. You’ve got a lot of star power on offense. At any given time a big play can happen. If I was a fan, I wouldn’t miss a snap.”
New Orleans, who ranked No.1 in total offense last season, can go blow-for-blow with the Colts’ attack. Head coach Sean Payton’s offensive schemes will get even better production out of Drew Brees, Reggie Bush and receiver Marques Colston now that they’ve each had a season of playing together under their belts.
The Saints and Colts were the top two passing teams in the NFL last year, but while Indianapolis managed to put up almost 27 points per game, New Orleans struggled to capitalize on their efforts. The Saints ranked fifth in points per game.
“Yards are great,” running back Deuce McAllister told reporters, “but to be able to score more touchdowns would be important for us.”
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