Butler's late homer lifts Royals over O's
Baseball Betting Lines
07/31/2010 - Kansas City, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Billy Butler's go-ahead, two-run homer in the eighth proved to be the difference, lifting the Kansas City Royals to a 4-3 win over the lowly Baltimore Orioles.
Butler's 10th home run of the season gave the Royals their second win in the first three games of this series. Mitch Maier added a solo homer and two RBI in the victory.
Zack Greinke (7-10) went eight innings, allowing three runs on seven hits and three walks while fanning six to earn the win. Joakim Soria pitched a scoreless ninth for his 28th save.
Nick Markakis notched a two-run double for the Orioles, who have lost seven of eight. Adam Jones had two hits and an RBI in defeat.
Brad Bergesen lasted seven innings, yielding just two runs, five hits and a walk. He was in line for the win before David Hernandez (5-8) allowed Butler's homer in the eighth.
Hernandez came on to pitch the bottom of the eighth for Baltimore, but couldn't protect a 3-2 lead.
Chris Getz lead off with what looked to be an extra-base hit in the right- center field gap, but Markakis dove for an outstanding catch. It proved to save a run, as Butler followed a Jason Kendall single with a blast to left, putting Kansas City ahead, 4-3.
Soria pitched around a two-out single in the ninth to preserve the victory.
Maier's leadoff blast in the third gave the Royals a lead, but Bergesen shut down Kansas City's offense from there.
Bergesen didn't allow a baserunner -- other than Maier -- to advance past first base in any of the first five innings, and the Orioles finally provided some run support in the sixth.
Julio Lugo began the inning with an infield single and quickly scampered to third on Brian Roberts' base hit to right. Markakis sent a 1-0 pitch to left for a two-run double and a Baltimore lead, and Markakis later scored on Adam Jones' single for a 3-1 advantage.
The Royals cut their deficit in half in the seventh.
After Bergesen retired Jose Guillen, Alex Gordon, Mike Aviles and Maier all singled in succession, with Maier's hit driving in a run. With two runners still on base, Bergesen was able to get out of the jam by striking out Willie Bloomquist and getting Yuniesky Betancourt to ground out.
Game Notes
Kansas City leads the season series, 3-2...The Royals acquired pitchers Jesse Chavez and Tim Collins and outfielder Gregor Blanco from Atlanta in exchange for outfielder Rick Ankiel and pitcher Kyle Farnsworth...The Orioles acquired pitcher Rick Vanden Hurk from Florida in exchange for pitcher Will Ohman...The Orioles fell to 17-15 in one-run games and had as many hits with runners in scoring position (two) as they did in the previous five games combined.
Albany, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Giants have signed defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul, their first round draft choice, and defensive tackle Linval Joseph, their second round choice. No terms of the deals were announced. Pierre-
<< Mainz signs striker Allagui
Mainz, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mainz signed striker Sami Allagui from SpVgg
Greuther Furth of the Bundesliga 2 on Saturday.
Allagui, 24, signed a three-year contract through the 2012-13 season, with an
option for a fourth year.
"Sami
<< Querrey beats Tipsarevic to reach final in LA
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Defending champion Sam Querrey battled
back from a set down to defeat sixth-seeded Janko Tipsarevic in the semifinals
Saturday at the $700,000 Farmers Classic tennis event.
The second-seeded American Que
<< Hamilton scratched from Rangers' lineup
ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) -Major league batting leader Josh Hamilton was scratched from the Texas Rangers' lineup Saturday night because of patella tendinitis in his right knee.Hamilton, hitting .362 with 23 homers and 75 RBIs, started in center field in
<< Ortiz's late heroics helps BoSox slip past Detroit
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - David Ortiz provided some late-game dramatics
yet again, belting a game-winning three-run double in the ninth inning to lift
the Red Sox to a 5-4 victory over the Detroit Tigers.
