Rays vie to bounce back against Jays up north

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08/07/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Tampa Bay Rays will try to avoid a season-high fourth consecutive loss, as they continue a three-game set with the Toronto Blue Jays today at Rogers Centre.

Last night, Lyle Overbay doubled home the go-ahead run in the bottom of the seventh inning, and the Blue Jays edged Tampa Bay, 2-1, in the opener of this series. Edwin Encarnacion doubled and scored the other run for Toronto, which has won three of its last four games.

Brett Cecil (9-5) pitched seven solid innings, allowing a run on four hits. He walked two batters and finished with nine strikeouts, one shy of his career high.

Willy Aybar had an RBI double for the Rays, who were coming off an 8-3 homestand. Tampa Bay dropped the final two games on the residency to Minnesota and now has lost three consecutive games for the first time since June 20-23.

Matt Garza (11-6) allowed two unearned runs on four hits in eight full frames.

The Rays remain a half-game behind the Yankees for first place in the AL East.

James Shields will be in charge of trying to get Tampa Bay back on track, as he toes the rubber today in search of his fourth straight victory. The right- hander was dominant in his last start, tossing 7 1/3 shutout innings in a 3-0 win over New York on Sunday. He allowed just four hits, while striking out 11.

This will be the first appearance of the season versus the Blue Jays for Shields, who is 6-4 with a 3.57 ERA in 13 career starters against Toronto.

Brad Mills will counter for the Blue Jays, as he was recalled from Triple-A Las Vegas to take the spot of Jesse Litsch, who is expected to miss the remainder of the season following hip surgery. The left-hander is making his second start of the season after tossing seven scoreless innings in a 5-0 triumph of Baltimore on July 28th. He gave up just two hits and struck out four in picking up his first major league victory.

Mills, who allowed 12 earned runs in a pair of starts last season, has never faced Tampa Bay before.

The Rays have won six of 10 meetings against Toronto thus far in 2010, including two of three at the Rogers Centre between May 31-June 2.

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FOOTBALL BETTING

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After all the trouble that’s ensued since Braylon Edwards allegedly punched one of LeBron James’ homeboys in the face at a club, the Cleveland Browns have sent away their last remaining player of worth to the New York Jets. This is a great move for Dirty Sanchez and all, but it’s even better for the Knicks. Now Donnie Walsh can say, “You get to haunt Braylon Edwards with your posse if you sign here!” next summer.

Putting that aside for a moment, the move is a clear indication that the new-look Jets are gunning for the Super Bowl this year. I don’t think that New York thought that Dirty Sanchez was going to be such a rock star. With a 75.2 passer rating that was killed against the Jets, Sanchez is doing an admirable job of managing games and putting the Jets in a position to win. The defense has been the major story in New York thus far, but the acquisition of Braylon Edwards makes this offense loaded with talent that can dent any defense…as long as Dirty Sanchez continues his meteoric rise.

Thus far, Edwards has been a non-factor in the NFL piling up just 139 receiving yards on 10 catches. He has yet to find the endzone, and with the Browns mired in the most unsexy quarterback controversy of all time (Anderson vs. Quinn...yawn), there going nowhere fast. Edwards is two seasons removed from a career year which saw him catch 80 passes for 1,289 yards and 16 touchdowns when the Browns were the spread killing monsters of 2007. In 2008, injuries slowed the receiver down to just 873 yards and three touchdowns though he played in all 16 games.

So that being said, we really don’t know if Braylon Edwards is just a flash in the pan, or a legit threat. At 6-foot-3 and 215 pounds, he is a prototypical receiver. But he’s also shown a strange, and unwarranted, talent for dropping passes. Lining up opposite Jericho Cotchery, a speed demon with 23 catches, 356 yards and a single touchdown, may give Braylon the open looks he needs. A change of scenery may also rejuvenate the star receiver.

In return, the Browns will receive Chansi Stuckey, online football betting a special teams player you’ve never heard of and a pair of draft picks. That’s a tall order for a guy whose only real value right now is in his name, and it shows no promise to the Browns that they can rebuild around those acquisitions. Braylon was the only reason to hope for the Browns to go 3-14 SU this year. Without him, they don’t have a single guy on offense that can scare any team.

For the Jets, it’s a response to the pounding that they took at the hand of the Saints. Thomas Jones and Leon Washington have averaged around 4.0 yards per carry each on the ground, but striking a fair balance between the passing and rushing attacks in New York has been a struggle. You have to believe that the trio of Dustin Keller, Jericho Cotchery and Braylon Edwards will give Sanchez the weapons he needs to unleash through the air. Theoretically, that would open up holes for the rushing game. But the proposed public option health care plan works in theory too. We need to see the proof in the pudding before we start loading up mega bucks on the New York Jets to take the AFC.

The one wrinkle in this whole thing is that Braylon could very well be suspended by the league for disciplinary action due to his “brawl” with LeBron’s friend. If that’s the case, the Jets may have to bench him for a few games leaving them with a somewhat depleted receiving corps for a few games. Also, this is a guy who gets in fights with people at clubs. New York may not be the best place for him. Just sayin’.

The Jets have a long week before they meet the Miami Dolphins on Monday Night Football Betting in a virtual pick ‘em game. Braylon’s excess baggage may be a distraction, and his curiously low production may be what we should be expecting of him overall, but for the Jets, taking a chance to strike gold is well worth it. At the end of the year, they can simply just blame it on their rookie quarterback.

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