Bautista homers again as Jays hammer Rays

Baseball Betting Lines

08/31/2010 - St. Petersburg, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jose Bautista's 43rd home run of the season highlighted a 10-run sixth inning as Toronto hammered the Rays, 13-5, at Tropicana Field.

Bautista leads the league in homers with his three-run blast giving him 102 RBI on the year, becoming the second player in the majors to reach the century mark. He later added an RBI single for a four-RBI night, but still trails the Tigers' Miguel Cabrera in the category.

Aaron Hill had a two-run homer, John McDonald hit a solo home run and DeWayne Wise ended with three hits, knocked in two and scored twice in the rout that snapped a two-game skid and evened the three-game series at a game apiece.

Meanwhile, Toronto starter Ricky Romero (11-8) pitched a three-hitter, leaving after 7 1/3 innings having allowed five runs -- four earned -- and five walks with as many strikeouts.

Tampa Bay faltered a night after taking the series opener, 6-2, and saw the Yankees grab sole possession of first place in the AL East by a game with their 9-3 rout of Oakland on Tuesday. The Rays still lead Boston in the wild card standings by a healthy seven games.

The hosts' undoing came by way of starter Jeff Niemann (10-5), who was roughed up for seven hits and seven runs in five-plus innings. He pitched to six batters in the fateful sixth frame without recording an out before Lance Cormier came on to allow four runs.

After McDonald's home run in the third, Tampa Bay actually took the lead on a Ben Zobrist RBI single and Dan Johnson's two-run double in the fifth.

It was all Toronto from there, starting with the marathon 10-run sixth as fourteen batters in all came to the plate. The barrage of runs started with Wise's base hit to center to score Fred Lewis.

Vernon Wells doubled home two to begin a string of three consecutive two- baggers with Adam Lind and John Buck following suit to make it a 5-1 game and chase Niemann from the mound.

Hill greeted Cormier with a two-run shot to left and Bautista later slugged his three-run blast out over the same wall for a commanding 11-3 lead.

It was a 10-run game in the eighth as Wise scored a run with a groundout and Bautista added a run-scoring hit off Andy Sonnanstine.

Reid Brignac chased home two runs with a single in the home eighth, but it was too little too late for the Rays.

Game Notes

Bautista also scored two runs and walked while McDonald scored three runs and was 2-for-4 with a walk...The Blue Jays accounted for 15 hits and went 7- for-12 with runners in scoring position...Romero has won four of his last five decisions...Niemann was coming off the worst performance of his career, having been battered for 10 runs and eight hits in 3 1/3 innings against Anaheim last Wednesday...The Rays had won three straight and seven of nine overall coming in.

Wwwbingogala Baseball Betting News

<< Walker, Tabata help Pirates rout Cubs
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Neil Walker finished 4-for-5 with a two-run homer and four RBI while Jose Tabata contributed three hits, two RBI and three runs scored, as the Pittsburgh Pirates scored early and often in a 14-7 drubbin

<< Reds activate Harang from DL, recall Chapman
Cincinnati, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Cincinnati Reds made several roster moves on Tuesday, among them reinstating right-hander Aaron Harang from the 15-day disabled list in time to start the second of a three-game series against

<< Mets recall Mejia from minors
Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Following a loss to Atlanta on Tuesday, the New York Mets recalled pitching prospect Jenrry Mejia from Triple-A Buffalo. Mejia, 20, began the season with the big league club in the bullpen, but will likely be

<< Yanks take over first place with rout of A's
Bronx, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mark Teixeira hit his 30th home run of the season -- a three-run shot -- as the Yankees lit up Oakland pitching for three home runs for the second straight game in a 9-3 victory that netted New York sole po

<< Votto, Reds increase NL Central lead with win over Brewers
Cincinnati, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Joey Votto doubled twice and drove in three runs, as the National League Central-leading Cincinnati Reds handled the Milwaukee Brewers, 8-4, in the second of a three-game set at Great American Ball Pa

Nadal wins in straight sets in New York >>
Flushing Meadows, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Top-seeded Spaniard Rafael Nadal was a straight-set winner over Teymuraz Gabashvili in the opening round of the U.S. Open, while former runner-up Novak Djokovic and surging American Mardy Fish we

Royals edge Texas on wild pitch >>
Kansas City, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Pinch-runner Willie Bloomquist scored the game-winning run on Alexi Ogando's wild pitch in the bottom of the ninth, as the Kansas City Royals snuck past the Texas Rangers, 10-9, in the second test of a th

