08/27/2008 - Detroit, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kelly Shoppach and Shin-Soo Choo each hit a two-run homer to lead Cleveland to its 10th straight victory, as the Indians edged the Tigers, 9-7, in the finale of a three-game set.
Grady Sizemore ended with a pair of RBI for the Indians, who have won five of their last seven versus the Tigers. Jhonny Peralta and Ryan Garko drove in a run apiece in the win. Fausto Carmona (7-5) got the win after lasting six innings and giving up four runs on seven hits.
"I thought Fausto got better as the game wore on," said Indians manager Eric Wedge. "He did a very good job of settling down."
Curtis Granderson went 3-for-4 and notched his 17th career leadoff homer for the Tigers, who have dropped four in a row and five of their last seven. Magglio Ordonez went 2-for-5 with a two-run homer and finished with three RBI in defeat. Justin Verlander (10-14) was tagged with the loss after getting touched for five runs on seven hits in six frames while fanning eight and walking three.
"I felt the best that I have all year tonight," Verlander said. "I had good stuff. It's funny, I had nothing in Kansas City in my last start and won and tonight I lost."
Cleveland took a 1-0 lead in the first as David Dellucci doubled, moved to third on Ben Francisco's ground out and crossed home when Peralta singled to left. Granderson led off the home half with a shot to left, and the game was knotted at one.
The Tribe got back to business in the second. Garko led off with a walk and Shoppach followed with a single before Andy Marte advanced them both into scoring position with a sac bunt. Two batters later, Sizemore plated them both with a single to center, making it 3-1.
In the bottom half, though, the Tigers went in front. It was second and third as Jeff Larish singled, Gary Sheffield walked and Edgar Renteria dropped down a sac bunt. Brandon Inge, Ramon Santiago and Granderson all clubbed RBI singles to give Detroit a 4-3 advantage.
The game tilted back in Cleveland's favor, 5-4, as Garko opened the fourth by getting drilled by a Verlander fastball and Shoppach followed with a homer to left.
Gary Glover came in to pitch for Detroit in the seventh and walked leadoff hitter Peralta before Choo took the first pitch he saw over the fence in right for a 7-4 Indians lead.
Granderson worked a one-out walk off Rafael Perez in the bottom half and Rafael Betancourt came on in relief to get Marcus Thames to go down swinging. Ordonez, though, belted an RBI double to the gap in right to pull the Tigers within two.
Cleveland tacked on two more insurance runs in the ninth as back-to-back RBI singles from Garko and Shoppach made it 9-5.
Ordonez crushed a two-out homer to right off Jensen Lewis in the ninth inning, which also scored Granderson, to pull Detroit within 9-7. But Miguel Cabrera went down swinging to end the game.
Game Notes
Carmona improved to 6-2 lifetime against Detroit and 3-0 this season...Since August 8, the Indians are 16-3...Sheffield is 0 for his last 16...Cleveland's team record for consecutive wins is 13. The Indians pulled within two games of .500 for the first time since May 21...The Tribe improved to 8-7 in their 15 matchups with the Tigers this season...Detroit recalled Larish from Triple-A Toledo and optioned pitcher Chris Lambert to Toledo prior to the game.
<< Pedroia helps BoSox slam Yanks
Bronx, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jason Bay finished 2-for-4 with four RBI and
Dustin Pedroia added a grand slam as Boston routed the New York Yankees,
11-3, in the middle contest of a three-game set from Yankee Stadium.
Jacoby Ellsbu
<< Delgado leads Mets past Phils, back into first place
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Carlos Delgado hit a pair of home runs
and drove in three, as the New York Mets rallied to beat Philadelphia, 6-3,
and leapfrog the Phillies to retake the lead in the NL East.
In the first game o
<< Redding, Nats edge reeling Dodgers
Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tim Redding pitched six solid innings and
Ryan Zimmerman hit his first home run since May 17, as the Washington
Nationals held on for a 5-4 win over the reeling Los Angeles Dodgers, in the
second
<< O's dodge the brooms with big win over ChiSox
Baltimore, MD (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Melvin Mora, Aubrey Huff and Kevin Millar
all homered as Baltimore avoided a sweep by routing Chicago, 11-3, in the
finale of a three-game set at Camden Yards.
Brian Roberts was 2-for-5 with three R
Roddick, Djokovic, Davydenko cruise in Big Apple >>
Flushing Meadows, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - American Andy Roddick along with
last year's runner-up Novak Djokovic of Serbia and Russian star Nikolay
Davydenko were easy first-round winners Wednesday at the U.S. Open.
Third-seeded D
Ludwick leads Cards past Brewers >>
St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ryan Ludwick finished 3-for-4 with two runs
batted in, as St. Louis used a four-run eighth inning to upend Milwaukee, 5-3,
and earn a split in the two-game set with the Brewers.
Albert Pujols and Yadier Mo
Angels' Kendrick leaves game early >>
Anaheim, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim second baseman
Howie Kendrick left Wednesday's game against the Oakland Athletics in the
fourth inning with an injured leg.
Kendrick was running to second base on Mark
Angels' Kendrick and Aybar leave game early >>
Anaheim, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim second baseman
Howie Kendrick and shortstop Erick Aybar both left Wednesday's 6-5 loss to
the Oakland Athletics with hamstring injuries.
Kendrick was running to second ba
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
To visit this sportsbook get to MySportsbook.com for all your online sportsbook needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.
Sports Betting News: NFL Team History | Football Betting | Baseball Betting | Basketball Betting | Hockey Betting | Golf Betting | Tennis Betting | Auto Racing Betting | Horse Racing Betting | Soccer Betting