10/02/2008 - St. Petersburg, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Evan Longoria finished 3-for-3 with two home runs and three RBI as Tampa Bay made its postseason debut a winning one, with a 6-4 triumph over Chicago in Game 1 of the American League Division Series from Tropicana Field.
"Honestly, I wasn't surprised. He's always in the moment," said Rays manager Joe Maddon of Longoria. "He's not going to be overwhelmed by the situation, and that speaks beyond his skill level."
Akinori Iwamura was 2-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored for the Rays, who earned the first playoff berth in franchise history by winning the AL East with a 97-65 record.
Willy Aybar and Carl Crawford each knocked in a run, while Jason Bartlett added two hits and scored once.
James Shields (1-0) notched the win after allowing six hits and three runs over 6 1/3 innings. The young right-hander fanned four with a walk. Dan Wheeler allowed a run but recorded the final three outs to earn his first save.
Dewayne Wise hit a three-run homer and Paul Konerko added a solo shot for the White Sox, who had beaten Detroit and Minnesota on Monday and Tuesday, respectively, to reach the postseason for the first time since winning the World Series in 2005.
"That's typical White Sox baseball, two minimum-base, home run, then slow down for a little while, and then another home run," noted Sox manager Ozzie Guillen.
Chicago starter Javier Vazquez (0-1) was tagged for eight hits and six runs over 4 1/3 innings in the loss.
Game 2 of this best-of-five series is scheduled for 6:05 p.m. (et) on Friday in St. Petersburg.
With the Rays ahead by three, Shields hastened his exit by loading the bases with one out in the seventh on a Konerko single, walk to Alexei Ramirez and by hitting A.J. Pierzynski. Grant Balfour entered and squashed the rally as he retired the next two batters on strikes.
J.P. Howell held Chicago off the scoreboard in the eighth, but Tampa squandered a chance to add to its lead with the bases loaded in the home half.
Konerko slammed a leadoff homer to left in the ninth off Wheeler which cut the visitors' deficit to two. However, the Rays closer got Ken Griffey Jr. on a fly out, struck out Ramirez, then induced a game-ending fly out from Pierzynski.
"We have to win tomorrow," Guillen said. "It's not a do-or-die thing, but I'd rather go home with one win than go against the wall."
Longoria's leadoff blast to left-center in the second put the Rays on the board, but the Sox countered with a big third inning.
Ramirez started with a single and Pierzynski followed with a base hit. Juan Uribe sacrificed both runners over, and after Orlando Cabrera popped out, Wise lined a pitch into the right-field seats for a 3-1 Chicago lead. Jermaine Dye doubled to deep center before Jim Thome's groundout ended the inning.
In the home half, Jason Bartlett led off with a base hit and scored on Iwamura's triple. Two batters later, Aybar's sacrifice fly tied the game, then Longoria followed with another solo homer to left for a 4-3 Rays edge.
"We got the lead, 1-0, and next thing you know we give up the lead, it goes 3-1, and we follow up the very next half inning with a rally of our own," Shields noted. "It just says a lot about this team."
Tampa tacked on two more in the fifth. Iwamura singled then B.J. Upton grounded into a force. Aybar singled before Longoria singled home Upton and Vazquez was pulled for Clayton Richard. He immediately surrendered an RBI single from Crawford before fanning Cliff Floyd and Dioner Navarro.
Game Notes
Longoria became just the second player in major league history to homer in his first two postseason at-bats, joining Gary Gaetti of Minnesota, who accomplished the feat back in 1987...Richard fanned five consecutive batters after allowing Crawford's run-scoring single...Veteran Sox sluggers Thome and Griffey finished a combined 0-for-8 with two strikeouts...Rays first baseman Carlos Pena left the game in the third inning after experiencing blurred vision in his left eye...Attendance was 35,041.
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Elite 8 NCAA Tournament Betting at online sportsbook MySportsbook.com
In what should be an outstanding Saturday of March Madness betting action, the top four teams in the South and West Regions square off in what should be extremely close match-ups. Three of the four teams are coming off extremely close games on Thursday evening, only UCLA won semi comfortably over Pitt 64-55.
Ohio State is coming off their second game in a row where in all reality they should have lost. Of course that doesn’t matter now since the name of the game is “survive and advance” but as the tournament continues, they can’t afford to keep getting down to their opponents early. Kansas also avoided a scare by holding off a scrappy Southern Illinois squad. In the third thrilling game of the evening Memphis pulled off the minor upset (+3.5) despite being the higher seed to Texas A&M.
