07/24/2008 - Baltimore, MD (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Lyle Overbay went 2-for-4 with a run batted in, and Toronto pitching racked up 11 strikeouts as the Blue Jays topped the Baltimore Orioles, 5-1, in the conclusion of a game that was suspended in the sixth inning Wednesday due to rain.
The game was halted for 1 hour, 44 minutes on Wednesday before the umpires decided to suspend the game and resume it Thursday afternoon.
Marco Scutaro and John McDonald each knocked in a run for the Blue Jays, winners in three of their last four games. A.J. Burnett (11-9) allowed a run on six hits in five innings Wednesday -- striking out seven without allowing a walk -- to pick up the win.
Aubrey Huff tripled and Melvin Mora knocked in the lone run for the Orioles, who have lost three of four. Jeremy Guthrie (6-8) surrendered two runs on six hits in 5 2/3 frames and took the loss, while Lance Cormier allowed two unearned runs in 1 2/3 innings of relief.
Tied 1-1, Alex Rios singled to begin the sixth, swiped second and came around to score on an Overbay single for a 2-1 lead. Overbay moved to third on a groundout by Rod Barajas and, after Matt Stairs grounded out sharply to third, Guthrie threw one pitch to Scott Rolen before the rain came.
When the game resumed on Thursday, Cormier came on in relief and got Rolen to ground out to the mound to end the inning.
Toronto's bullpen held the O's offense in check, allowing the Jays to put the game away in the eighth. Overbay slapped a leadoff double to left, and one out later, Cormier intentionally walked Stairs before being lifted for Randor Bierd. Rolen worked a walk to load the bases, then Adam Lind chopped a grounder to Kevin Millar at first. Millar threw home, but the ball sailed over catcher Ramon Hernandez's head and two runs came in. McDonald followed with a sacrifice fly to up the lead to 5-1.
Scott Downs worked a scoreless final two innings for the Jays to finish off the win.
The Blue Jays grabbed a 1-0 lead in the third. After stroking a lead-off single, Lind stole second, advanced to third on a McDonald base hit and later scored on a Scutaro groundout.
Baltimore tied the game in the fourth when Huff ripped a leadoff triple to deep left and Mora followed with an infield single.
Game Notes
Brian Roberts and Huff each had two hits for the O's...Toronto won despite going 3-for-16 with runners in scoring position and stranding 10 runners on base...The Orioles were 1-for-8 with runners in scoring position and stranded five...Roy Halladay (11-7) opposes Baltimore's Daniel Cabrera (6-5) in the second half of the impromptu doubleheader Thursday afternoon.
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Phillie
The San Francisco 49ers (5-11 SU, 5-10-1 ATS in 2007; 1-1 SU & ATS in pre-season) found some offensive life last week, and they will try to build some momentum on Thursday night as they travel to the Windy City to take on the Chicago Bears (7-9 SU & ATS in 2007; 0-2 SU, 0-1-1 ATS in pre-season) in an NFL matchup that is set to get underway at 8 PM ET at Soldier Field (natural turf) in Chicago.
Thursday, August 21
NFL betting odds: CHICAGO -3 (-120), Total 37
NOTABLE STAT: San Francisco was last in points, last in total offense in 2007
KEY NFL BETTING TREND: SF has lost its last seven SU on pre-season road
In the BetUS NFL pre-season football betting odds, the Bears are listed as a three-point favorite (laying -120), with the total posted at 37 points.
Here are some NFL football betting trends as they relate to this matchup (reflecting numbers going into the 2008 season):
* SF has lost 11 of its last 14 games SU
* SF has covered three of its last 11 games
* SF has lost six of its last seven road games SU
* SF has covered one of its last seven road games
* CHI has covered five of its last eight games
* CHI has played five of its last seven games OVER the total
* CHI has covered four of its last 13 home games
* SF has lost its last seven pre-season road games SU
* CHI has covered two of its last seven home pre-season games
Well, I guess we should congratulate the Bears on making their quarterback choice for the season's opening game, as they have designated Kyle Orton the starter against Indianapolis. The Bears obviously have lost patience with Rex Grossman, and what they do with him at this point is anybody's guess. But suffice it to say that there isn't a quarterback competition anymore, at least in training camp.
Meanwhile, the quarterback competition may also be settled in San Francisco, where the Niners bounced back from a lackluster 18-6 loss to the Raiders, in which they turned the ball over four times, to execute a 34-6 rout of the Packers last Saturday. However, coach Mike Nolan has stopped short of saying that, insisting that the job is still open. But J.T. O'Sullivan, the longshot of the trio of Niner signal-callers who opened camp, will start his third straight pre-season game here. Against Green Bay, O'Sullivan was only 8-for-17, and was intercepted, but he also threw for 9.1 yards an attempt, which included a 59-yard TD pass to Josh Morgan. The others struggled.
Some offensive cohesion is badly needed, in light of the Niners' dismal 2007 campaign, in which they were dead last in the NFL in scoring, with just 13.7 points a game. And O'Sullivan is the guy who is most familiar with offensive coordinator Mike Martz's exacting system, because he learned it last year in Detroit. O'Sullivan will go at least the entire first half and may even last longer. He'll be relieved by Alex Smith, with Shawn Hill doing the mop-up work. Three receivers who were out last week - Bryant Johnson, Ashley Lelie and Arnaz Battle - will miss this game too.
That may hurt a little here, especially since the Bears will be using a lot of their defensive starters. And it's the defense that has been keeping the Bears in games thus far. In fact, the defense and special teams were responsible for the first 19 points Chicago scored against Seattle last time out, as the offense really struggled with Grossman at the controls. But maybe the first-team offense has a chance to settle a little bit as it works more with Orton at the helm.
Certainly we have concerns about the Bears' offensive line, but we like the scenario for them here, especially if O'Sullivan doesn't make some bis plays. The Niners may have nowhere else to turn right now, and they have lost seven straight road games in the pre-season. Let's take Chicago, the three-point favorite in the NFL football betting odds.
CHICAGO -3 (-120) **
(Graded on a scale of 1-4 stars)
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