Indians hold off Royals
Baseball Betting Lines
04/21/2009 - Cleveland, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Grady Sizemore hit a three-run home run to help the Cleveland Indians take an 8-7 win over the Kansas City Royals in the opener of a three-game set at Jacobs Field.
Victor Martinez was 4-for-5 with a two-run home run while Mark DeRosa walked twice and scored three times for the Indians, who have won four of their last six games.
Aaron Laffey (1-0) got the win as he gave up just one run on seven hits with three walks and three strikeouts over seven innings.
David DeJesus hit a two-run home run and drove in three while Mark Teahen went 2-for-3 with a run scored and two RBI for the Royals, who have dropped their last two games.
Sidney Ponson (0-2) was saddled with the loss for giving up six runs on eight hits in just 3 1/3 innings of work.
Cleveland grabbed control of the game with four runs in the fourth. Back-to- back one-out singles from Ben Francisco and Asdrubal Cabrera was followed by a shot into the right field stands from Sizemore. Later in the frame, a wild pitch from Robinson Tejeda scored DeRosa for a 6-1 lead.
Kansas City had baserunners in every inning, but hit into double plays in each frame from the third through the seventh.
In the eighth, though, the Royals rallied off the Cleveland bullpen to make it a one-run game. Run-scoring singles from DeJesus, off Joe Smith and Teahen and Mike Jacobs both off Masa Kobayashi started things before Alberto Callaspo made it a 6-5 game with a sacrifice fly off Jensen Lewis.
However, Juan Cruz served up a two-run homer to Martinez in the bottom half that would prove costly as Kerry Wood gave up a two-out, two-run home run to DeJesus to make it a one-run game in the ninth. Wood recovered and struck out Billy Butler to pick up his second save of the season.
The Royals got a run in the first to take the early lead. Coco Crisp led off with a double and then stole third. After the next two batters recorded outs, Butler kept the inning alive with a walk and Teahen followed with a single to left that scored Crisp.
Cleveland, though, answered in the bottom of the first as the team loaded the bases and plated a runner when a passed ball by Miguel Olivo allowed Sizemore to cross the plate.
The Indians took a 2-1 lead in the third inning. Three consecutive singles loaded the bases to start the frame and Jhonny Peralta's fielder's choice scored DeRosa. Shin-Soo Choo, though, lined into a double play to end the inning.
Game Notes
Cleveland has won its past two games against KC after dropping the previous five...Ponson is 0-8 with an 8.96 earned run average against Cleveland in his career...The six double plays recorded by Cleveland tied a franchise mark, which the team has done four times...The six double plays Kansas City hit into set a new club record...Laffey is 3-2 in six starts against KC in his career.
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MySportsbook.com: NFL draft - The NFC South
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.