Although the spreads are fairly small for Saturday’s games, MySportsbook.com continue to bet against the underdogs. Despite OSU’s two scares, 86% of the “betting public” feels the Buckeyes (-1.5) have what it takes to make the Final Four. In fact, so much of the early money is on OSU that the line has already moved from -1 to -1.5. In the second game of the doubleheader, Kansas and their high-powered offense are 2 point favorites as they take on UCLA and their effective defense. About 63% of the early money thus far is once again backing the favorites. If those percentages stay that high, don’t be surprised if this line moves as well. If you like Kansas (-2) you might want to jump on it early.
Memphis vs. Ohio State
Both squads were involved in thrillers on Thursday evening and should come out fired up. OSU can ill afford to get behind early like they did versus their previous two opponents (Xavier, Tennessee). Greg Oden needs to stay out of foul trouble; the Buckeyes are a completely different team when he is on the court. Memphis definitely has the athleticism and length to match-up with OSU. Of Memphis’ five leading minute earners, the shortest of the bunch is 6’5”. Each team has a very effective defense; Memphis surrenders 62.3 PPG whereas the Buckeyes give up only 61 PPG. With those type of numbers, it isn’t surprising that Memphis covered the UNDER almost 69% of the time this season. As a favorite, OSU has covered the UNDER almost 66% of the time over the last three seasons. The major concern for Memphis which is magnifies this time of the year is their brutal foul shooting (62%). This season, OSU is 17-11 ATS versus teams with a winning record and 7-2 ATS in all tournament games. Memphis has been an extremely reliable cover in tournament play in recent years with a 23-8 ATS record over the last three seasons.
UCLA vs. Kansas
In the second game of Saturday’s doubleheader, UCLA will play in a role which they are very unfamiliar with that of the underdog. Only twice this season have they been getting points from the handicappers and both times they covered. Over the last three seasons UCLA is a reliable 23-7 ATS in this unfamiliar role. UCLA has not fared well against Big 12 opponents recently going 1-7 ATS since 1997. Giving up only 59.6 PPG, UCLA will definitely look to do what they do best: keep this game as low scoring as possible. Their defense has been especially tough during the tournament. UCLA opponents have been able to muster up only 48.7 PPG while shooting a combined 34.5% from the field. UCLA definitely has a challenge at hand with a Kansas team that is capable of putting points on the board in bunches. As a team, they average 79 PPG and shoot an impressive 49.6% from the field and 39.4% from beyond the arc. During the tournament Kansas has been “lights out” from the field having shot 56.2%.
With Friday -105 juice on Basketball betting, MySportsbook.com is the place to bet on all of the “March Madness” action. Don’t forget to monitor who the public is backing at MySportsbook.com’s “Betting Trends”. By doing so, you have the best chance of predicting a possible line change, thus getting the best value for your wager.
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JUPITER, Fla. -- The Foorida Marlins are preparing for the likelihood that right-hander
Josh Johnson won't be ready when the season starts April 2.
Grapefruit League action starts Wednesday, but Johnson, penciled in as the No. 2 starter, hasn't even thrown off a mound at full speed since September. He's experienced some soreness in his right forearm.
MySportsbook.com have the Marlins listed with baseball betting lines at +800 to win the NL East this season .
''You guys know the math. If he's not on the hill then he becomes an opening day roster issue,'' manager Fredi Gonzalez said Saturday. ''We're borderline now.''
Johnson, who finished 12-7 with a 3.10 ERA in 2007, was supposed to throw on flat ground Saturday. That was canceled when he woke up with pain.
He played catch on Wednesday with no pain but felt discomfort in a throwing session on Thursday. He's expected to try again Sunday.
''Like we always said from the very beginning, we're going to take it easy on him,'' Gonzalez said. ''He didn't feel right, so we shut him down. We're going to take it back to step one and see where we're at.''
Among the candidates to take Johnson's spot in the rotation are left-hander Chris George and right-handers Yusmeiro Petit and Jose Garcia.
Right-hander Sergio Mitre, who missed most of last season with arm and shoulder problems, also is behind.
With Johnson's status doubtful, Gonzalez said right-hander Ricky Nolasco will stay in the rotation and no longer will be considered a candidate for closer.
Additional basbeall odds can be found at: www.MySportsbook.com
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