Ryan Perry, who came into t
Edmonton, AB (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Goaltender Jeff Deslauriers has come to terms on a one-year contract to remain with the Edmonton Oilers. The 26-year-old Deslauriers went 16-28-4 with a 3.26 goals against average in 48 games last season. H
Hamilton scratched from lineup >>
Anaheim, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Texas Rangers outfielder Josh Hamilton, the
leader in the majors in batting average, was scratched from Saturday's lineup
against the Angels because of patella tendinitis in his right knee.
David Murphy
Kouzmanoff, Braden help A's stop streaking White Sox >>
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kevin Kouzmanoff finished a triple shy of
hitting for the cycle and Dallas Braden tossed a complete game to lead Oakland
to a 6-2 victory over Chicago in the second installment of a three-game set.
Kouzma
Slowey and Twins shut down slumping Seattle >>
Minneapolis, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kevin Slowey threw eight shutout innings to
outduel Seattle's Felix Hernandez and keep the Twins rolling in a 4-0 victory.
Slowey (10-5) gave up three hits, struck out five and didn't walk a batter to
pitc
Congi kicks Saskatchewan over Hamilton >>
Regina, SK (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Luca Congi made seven field goals and Wes Cates
added two short rushing touchdowns, as the Saskatchewan Roughriders pulled
away from the Hamilton Tiger-Cats for a 37-24 victory at Mosaic Stadium.
Congi was
Work left to do: Villanova, Syracuse, DePaul, West Virginia, Providence
Notre Dame and Louisville appear to have done enough to make the move, so we'll make them locks. The Cardinals, despite a modest RPI, are trending way up and have clinched at least a tie for third in the Big East, which should be more than enough with their pair of big road wins. Villanova got back to .500 and gets back to more solid footing. Syracuse got a very important road win and crippled a fellow contender in the process. West Virginia's fate could be in its hands Tuesday at Pitt.
Work left to do:
Villanova [18-9 (7-7), RPI: 21, SOS: 5] Pounded Rutgers to get back to .500. If Cats can get their last two (at UConn, vs. Syracuse), that should be enough with strong computer numbers and a host of wins away from The Pavilion. The Cats have beaten Texas and swept the Big 5 (never easy in Philly), but have a couple of losses to bubble teams (Xavier, Drexel), too. I still think they'll be OK, possibly even at 8-8.
Syracuse [20-8 (9-5), RPI: 53, SOS: 62] History says 10 wins will be plenty, but it might be hard for the Orange to get that last one with a final two vs. G'town, which is trying to win the league title, and at Villanova, which will be desperate for a W. The relative lack of nonconference heft and the weak computer numbers are still concerns, but the Orange have won four in a row and got a very, very big win at Providence on Saturday.
DePaul [16-12 (8-7), RPI: 54, SOS: 18] Beat Cincy and should get past South Florida to get to 9-7, but then what? They have beaten Kansas and Cal (right after the DeVon Hardin injury) earlier this season, but also have lost to Bradley and Purdue, among others. They'll likely need a couple of BE tourney wins, too, but we'll see ...
West Virginia [19-7 (8-6), RPI: 58, SOS: 125] The game at Pitt on Tuesday night could decide the Mountaineers' fate (barring a deep tournament run). They can still get to 9-7 in the Big East without it by beating Cincinnati, but the nine wins would be against UConn, Villanova, St. John's, South Florida, DePaul, Rutgers, Seton Hall twice and the Bearcats. Beating bubble foes is fine, but where's the beef? Outside of beating PG-less UCLA in nonconference play (still a top quality win), there's not a lot to fall back on (besides maybe NC State). WVU vs. Syracuse would be an interesting debate, as the teams don't play in the Big East regular season. WVU has the best win, but Cuse has played the much better schedule.
Providence [17-10 (7-7), RPI: 70, SOS: 33] The Friars likely saw their at-large hopes die at home in the four-point loss to Syracuse, barring an unexpected run to the Big East semis or more. The RPI, bad already, won't be helped by playing St. John's and South Florida in the final two league games.
For more March Madness odds go to MySportsbook.com
For more College Basketball betting lines go to BettingExpress.com
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.