Rhymes helps Tigers beat Royals in extras

Baseball Betting Lines

09/03/2010 - Kansas City, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Will Rhymes' two-run triple in the 11th highlighted the four-run inning, and the Detroit Tigers defeated the Kansas City Royals, 9-5, in the first of three games at Kauffman Stadium.

Ryan Raburn added his ninth homer in 21 games and drove in two for the Tigers, who have won three of five. Raburn has been on a tear during the 21-game stretch, batting nearly .350 over his torrid streak.

Brandon Inge had two hits and two RBI, while Don Kelly had three hits in the win. Ryan Perry (3-5) earned the win with two scoreless innings of relief after Jeremy Bonderman allowed four runs, seven hits and five walks in a 7 1/3-inning start.

Alex Gordon homered, while Yuniesky Betancourt drove in two runs for the Royals, who have lost five of seven. Zack Greinke had a no-hitter through 4 1/3 frames before faltering, giving up four runs, six hits and two walks while fanning only three in 6 1/3 frames.

Jesse Chavez (2-3) took the loss after allowing four runs -- two earned -- in the 11th.

The Tigers surged ahead in the 11th off Chavez.

Alex Avila singled with one away, and Casper Wells reached on an error. Rhymes followed with a drive to the right-center field gap, making it all the way to third on a two-run triple to give Detroit a 7-5 advantage.

After Johnny Damon was intentionally walked, Raburn's single gave the Tigers a three-run lead. Austin Jackson put down a suicide squeeze bunt to score Damon for a 9-5 contest.

Perry finished out the 11th without giving up a run.

The Royals staked Greinke to an early 4-0 lead with a big second inning.

Josh Fields singled, and Gordon worked a walk. Brayan Pena doubled to plate Fields with the game's first run, and, with runners on second and third with one out, Betancourt made it 3-0 with a single to center.

Gregor Blanco's triple to right scored Betancourt to cap the inning.

The Tigers, though, rallied to tie the game in the seventh.

Raburn worked a leadoff walk, and Brennan Boesch followed with a single. Two batters later, Kelly's single loaded the bases with one out.

Inge's base hit to center plated two runners, and Avila kept the hit parade going with another single to score Kelly for a 4-3 game. The Royals finally went to their bullpen, inserting Robinson Tejeda into the game.

Tejeda didn't fare much better, allowing a Wells single. On the play, Inge was unsure if center fielder Blanco would catch it, so he didn't get a good jump from second and was thrown out at home. Two batters later, however, Tejeda uncorked a wild pitch that allowed Avila to score the tying run.

Blake Wood started the next inning, and Raburn greeted him with a rainbow-like home run just inside the left-field foul pole.

Fields nearly answered for the Royals in the home half, but his deep drive off Bonderman was just foul to left. Bonderman eventually struck out Fields and exited in favor of Daniel Schlereth, who immediately gave up the game-tying homer to Gordon.

Game Notes

The Tigers lead the season series, 7-6...Detroit's Miguel Cabrera (biceps) did not play...Raburn hit 27 homers in his first 332 career games...Avila finished with two hits, as did Kansas City's Billy Butler and Chris Getz.

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NCAA Football Betting

Many fans thought it was the best side in the nation by the end of last season. This year, the polls have built on Georgia's momentum and granted it the No. 1 preseason ranking, followed by Ohio State and USC. (The Associated Press has the Buckeyes at No. 2; USA Today took the Trojans.)

"To have people believing we have one of the best teams in the nation going into this thing, it's exciting for us," Bulldogs coach Mark Richt told the AP. "I don't think anything is guaranteed, but we certainly have put ourselves in position where at least the college football world thinks we're pretty good."

Georgia Bulldogs - 9.5 wins

There's no question they're good, but the Bulldogs have one of the toughest 12-game schedules in the nation, mostly because they play in the powerhouse Southeastern Conference. Away games at No. 15 Arizona State, No. 7 LSU and No. 10 Auburn loom large, with contests between the hedges versus No. 24 Alabama and No. 18 Tennessee as well as the World's Largest Cocktail Party in Jacksonville versus No.5 Florida.

Ohio State Buckeyes - 10 wins

Like the Bulldogs, the Buckeyes also have a number of tough road contests in 2008. After two scrimmages dressed up as real games versus Youngstown State and Ohio, it's off to face USC. Other tough away games include No.13 Wisconsin in October and No. 20 Illinois in November. Granted, it should be pretty easy sledding at the Horseshoe. In fact, the only ranked team that travels to Columbus is No. 22 Penn State, in October.

USC Trojans - 10.5 wins

A similarly light schedule awaits the Trojans of Southern California, which is why the oddsmakers' total is one win more and the over is currently commanding -150 odds. Pete Carroll's troops only play three ranked teams in 2008, and all of those games are at home. After what should be an easy trip to Virginia to start things off on Aug. 30, the Trojans get two weeks to prepare for Ohio State in Los Angeles. Their two other ranked opponents, No. 21 Oregon and No. 15 Arizona State, visit in consecutive weeks to start the month of October. After that, the competition eases up. Of course, this is the same highly-touted school that lost to Stanford in 2007 and Oregon State in 2006. And don't discount the fact that USC plays its biggest rivals, Notre Dame and UCLA, back-to-back to close out the regular season. On paper, the Trojans are far superior, but motivation will be high for the Irish and Bruins, especially if their historic foes are in national-title contention.

Odds to Win the Heisman Trophy

Tim Tebow, Florida - 7/2
He won it last year, so it's no surprise he's the favorite to do it again, making him just the second player to go back-to-back. Ohio State's Archie Griffin turned the trick in 1974 and 1975, and Tebow's coach, Urban Meyer, is pretty sure his star quarterback can match the Buckeyes legend.

"There has never been anyone quite like him," Meyer told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "I am very lucky to be his coach."

Chris Wells, Ohio State - 5/1

The man they call "Beanie" was a star recruit out of high school, so it's not like nobody knew who the star tailback was before he rushed for 576 yards as a freshman in 2006 and 1,609 as a sophomore. But perhaps his finest moment came last year versus Michigan when he rumbled for 222 yards and two touchdowns in the Buckeyes' 14-3 victory over the hated Wolverines.

Knowshon Moreno, Georgia - 8/1

If the Bulldogs are to live up to expectations, they'll need a huge effort from their sophomore running back. This might be the last year of college ball for Moreno, who rushed for 1,334 yards and for 14 touchdowns as a freshman, while adding 253 receiving yards on 20 receptions, so expect big things for the man from Belford, N.J.

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NFL Football Betting Online

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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