Maier, Royals clip Tribe
Baseball Betting Lines
08/29/2010 - Cleveland, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mitch Maier homered and drove in two runs, helping the Kansas City Royals salvage a three-game series with a 6-2 win over the Cleveland Indians at Progressive Field.
Alex Gordon added two hits, while Kila Ka'aihue had an RBI double for the Royals, who had lost four of their last five. Brayan Pena drove in a pair of runs in the win.
Bruce Chen (9-7) won for the fourth time in six starts after allowing just two runs on six hits and two walks in six-plus frames.
Jason Donald's two-run homer accounted for the offense for Cleveland, which had a three-game win streak snapped. Andy Marte added two hits in defeat.
Fausto Carmona (11-13) lost for the fifth consecutive outing, giving up three runs, six hits and four walks in 6 2/3 frames.
Donald's homer tied it in the sixth, but the Royals went back in front in the seventh.
Mike Aviles hit a one-out single and Ka'aihue followed with an RBI double off the base of the wall in left-center. Trevor Crowe made a tremendous catch in center to prevent another run, and Tony Sipp maintained the one-run deficit from there.
Luis Valbuena reached on an infield single to start the seventh, and Jesse Chavez relieved Chen. The Indians put runners on second and third with two outs before Michael Brantley struck out looking to end the threat.
Maier then provided some insurance for Kansas City with a one-out solo homer in the eighth.
Blake Wood struck out all three batters he faced in the eighth, and Aviles scored on an error in the ninth to give the Royals a three-run lead. Later in the ninth, Pena's RBI single increased Kansas City's advantage to four, which stood as the final margin.
After three scoreless innings, the Royals loaded the bases in the fourth with nobody out on a pair of singles and a walk. Consecutive sacrifice flies from Pena and Maier staked Kansas City to a 2-0 lead.
Meanwhile, Chen dominated early on, allowing just two hits in five scoreless innings. He ran into some trouble in the sixth, however, as Shelley Duncan singled and scored on Donald's two-out blast to center, tying the game at two.
Game Notes
Kansas City leads the season series, 6-5...Indians first baseman Matt LaPorta left with a left hip strain. He is considered day-to-day...Donald's homer was his fourth of the season, while Maier blasted his fifth of 2010.
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rick Porcello spun seven solid innings and Ryan Raburn belted two home runs, finishing with four RBI, as the Detroit Tigers pounded Toronto, 10-4, to salvage a split of a four-game series at Rogers Centre.
<< Dickey, Mets take series with Astros
Flushing, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - R.A. Dickey worked seven-plus solid innings
and helped his own cause with a two-run single, as the New York Mets earned a
5-1 decision over the Houston Astros in the rubber match of a three-game
series
<< Jets LB Pace has broken foot, could be out six weeks
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - New York Jets linebacker Calvin Pace
has a broken foot which will cause him to miss the team's September 13 season
opener against Baltimore.
According to the Jets official Twitter page, Pace wi
<< Florida SS Ramirez exits game vs. Braves
Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Florida Marlins shortstop Hanley Ramirez was
pulled from Sunday's game against the Atlanta Braves with apparent light-
headedness.
Ramirez slid into second on a play in the third inning, and the t
<< Edoardo Molinari wins again; picked for Ryder Cup
Perthshire, Scotland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Hoping to join his brother Francesco
on the European Ryder Cup team, Edoardo Molinari put together a stunning
finish to win the Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles.
Edoardo fell two stro
Cincinnati, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chris Heisey scored the go-ahead run on a throwing error in the bottom of the eighth inning as Cincinnati coughed up a late lead and then came back to beat Chicago, 7-5, in the rubber match of a three-g
Cardinals fall to Nats, lose ground in NL Central >>
Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - John Lannan spun 7 2/3 solid innings and
Mike Morse belted a two-run home run as Washington continued to put a crimp in
St. Louis' playoff push with a 4-2 win Sunday to close a four-game series.
Lannan
Kirk gets 2nd Nationwide Tour win of season >>
Farragut, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chris Kirk fired a five-under 67 on Sunday to
win the Knoxville Sentinel Open by two shots and capture his second Nationwide
Tour victory of the season.
Kirk, who also won the Fort Smith Classic, finished
McCann's homer caps Atlanta's comeback win over Marlins >>
Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Brian McCann hit a game-ending home run to
cap off a furious Braves rally, as Atlanta recovered from a five-run deficit
in the eighth to stun Florida, 7-6, in the rubber match of a three-game
series.
Nationals extend Hernandez through 2011 >>
Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Washington Nationals pitcher Livan Hernandez
agreed to a one-year contract extension on Sunday through the 2011 season.
Hernandez is 9-9 this season with a 3.49 earned run average in 27 starts.
Since re
Marlins could start season without No. 2 starter Johnson
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
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.