05/14/2008 - Minneapolis, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - 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.
<< 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
<< 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
<< Defensive blunder allows Royals to nip Tigers
Kansas City, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Zack Greinke threw six solid innings, Jose
Guillen hit a two-run double, and the Kansas City Royals used a Detroit error
to edge the Tigers, 3-2, in the opener of a three-game set.
Guillen finished the ga
<< Braun leads Brewers past struggling Dodgers
Milwaukee, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ryan Braun went 2-for-4 with a double, a
triple and two runs batted in, as the Milwaukee Brewers topped the suddenly
scuffling Los Angeles Dodgers, 5-3, in the opener of a three-game series at
Miller
Hornets push Spurs closer to elimination with blowout win >>
New Orleans, LA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - David West had career playoff-highs of 38
points and 14 rebounds, and the New Orleans Hornets continued their success at
home with a 101-79 win over San Antonio, pushing ahead after five games of
their W
Drew, D'Backs down Rockies >>
Phoenix, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Stephen Drew clubbed a three-run home
run to lead the Arizona Diamondbacks past the Colorado Rockies, 8-4 in the
opener of a three-game set.
Orlando Hudson went 2-for-4, knocked in two runs and s
Cain does it all as Giants nip Astros >>
San Francisco, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Matt Cain allowed just two runs over
eight innings and hit his second home run of the year as the San Francisco
Giants edged the Houston Astros, 4-2, in the second of a four-game set at AT&T
Par
Weaver flirts with no-no as Halos edge ChiSox >>
Anaheim, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jered Weaver threw seven innings of one-hit
ball, and Mike Napoli's sacrifice fly drove in the winning run, as the Los
Angeles Angels earned a 2-0 win over the Chicago White Sox.
Weaver actually had a no-hitte
American Idol odds : Blake Lewis the Early Standout
An important American Idol betting lines recap from February 20 Guys episode. The 12 men came out flat overall with Blake Lewis appearing to have the early edge after the first hour and a half.
Rudy - was quite good singing "Free Ride" to start off. Randy was not impressed though. Paula thought he started off fantastic. "Never had anyone stop off so lively" said Paula but Simon (who does not like Rudy) does not feel he has a distinct voice and was not impressed either.
Brandon was a little pitchy according to Randy and Paula agreed. Simon said he was a good singer but the song was "too safe" and he needs to make an impact. He was listed at +1200 odds or $1200 paid out on a $100 bet should he win the competition.
Big favorite Sundance came in with a flat version of "Knights in White Satin" and the judges let him have it, including Paula. Randy claimed the song was out of pitch throughout.
Korean American - and a Jenny Woo favorite - Paul Kim was up next. Another pitchy flat one but Randy said he still liked his potential. Kim at +3000 odds was said to have sung a "third rate version of that (George Michael) song" according to Simon Cowell. He sang "Careless Whisper".
22 year old Chris Richardson was up next. He was listed with +1100 odds coming in. He got the best response from the judges though Simon did not believe the vocal was that great.
Nick was boring and pitchy. Simon didn't think he was that bad though and predicted he would be back next week. Nick Pedro was a big +3000 dog coming into this competition.
Beat boxer Blake Lewis was listed with early +1000 odds or $1000 payout on a $100 bet if he were to become the next American Idol winner odds . These of course were the early odds. He was considered original for picking an "odd song". He did not beat box and the judges felt it was the best vocal of the night.
Sanjaya came in as the second biggest favorite after Chris Sligh but his performance Tuesday night was not very good.
Chris Sleigh was the early favorite at +450 odds. Great voice and a great sense of humor. He's a real standout. Randy felt it was on point but maybe ahead of the chorus a little bit. Simon Cowell said he felt like he was in some "sort of weird student gig".
Jared Cotter followed. He was listed with +2000 odds early on to win the competition. The judges felt he needs to take more risks but looked good.
22-year old AJ Talbado, who has tried out for American Idol five times, was up next. "Kind of a theme park performance" said Simon. Though the judges felt he performed okay. Simon did feel AJ might be better than he originally thought.
Phil - this season's military favorite - came into this competition with +1200 odds to win the competition. He was the last to perform. He was certainly strong enough to get through this stage of the competition and perhaps the best one after a shaky start.
Tomorrow night, the ladies perform and I sure hope they do a better job than the boys. Check out all the American Idol betting odds here.
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Academy Award Betting Odds for Best Picture Offer Great Value
If there is any category that is not an obvious win for any one nominee in this year's Academy Awards, it would be for Best Picture. Sure the Departed is a 5/7 favorite, but that's hardly anything when we look at Helen Mirren and her "out-of-reach" 1 to 40 odds (which means you would win a whopping $1 for every $40 bet).
For value, take a look at MySportsbook.com Oscars betting odds on my personal favorite, The Queen - a remarkable 12 to 1 long shot. The film hasn't won any pre-awards for Best Picture (compared to The Departed and Little Miss Sunshine), but there is a tremendous following and it is a strong enough film to warrant a surprise win.
TV Guide advises Oscar watchers should be cautioned not to discount the drama "Babel" with its strong social themes about overcoming communication gaps among people of different cultures.
"While 'Babel' lost several guild awards to 'Sunshine' and 'Departed,' it still enjoys loyal support, and historically Oscar voters favor dramas with social messages over comedies like 'Sunshine' and violent crime movies like 'Departed'."
"It hasn't done well in the guilds, which means there isn't much industry support," said Tom O'Neil of awards site TheEnvelope.com, "But several critics are expecting it to win, and that gets my attention." Babel had 7 to 2 odds at press time.
Who is to say independently produced Little Miss Sunshine won't be this year's Crash. Last year, Crash won for Best Motion Picture, shocking those who bet on gay cowboy flick, Brokeback Mountain, as the favorite to win.
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