09/05/2008 - Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Alex Rios hit a pair of home runs and Roy Halladay threw seven effective innings, as the Toronto Blue Jays toppled Tampa Bay, 6-4, in the first of three games with the Rays.
Halladay (18-9) gave up three runs -- one earned -- on seven hits, walked none and struck out seven to pick up the win. The victory was Toronto's sixth straight, marking the first time the club has won that many in a row since May 4-10, 2004.
Rios finished with three runs batted in, while Lyle Overbay doubled and drove in two for the Jays.
Andy Sonnanstine (13-7) took the loss after allowing four runs on five hits in six frames. He had won his last three decisions.
Jason Bartlett went 2-for-4 with a double and two RBI for Tampa Bay, which led the AL East by 3 1/2 games over Boston heading into Friday night's action. The Red Sox are currently playing the Rangers.
The Rays took a two-run edge in the first inning when Carlos Pena and Cliff Floyd each brought in a run with a sacrifice fly.
But the Blue Jays rallied to take the lead in the second. Vernon Wells led off with a double, and singles from Adam Lind and Rod Barajas loaded the bases. Overbay then slapped a hit to center that B.J. Upton booted, allowing two runs to cross the plate. Scott Rolen followed with a sac fly to make it a 3-2 game.
In the home third, Rios blasted a home run to left field to put Toronto up two.
The game remained that way until the seventh inning, when Dioner Navarro hit a one-out single. Gabe Gross followed with a double to put runners in scoring position, and Bartlett singled to drive in Fernando Perez -- who pinch-ran for Navarro.
But Akinori Iwamura batted the ball back to Halladay, who caught Gross in a rundown between third and home. The Toronto starter then fanned Upton to leave Tampa Bay trailing by one.
Rios' two-run homer in the bottom of the eighth, off Grant Balfour, gave Toronto a 6-3 edge. It also provided crucial insurance as the Rays staged a comeback in the ninth.
Against B.J. Ryan, Perez led off with his first major league hit, and scored on Bartlett's one-out double to the gap in left field. After Iwamura struck out, Upton got on base thanks to an error, and stole second to put the tying runs in scoring position. However, Ryan struck out Pena to nail down his 27th save of the season.
Game Notes
Toronto had gone an MLB-leading 15 straight games without an error, the longest errorless streak in franchise history, but committed two in Friday's game...The Rays left eight runners on base, while the Jays stranded two.
<< Cards' Isringhausen to undergo elbow surgery
St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Jason
Isringhausen, currently on the 15-day disabled list with a right elbow strain,
will undergo season-ending surgery next week.
The procedure is slated for September
<< Rangers OF Byrd injures thumb
Arlington, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Texas Rangers outfielder Marlon Byrd left
Friday's game with the Boston Red Sox after spraining his left thumb.
The injury occurred while Byrd tried to make a diving catch on Dustin
Pedroia's line drive in
<< Rangers' Kinsler to have season-ending surgery
Arlington, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Texas Rangers second baseman Ian Kinsler
will undergo season-ending surgery to repair a sports hernia.
Kinsler, out since August 18 with the injury, decided to forego an attempt to
come back this season
<< Im still in front at Canadian Tour Championship
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Daniel Im posted a four-under 68 on Friday to
stay atop the leaderboard after the second round of the Canadian Tour
Championship.
Im finished 36 holes at 12-under 132 and is one ahead at National P
Leishman takes over top spot in Utah >>
Sandy, UT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Australia's Marc Leishman fired an eight-under 63
Friday to take a one-shot lead after two rounds of the Utah Championship.
Leishman completed two rounds at 14-under-par 128. His 63 matched the course
record f
Bruce's slam highlights Reds rout of Cubbies >>
Cincinnati, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jay Bruce hit a grand slam and Joey Votto
added a two-run homer, as the Cincinnati Reds pounded the Chicago Cubs, 10-2,
in the opener of a three-game set at Great American Ball Park.
Votto finished 2-fo
Braves notch back-to-back wins over Nats >>
Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rookie Brandon Jones highlighted a seven-run
third inning with a three-run double, carrying Atlanta to a 10-5 win over the
Washington Nationals.