Twins rally to down Detroit >>
Minneapolis, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Delmon Young's RBI single in the seventh put Minnesota ahead for good, and the Twins rallied with two two-run innings to down Detroit, 4-3, and maintain a four-game lead in the AL Central. Young finis

Moore helps Mariners top Angels in Seattle >>
Seattle, WA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Adam Moore's two-out RBI single in the eighth lifted the Seattle Mariners to a 3-1 victory over the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in the second of three games at Safeco Field. Moore finished the game wit

Kennedy, Diamondbacks beat reeling Padres >>
Phoenix, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ian Kennedy pitched seven solid innings and the Diamondbacks used a balanced offensive attack to defeat the reeling San Diego Padres, 7-4, in the second of three games at Chase Field. Kennedy (9-9) allowed t

Pacific-10 Conference odds

Teams that should be in: Stanford

Oregon and USC get their tickets punched after taking care of business this weekend. Yes, the Trojans' computer numbers aren't great, but there's no way the third-place team in this league is getting nixed. Grudgingly, I added Arizona after consultation with our Bracketologist. I don't know that Arizona will lose its last three (including a Pac-10 quarterfinal game), and even if the Cats do, I still can't see how they'd be left out, given the overall profile. That said, it bears watching, as three more L's would leave them at 18-12 (9-9) and on a 6-11 skid entering the Dance. It would be nice to see the Wildcats get at least one W in the Bay Area next week, as Cincinnati (albeit without Armein Kirkland and with a worse profile) was axed after a similar slide last season. I just couldn't rationalize having some of the other teams as locks and not having Arizona in that category -- there just aren't enough good teams behind the Cats to threaten their spot, it seems. Stanford has its fate in its own hands with the Arizona schools coming to the Farm to close out the regular season next weekend.

Should be in:

Stanford [17-10 (9-7), RPI: 40, SOS: 21] No shame in not getting a win in L.A., but that makes the home game against Arizona State a must-win ahead of what could be an intriguing meeting with Arizona should the Cats lose at Cal. Getting to 11 Pac-10 wins would make Selection Sunday much more comfortable, but 10's probably more than enough this season. The Cardinal have nonconference wins over Texas Tech and at Virginia to lean on, although they also lost badly to Air Force and Santa Clara at home.

Southeastern Conference odds
Work left to do: Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, Mississippi State

It looks more and more possible that no one from the SEC West will make the NCAAs. How weird is that? Tennessee and Vandy move into the locks category after more good work this weekend. Kentucky stays there, although it would be smart for the Cats to handle Georgia at home Wednesday ahead of a trip to the Swamp. Could a disaster scenario (two more L's and a first-round SEC tourney exit) somehow dislodge the Cats despite their incredible computer numbers? Still unlikely, but not worth chancing it.

Work left to do:

Alabama [19-9 (6-8), RPI: 43, SOS: 47] The tough L at Tennessee was understandable, and even created some hope. Unfortunately, that hope was dashed by a home loss to Auburn, which leaves the Tide in some real trouble. There's still no signature win on the profile (no, Kentucky doesn't count), and the computer profile is weakening rapidly. The Tide conceivably could beat Ole Miss and win at Miss. State to get to 8-8 and clinch at least a share of the West crown, but that's probably not enough right now. The Tide will need to do some work in the SEC tourney.

Georgia [16-10 (8-6), RPI: 52, SOS: 23] This is the team with the best chance to make it from this section right now. The Bulldogs rebounded from a terrible performance at Ole Miss to beat down Miss. State. Now they are at Kentucky (king of the RPI 51-100 win) and home to Tennessee. That would be worth a lot of computer points to get both (which is doable), as both teams are in the top 11 in RPI. Finishing at least 9-7 is an absolute must, and I would feel much better about the Dawgs' chances if they got both to get to 10 SEC wins. They also beat Gonzaga, but lost to ACC bubblers Georgia Tech and Clemson.

Mississippi [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 63, SOS: 79] Like everyone else in this division, Ole Miss gacked up a chance to stake a claim, losing by double figures at South Carolina. Even 9-7 likely is not nearly enough with a nonconference profile devoid of anything notable.

Mississippi State [16-11 (7-7), RPI: 66, SOS: 37] With a chance to get in the mix, these Bulldogs were leashed by their Georgia counterparts. Could they get to 9-7? I guess -- although winning at Arkansas, then beating Alabama is no lock -- but would that mean all that much for a team with this overall profile? Probably not. There's nothing of note (on the good side) in the nonconference profile.

For more College Basketball betting lines go to MySportsbook.com

Additional sports lines can be found at: www.Sportsbooks.com

To bet on March Madness games this online sportsbook accepts credit cards.