Big Hurt's grand slam lifts Toronto over Tampa Bay

Baseball Betting Lines

04/08/2007 - St. Petersburg, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Frank Thomas belted his ninth grand slam, moving him into a tie with Al Kaline (1,583) for 32nd on the all-time RBI list, as the Toronto Blue Jays downed the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, 8-5, to continue a three-game series at Tropicana Field.

Reed Johnson went 3-for-5 with an RBI and scored a run for the Blue Jays, who have split their last four games. Royce Clayton finished 2-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored, while Thomas finished 2-for-3.

Carl Crawford and Brendan Harris both homered for Tampa Bay, which trailed the Blue Jays by two runs heading into their last at-bat on Friday, but scored three times off Toronto closer B.J. Ryan in the bottom of the ninth inning to pull out a 6-5 win. Delmon Young finished 2-for-4 and scored a run.

Tomo Ohka, signed by Toronto during the offseason to add needed depth to the team's starting rotation, allowed five runs on six hits with three walks and a strikeout in 4 1/3 innings in his regular-season debut. Shaun Marcum (1-0) struck out five batters in 2 1/3 perfect innings for the win. Ryan got the final three outs this time for his second save.

Casey Fossum (0-1), who is looking to rebound from a lackluster 2006 season, the final month of which he missed for shoulder surgery, gave up seven runs on eight hits with three strikeouts and a walk in 3 2/3 innings.

The Jays got two runs in the first. Johnson got hit by a pitch, moved to third on Lyle Overbay's single, and scored on a Vernon Wells sacrifice fly to center field. Thomas then singled Overbay to third and the first baseman scored as Troy Glaus reached on a force attempt courtesy of an error by B.J. Upton.

Tampa Bay responded with a run in the home half of the first when Crawford belted a solo shot to right field on a full count.

Toronto put up four more runs in the second. Jason Phillips lined a lead-off single, moved to second on a Johnson base hit, and to third as Overbay grounded into a force out. Wells then got hit by a pitch to load the bases for Thomas, who smacked a grand slam over the wall in left field on a 3-1 pitch.

Toronto added another run in the fourth, as Clayton doubled and scored on a double by Johnson.

The Rays rallied for four runs in the bottom of the fourth. Young singled, Akinori Iwamura walked, and Dioner Navarro grounded out to move both baserunners into scoring position. Harris then homered to right field, and Upton followed with a walk. Crawford's ground-rule double moved him to third, and Upton scored on a wild pitch by Ohka.

The Jays padded their lead with a run in the ninth when Alex Rios tripled and later scored on a Clayton single for the final margin.

Game Notes

Crawford set a club record with the sixth leadoff homer of his career...Glaus left in the fifth with soreness in his left heel...Tampa Bay stopped a four- game losing streak to the Blue Jays with Friday's triumph...Toronto took 12 of the 18 meetings between the AL East rivals in 2006 and is 13-7 over their last 20 games at Tropicana Field.

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Brandon Roy Favorite to Win 2007 NBA Rookie of the Year

Portland TrailBlazer’s guard, Brandon Roy, is MySportsbook.com’s overwhelming favorite to win the NBA Rookie of the Year odds.

Despite missing 20 games due to an injury earlier this season, Roy has definitely put up the best numbers of his 1st year peers. In 32 games, Roy is averaging 15.3 PPG, 4.2 boards and 3.5 assists in over 33 minutes of play per game. While most rookies breakdown as the season progresses (see Morrison), Roy is only getting stronger as his playing time and scoring average has increased each month.

With 30 or so games left in the regular season, Roy isn’t a lock for the award by any means. Other rookies are putting together some pretty impressive campaigns and a few could give Roy a run for the award with increased playing time. Heading the list is first pick, Andrea Bargnani of the Toronto Raptors. Even though he has started only two games all season, Bargnani is averaging 10.3 PPPG while shooting 35% from deep.

Randy Foye of the Minnesota Timberwolves could be set to give Roy the best competition NBA Rookie of the Year betting lines. With the benching of Mike James, Foye looks like he could be the starter in the T-Wolves backcourt for the rest of the season. So far, Foye has averaged 9 PPG and 2.4 assists in just under 21 minutes per game. With his new role of starter, Foye’s numbers will definitely increase. In his first game as the new starting guard this past Sunday, Foye had 10 points; five rebounds and 8 assists. More importantly, he logged 34 minutes of playing time; his third highest run of the season.

Adam Morrison, of the Charlotte Bobcats, was the favorite early on in the season after averaging 15+ PPG through the first month of the season. Ever since his torrid start, Morrison’s point production has declined each month. This really isn’t surprising, considering at 6’8” he only weighs 205 lbs. Obviously he will need to hit the weights big time during the off-season in order to keep from breaking down in the future.

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