Kelly Johnson had three hits, including a pair of doubles,
A's crush O's >>
Baltimore, MD (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Dallas Braden and the Oakland bullpen held
down the Baltimore offense, while the Athletics finally took advantage of
suspect pitching in an 11-2 rout over the Orioles in a rain-soaked opener of a
three-g
March Madness odds and printable March Madness brackets
With the field of 64/65 set, MySportsbook.com has the Florida Gators as the 4-1 favorite to successfully defend their National Championship. Men’s Division-1 College Basketball has not seen a team repeat as National Champions since Duke won back to back championships in ’91 & ‘92. After losing three out of four late in the season, the Gators are full of momentum as they won their last four games by an average of 18 points. Not surprisingly, right behind the Gators are the other three top seeds: Kansas 5-1, UNC 6-1, and Ohio State 7-1. Many consider Kansas to be the hottest team in the country, having won 11 straight. With Kansas, it is hard to ignore all of the early exits from the “dance” in recent years. With an impressive ACC Tournament, UNC ensured themselves the other top seed. UNC has about as much talent as any other team in the tournament but with a team that’s best players are primarily freshman and sophomores, could youth be a concern. Behind freshman sensation, Greg Oden, OSU will look to do what their football team failed to do just a few months earlier. OSU seems to have peeked at the right time, as they currently have a 17 game winning streak. Since the tournament field was expanded in 1985, there has never been an instance where all four #1 seeds advanced to the Final Four. It is obvious that each of the top seeds have the talent to make it through to Atlanta. But as everyone knows, when makes the NCAA Tournament so special are all of the spoilers and “Cinderella” stories that knock off the favorites on a daily basis.
Be sure to logon to MySportsbook.com to see check out all of the early lines and “March Madness” props. Also be sure to enter the “$10,000,000 Perfect Bracket Contest”. If someone has the skills to predict every winner, they will be set for life and walk away with $10,000,000. Even if no one can cash in on the Grand Prize, with a $35,000 guaranteed prize pool and a Mazda RX-8 to the first prize winner, Sportsbook.com’s bracket is a must for all “March Madness” fans.
MySportsbook.com’s odds to win the Championship and Regions:
| EAST | National Championship | Region |
| Arkansas | 300-1 | 50-1 |
| Belmont | 1000-1 | |
| Boston College | 100-1 | 40-1 |
| Eastern KY | 1000-1 | |
| George Washington | 75-1 | |
| Georgetown | 10-1 | 3-2 |
| Marquette | 100-1 | 40-1 |
| Michigan State | 100-1 | 25-1 |
| New Mexico St. | 500-1 | 200-1 |
| UNC | 6-1 | 6-5 |
| Oral Roberts | 500-1 | |
| Texas | 15-1 | 5-1 |
| Texas Tech | 200-1 | 5-1 |
| USC | 75-1 | 20-1 |
| Vanderbilt | 100-1 | 30-1 |
| Washington State | 40-1 | 15-1 |
| WEST | ||
| Duke | 50-1 | 10-1 |
| Florida A&M | 1000-1 | |
| Gonzaga | 200-1 | 40-1 |
| Holy Cross | 300-1 | |
| Illinois | 300-1 | 60-1 |
| Indiana | 75-1 | 40-1 |
| Kansas | 5-1 | 13-10 |
| Kentucky | 100-1 | 40-1 |
| Niagara | 1000-1 | |
| Pittsburgh | 40-1 | 8-1 |
| Southern Ill. | 50-1 | 12-1 |
| UCLA | 10-1 | 3-2 |
| VCU | 500-1 | 100-1 |
| Villanova | 100-1 | 40-1 |
| VA Tech | 50-1 | 15-1 |
| Weber St | 1000-1 | |
| Wright St | 1000-1 | 300-1 |
| MIDWEST | ||
| Arizona | 50-1 | 30-1 |
| Butler | 40-1 | 30-1 |
| Davidson | 300-1 | |
| Florida | 4-1 | 4-5 |
| Georgia Tech | 75-1 | 25-1 |
| Jackson State | 1000-1 | |
| Maryland | 30-1 | 6-1 |
| Miami-OH | 300-1 | |
| Notre Dame | 100-1 | 20-1 |
| ODU | 500-1 | 100-1 |
| Oregon | 40-1 | 6-1 |
| Purdue | 300-1 | 60-1 |
| Texas A&M CC | 1000-1 | |
| UNLV | 100-1 | 30-1 |
| Winthrop | 500-1 | 100-1 |
| Wisconsin | 15-1 | 7-2 |
| SOUTH | ||
| Albany | 200-1 | |
| BYU | 200-1 | 40-1 |
| Central CT St. | 1000-1 | |
| Creighton | 100-1 | 35-1 |
| Long Beach St. | 500-1 | 200-1 |
| Louisville | 40-1 | 10-1 |
| Memphis | 30-1 | 4-1 |
| Nevada | 75-1 | 35-1 |
| North Texas | 500-1 | |
| Ohio State | 7-1 | 6-5 |
| Penn | 500-1 | |
| Stanford | 200-1 | 50-1 |
| Tennessee | 100-1 | 20-1 |
| Texas A&M | 12-1 | 11-5 |
| Virginia | 75-1 | 18-1 |
| Xavier | 100-1 | 40-1 |
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