Arencibia hits two HR's in debut to fuel Jays win over Rays

Baseball Betting Lines

08/07/2010 - Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - J.P. Arencibia had a major-league debut to remember, going 4-for-5 with two home runs, a double and three RBI, as the Toronto Blue Jays belted eight home runs en route to a 17-11 drubbing of the Rays, handing Tampa Bay a season-high fourth straight loss.

Arencibia, a first-round pick by Toronto in the 2007 draft, belted 31 homers in Triple-A Las Vegas this year before getting brought up earlier this week due to an injury to All-Star catcher John Buck (thumb). The 24-year-old backstop hit a two-run homer on the first pitch he saw in the second inning and added a solo blast in the sixth.

The rookie highlighted a barrage of long balls by the hosts, including two from Aaron Hill and one each from Edwin Encarnacion, Adam Lind, Lyle Overbay and league-leader Jose Bautista in Toronto's fourth win in five games.

Tampa Bay's James Shields (10-10) allowed nine hits -- six homers -- and four walks while yielding eight runs in four innings to snap a personal three-start winning streak. Dan Johnson went 2-for-2 with a homer and four RBI in defeat.

The Blue Jays set a season-high for runs and hits (20) and put on a home run display to extend its 3-2 lead in the third. Lind and Hill opened the inning with shots over the right and left field fences, respectively, and Encarnacion pulled an outside pitch to left for another round-tripper two batters later.

Bautista smashed his MLB-best 34th bomb leading off the fourth, and Hill barely cleared the left-field wall later in the frame to notch his third career multi-homer game.

Toronto starter Brad Mills was pulled after walking B.J. Upton in the fifth with the bases loaded, and the Rays got two more runs in the inning on a Johnson sacrifice fly and Evan Longoria groundout off Brian Tallet (2-4), who got credit for the win for throwing three innings of relief.

Dale Thayer mercifully relieved Shields in the home half and was just as ineffective. The Jays pushed across five runs with two outs, starting with Vernon Wells' bases-loaded infield single and capping it with consecutive two- run hits by Lind and Hill.

Arencibia put the finishing touches on his prolific arrival with an opposite- field shot to right in the sixth, leading to a curtain call from the Rogers Centre crowd.

Overbay topped Johnson's two-run homer in the seventh with a three-run blast in Toronto's half.

The Blue Jays failed to score in the eighth, the only frame in which they were blanked. The Rays plated four in the ninth on a Reid Brignac sac fly, a Travis Snider error on the same play, a Gabe Kapler double and a Willy Aybar groundout.

Yunel Escobar's RBI double in the first inning and Arencibia's first-pitch, two-run homer in the second were countered by run-scoring hits from Upton and Johnson in the third frame.

Game Notes

Bautista has homered in 10 straight series, tying a Blue Jays record set by Carlos Delgado (2001)...Arencibia became the first player since Boston's Daniel Nava (6/12/2010) to hit a home run on his first pitch in the big leagues...The Blue Jays currently lead the majors with 175 homers this season, 30 more than the Red Sox going into their game against the Yankees...Mills, recalled from Las Vegas to take the rotation spot of the injured Jesse Litsch (hip), surrendered five hits, four walks and five runs over four-plus frames in his second start this season...Escobar, Encarnacion and Hill each had three hits for the Blue Jays...Johnson's homer was his first since September 15, 2008.

Wwwdallasnews Baseball Betting News

<< Muscle Massive rallies for Hambletonian win
East Rutherford, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Muscle Massive, driven by Ron Pierce, rallied down the stretch to capture Saturday's 85th running of the $1.5 million Hambletonian at The Meadowlands. Muscle Massive trotted the mile in 1:51.

<< Stubbs hits key HR, Reds hold on to top Cubs despite shaky ninth
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Drew Stubbs hit the tie-breaking home run in a two-run eighth inning that carried Cincinnati past Chicago, 4-3, in the middle matchup of a three-game set. Stubbs launched Randy Wells' second pitch of the innin

<< Power continues road course domination with Mid-Ohio pole
Lexington, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Will Power edged defending IZOD IndyCar Series champion Dario Franchitti in Saturday's qualifying to capture the pole for the Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. Power lapped the 2.258-mile,

<< Nets sign F May
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New Jersey Nets have agreed to a one- year, non-guaranteed contract with forward Scott May, according to the New York Post. Charlotte made May the 13th overall selection in the 2005 NBA Draft af

<< Baghdatis advances to final in D.C.
Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Eighth-seeded Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis defeated Xavier Malisse in straight sets to reach the final of the $1.402 million Legg Mason Tennis Classic, a hardcourt U.S. Open Series event. Baghdatis r

Allen takes over for Dwyer in Ga. Tech backfield >>
ATLANTA (AP) -Jonathan Dwyer is off to the NFL, but Georgia Tech's potent rushing attack might not miss a beat.Anthony Allen moves over from A-back to the featured B-back position in coach Paul Johnson's spread option offense, and he could be even m

Cejka builds 2-shot lead at Turning Stone >>
Verona, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Alex Cejka birdied his last three holes Saturday to shoot a five-under 67 and extend his lead to two shots at the Turning Stone Resort Championship. Cejka finished 54 holes on the Atunyote course with a 15-und

Three-peat for Ambrose at Watkins Glen >>
Watkins Glen, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Marcos Ambrose put on a dominating performance to win the Zippo 200 Nationwide Series race at Watkins Glen International for the third year in a row. Ambrose, the pole sitter, led 60 of 82 laps and easily

Marseille opens Ligue 1 defense with loss to Caen >>
Marseille, France (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Marseille, the 2009-10 French Ligue 1 champions, opened the 2010-11 season with a 2-1 home loss to promoted Caen at Velodrome stadium on Saturday. The visitors took a 1-0 lead in the second half whe

Palmer, O'Hair lead; Tiger headed for worst finish >>
Akron, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ryan Palmer and Sean O'Hair are knotted in first place after Saturday's third round of the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational at Firestone Country Club. Palmer fired a seven-under 63, while O'Hair had a six-un

MySportsbook.com is the Internet’s largest online sportsbook site serving customers in more than 80 countries worldwide. Founded in 1997, MySportsbook.com was the first sports book to introduce reduced margin wagering, using a -105 pricing model that gives bettors up to 50% better value on wagers than traditional bookmakers. With low minimum bet requirements and the highest maximum limits on the Web, MySportsbook.com has earned an industry leading reputation for providing consistent value to the player, professional customer service and the quickest payouts online. Fully licensed and regulated in Antigua and the UK, the company offers a secure environment for sports betting, horse racing and online casino games.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your Sportsbook accepts credit cards needs.

Big East Conference odds

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.