Marcum throws gem as Blue Jays shut down A's

Baseball Betting Lines

08/17/2010 - Oakland, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Shaun Marcum pitched his first career complete game, allowing just one hit in a 3-1 Blue Jays win over the Athletics.

Marcum (11-6) pitched no-hit ball through six innings before giving up a leadoff homer to Conor Jackson in the seventh. He walked just one and hit a batter while fanning five in the gem.

"There's no what-ifs," Marcum said of a possible no-hitter. "I'm one of those guys -- I don't have no-hit stuff. So, it's just a combination of going out there, keeping the ball down and going from there."

Jose Bautista hit his league-leading 37th home run of the season, an inside- the-parker, while Edwin Encarnacion added a two-run shot. Jose Molina went 4- for-4 in Toronto's fourth win in five games.

Brett Anderson (3-4) was the hard-luck loser after giving up three runs -- two earned -- on seven hits and a walk in six innings. The A's have now lost four in a row.

"Times like these are tough, but it's baseball. You get to play baseball for a living, it's not too bad. You have to come to the field and have fun every day," Anderson said.

The game was scoreless until the fourth, when Bautista led off the inning with a home run. The ball appeared to bounce off the low portion of the foul pole just above the left field wall, but the ball remained in play, and Bautista sprinted around the bases easily without a play at home.

In the fifth, Lyle Overbay began the frame by reaching on an error, and Encarnacion hammered an Anderson offering over the wall in left to give the Blue Jays a 3-0 lead.

Meanwhile, Marcum was dominant. He retired the first eight batters before hitting Cliff Pennington with a pitch. Pennington was subsequently caught stealing to end the third.

Marcum allowed a one-out walk in the fourth, but retired the other three hitters in the inning, and set down six of the next seven hitters to maintain the no-hitter through six innings. One Oakland batter reached on an error.

However, Marcum's no-hit bid came to end in the seventh, as Jackson blasted the first pitch of the inning for a home run to left-center, cutting the Athletics' deficit to two.

Marcum settled down, though, retiring the last nine batters he faced to polish off the victory.

Game Notes

Bautista has 11 homers in his last 20 games...Marcum had allowed 13 runs over 10 innings in his last two starts, both losses...The Athletics snapped a seven-game homerless skid with Jackson's shot. The team has not gone eight games without a HR since 1983...Toronto leads the season series, 4-1...Jackson was reinstated from the 15-day disabled list prior to the game. Additionally, outfielder Travis Buck was recalled from Triple-A Sacramento. To make room on the roster, Oakland optioned both infielder Jeff Larish and outfielder Chris Carter to Sacramento...Bautista recorded his second inside-the-park home run of the season.

Onlinecasno Baseball Betting News

<< Tejada paces Padres over Cubs
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Miguel Tejada went 4-for-5 with two RBI and two runs scored as the San Diego Padres downed the Chicago Cubs, 9-5, in the opener of a four-game set. Chris Denorfia went 3-for-5 with two RBI and two runs s

<< Jays sign top pick McGuire
Oakland, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Toronto Blue Jays signed top pick and 11th overall selection pitcher Deck McGuire just before the Monday night deadline. According to the multiple reports, McGuire got a $2 million signing bonus, just

<< Tampa Bay inks first-round pick Sale
St. Petersburg, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Tampa Bay Rays beat a midnight deadline on Monday by signing first-round pick Josh Sale. Multiple reports have Sale signing for around $1.62 million. Sale, an outfielder, was the 17th overa

<< Reds sign C Grandal
Cincinnati, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Cincinnati Reds have signed catcher Yasmani Grandal, the 12th overall pick in this year's draft. Grandal, who signed a major league contract with a bonus worth $2.99 million, according to MLB.com,

<< A's reinstate Jackson from DL among host of moves
Oakland, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Oakland Athletics made several roster moves on Monday, including reinstating outfielder Conor Jackson from the 15-day disabled list. Jackson, who was acquired by the A's from Arizona on June 15, was

Diamondbacks, Brewers, Padres don't sign first-round picks >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Arizona Diamondbacks, Milwaukee Brewers and San Diego Padres all failed to sign first-round draft picks prior to a midnight deadline on Monday. The decisions mean the teams will receive com

Adonal Foyle retires from NBA after 13 years >>
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) -Adonal Foyle is ending his NBA playing career after 13 seasons.The 35-year-old center announced his retirement Monday after playing for the Orlando Magic the last three seasons. Foyle spent his first 10 years with the Golden Stat

Gilbert, helmet in hand, takes over at Texas >>
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) -When Garrett Gilbert's big moment came, he nearly panicked.He couldn't find his helmet.Just minutes into last season's BCS championship game against Alabama, Texas quarterback Colt McCoy came staggering over to the sideline, a ne

Miami Dolphins 2010 Season Preview >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - If the final week of October 2010 arrives, and the attention of the South Florida sports fan is focused on the Miami Dolphins, you'll know things are going very well for Tony Sparano's team. If the Dolphins are, say, 3-3 a

Adonal Foyle calls it quits >>
Orlando, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Veteran center Adonal Foyle has announced his retirement. Foyle did not play last season for Orlando after undergoing knee surgery in October. He appeared in only 10 games during the 2008-09 season with th

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.


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.