07/03/2009 - Cleveland, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Shin-Soo Choo went 4-for-5 with two homers, a career-high seven runs batted in and scored four times, as the Cleveland Indians crushed the Oakland Athletics, 15-3, in the opener of a three-game series at Progressive Field.
Travis Hafner belted a solo shot and walked twice, while Asdrubal Cabrera had a pair of doubles and three RBI for Cleveland, which snapped a five-game slide, but have only three wins in its last 16 games.
David Huff (4-3) picked up the win after working six innings. The rookie left- hander allowed eight hits and three runs, struck out four and walked one, and has won four of his last five starts.
Nomar Garciaparra had two hits, including a double and an RBI for the Athletics, who have dropped seven of nine.
Trevor Cahill (5-7) was pinned with the loss after getting raked for eight runs -- five earned -- on six hits in 3 2/3 innings. The right-hander walked four and struck out two.
Holliday's ground out to shortstop in the first chased home Adam Kennedy, who led off the ball game with a ground-rule double and took third on a grounder to second to give the Athletics the early edge. Garciaparra's RBI two-bagger in the top of the second made it a 2-0 game, before Hafner's solo blast got the Indians on the board in the home half.
Choo's RBI single in the third pulled the Tribe even and left runners on the corners with two outs. Hafner drew a walk to load the bases and Jhonny Peralta chopped a ground ball to third, but Bobby Crosby's throwing error allowed two more to come home to put Cleveland in front 4-2.
Jack Cust got one back for the A's with a run-scoring base hit in the top of the fourth. Then in the bottom half, an RBI double by Cabrera and a two-run double from Choo stretched the Indians lead to 7-3 and signaled the end for Cahill. Santiago Casilla took over and walked Hafner and served up an RBI single to Peralta.
Cleveland continued to pour it on in the fifth, putting five more on the board. Luis Valbuena and Ben Francisco each singled to get the inning started and both scored when Cabrera lined a two base hit to center. Later in the inning, Choo's three-run homer upped the hosts lead to 13-3.
Grady Sizemore's run-scoring double in the sixth and solo homer by Choo in the seventh put the Tribe ahead by 12.
Mike Gosling came on for mop up duty in the top of the ninth and got the final three outs despite giving up a pair of hits.
Game Notes
The Tribe took five of nine meetings with Oakland last season, including a 4-2 mark as the host. Cleveland has won 10 of the last 14 matchups versus the Athletics at home...The Indians improved to 2-5 on their nine-game homestand...Choo also stole a base and is now 13-for-13 in steal attempts...Oakland's Orlando Cabrera had his 14-game hitting streak snapped due to an 0-for-5 performance.
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Chipper Jones, Yunel Es
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holes at 10-under-par
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Rockies blank Diamondbacks >>
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through eight innings, and Joel Peralta and Huston Street finished off
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De La Rosa (5-7) won his third straig
In part two of MySportsbook.com’s draft preview, we’ll take a look at a division that was extremely disappointing last season: the NFC South. Many “experts” predicted the Panthers to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl, of course they could not even make the playoffs in an extremely weak NFC. The Saints definitely made up for the disappointing seasons of their NFC South brethren by exploding out of no where en route to the NFC Championship game. For the avid NFL gambler, it is imperative to pay attention to the NFL draft. Although free agency gets a ton of publicity, the successful franchises build their teams around the draft.
1. New Orleans Saints
Who would have thought this time last year that the Saints would be the favorites to win the NFC South for the 2007 campaign? New Orleans is loaded with firepower on the offensive side of the ball but with the exodus of Joe Horn they will most likely look to draft a WR on Day 1. Despite having the NFL’s 3rd ranked pass defense last season, the Saints will most likely upgrade their CB’s with one of their first two picks. Other possibilities for the Saints will be TE and DT. Because of where they will be selecting (27th), the Saints could go the “best available player” route which could net a LB.
Key additions: Eric Johnson TE, Troy Evans LB, David Patten WR
Key loses: Joe Horn WR,
Team needs: CB, WR, TE, LB, DT
Possible draftees: Aaron Ross CB Texas, Darrelle Revis CB Pitt, Ted Ginn Jr. WR OSU, Paul Posluszny LB PSU, Chris Houston CB Arkansas, Greg Olsen TE Miami
2. Carolina Panthers
Carolina was one of the biggest disappointments in the NFL last season. With the signing of David Carr, expect the very first quarterback controversy to come out of Carolina if Jake Delhomme doesn’t rebound quickly from an average 2007 season. With veteran safety Mike Minter getting up there in age, they will look to draft a safety on Day 1 but probably not in the first round. LB is another need with the loss of Chris Draft to go along with Dan Morgan’s concussion problems. If TE Greg Olsen is still on the board, he might be too good to pass up despite their needs on the defensive side of the ball.
Key additions: David Carr QB
Key loses: Chris Draft LB
Team needs: LB, TE, S, OT
Possible draftees: Greg Olsen TE Miami, Patrick Willis LB Ole Miss, Paul Posluszny LB PSU, Levi Brown OT PSU
3. Atlanta Falcons
The Falcons were another NFC South team to have a disappointing 2007 season. The Falcons have been plenty busy during the off season with plenty of players coming and going including a new head coach. The Falcons were able to improve their draft position with the trade of coveted backup QB Matt Schaub. High on the list of Day 1 needs will be a defensive end to replace Patrick Kerney and a hard hitting safety since Lawyer Milloy is nearing the end of his career. With an additional 2nd round pick, the Falcons could attempt to trade up to acquire local product WR Calvin Johnson.
Key additions: Joey Harrington QB, Toniu Fonoti OG, Joe Horn WR
Key loses: Justin Griffen RB, Patrick Kerney DE, Matt Lehr OG, Ashley Lelie WR, Matt Schaub QB
Team needs: DE, S, OT, WR, DT
Possible draftees: LaRon Landry S LSU, Amobi Okoye DT Louisville, Levi Brown OT PSU, Jamaal Anderson DE Arkansas, Alan Branch DT Michigan
4. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Age really caught up to the Bucs last season. The Bucs still have plenty of household names on defense in Ronde Barber, Simeon Rice and Derrick Brooks but the one thing those three have in common is unfortunately age. It is imperative for the Bucs to get much younger, especially on the defensive side of the ball. Despite having bigger needs on the defensive side of the ball, WR Calvin Johnson is the most likely pick if he is still available when the Bucs pick at the four spot. This would suit Bucs’ faithful just fine as Johnson is widely considered the top talent in the draft and it is a position of need for the Bucs.
Key additions: Jeff Garcia QB, Kevin Carter DE, Torrie Cox CB, Cato June LB
Key loses: Dewayne White DE, Sean Mahan OG
Team needs: WR, LB, DE, CB (Youth on defense!)
Possible draftees: Calvin Johnson WR Georgia Tech, Gains Adams DE Clemson, Jamaal Anderson DE Arkansas
It is never too early to start betting on the NFL. Log on to MySportsbook.com to checkout all of the NFL futures for the upcoming season. On the clock: the NFC North
Odds to win the NFC South:
New Orleans Saints 8-5
Carolina Panthers 2-1
Atlanta Falcons 12-5
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 9-2
Odds to win the NFC:
New Orleans Saints 13-2
Carolina Panthers 7-1
Atlanta Falcons 20-1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 25-1
Odds to win the Super Bowl:
New Orleans Saints 18-1
Carolina Panthers 20-1
Atlanta Falcons 50-1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 75-1
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