07/03/2009 - Arlington, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Hank Blalock belted a two-run homer and Tommy Hunter pitched 5 1/3 strong innings to collect his first win in the majors on his 23rd birthday, as the Texas Rangers downed the Tampa Bay Rays, 3-1, in the opener of a three-game series at Rangers Ballpark.
Hunter (1-1) gave up one run on three hits with five strikeouts and three walks to collect his first win in his sixth start in the big leagues. The University of Alabama product is taking the place of Matt Harrison, who was put on the disabled list last week with biceps inflammation, in the Texas rotation. Frank Francisco retired the side in order in the ninth to pick up his 13th save.
Marlon Byrd had an RBI double for the Rangers, who has won three in a row after a three-game skid. Texas had just five hits in the contest.
Scott Kazmir (4-5) allowed three runs -- one earned -- on five hits with six strikeouts in a five-inning start for Tampa Bay, which has lost two straight after a seven-game winning streak.
B.J. Upton stroked an RBI single for the Rays, who had just three hits in the game.
The Rangers used a two-run home run from Blalock in the fourth to break a scoreless tie. Andruw Jones singled, advanced to second on Jason Bartlett's throwing error, and scored on Blalock's blast over the wall in right-center field.
Upton stroked an RBI single in the top of the fifth to cut the deficit in half. Pat Burrell singled and Dioner Navarro walked to put men on first and second with two outs. Upton then knocked in Burrell with a hit to left field.
Texas responded with a run in the home half of the inning to regain a two-run margin. Ian Kinsler grounded into a fielder's choice, but advanced to second on Ben Zobrist's throwing error. After Michael Young went down swinging, Byrd stroked an RBI double to left.
The Rangers put men on the corners with one out in the sixth, but Chris Davis and Elvis Andrus both went down swinging to end the threat.
The Rays couldn't score any runs despite putting a man on first in the sixth, seventh, and eighth frames.
Game Notes
Friday's clash was the first meeting of the season between these teams. The Rays won six of nine matchups with Texas a year ago, including four of six tilts held in Arlington...Tampa Bay is 15-6 in its last 21 games despite the loss.
<< Moss and Vazquez lead Pirates over Marlins
Miami, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Brandon Moss and Ramon Vazquez hit early home
runs, and the Pittsburgh Pirates shut down Hanley Ramirez, on the way to a 7-4
win over the Florida Marlins in the opener of a three-game series.
Charlie Morton
<< Mariners squeak past Red Sox in 11
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rob Johnson went 3-for-5 with three doubles,
including a two-run double in the top of the 11th, to lift the Seattle
Mariners past the AL East-leading Boston Red Sox, 7-6, in the opener of a
three-g
<< Hoffpauir's first career hit, Pujols' slam lifts Cards over Reds
Cincinnati, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jarrett Hoffpauir came through in a big way
in his major league debut, hitting the go-ahead two-run single in the ninth
inning, lifting St. Louis to a 7-4 win over Cincinnati, in the opener of a
three-g
<< White Sox stay hot, upend Greinke's Royals
Kansas City, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - John Danks was dominant in 7 1/3 shutout
innings, as the red-hot Chicago White Sox extended their season-best winning
streak to seven games with a 5-0 blanking of the Kansas City Royals.
Danks (7-6) h
Late miscue forces 'Quakes to share points with RSL >>
Sandy, UT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The San Jose Earthquakes and Real Salt Lake
battled to a 1-1 draw in Major League Soccer action at Rio Tinto Stadium on
Friday night.
Arturo Alvarez scored the game's first goal for San Jose before a Chr
Report: NHL to investigate Blackhawks' qualifying offers >>
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago Blackhawks are reportedly under
investigation by the NHL for failing to tender qualifying offers to several
restricted free agents by the league's set deadline.
According to TSN Canada, th
Kings acquire F Smyth in multi-player deal >>
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Los Angeles Kings boosted their offense
on Friday, acquiring All-Star forward Ryan Smyth from the Colorado Avalanche
in a three-player deal.
Smyth, 33, tied for the Avalanche lead in points last seas
Sadowski, Giants' offense destroy Astros >>
San Francisco, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ryan Sadowski got plenty of run support
while throwing seven scoreless innings, as the Giants erupted offensively in a
13-0 whipping of the Astros.
Sadowski (2-0), who made his major league debut Sunda
Kurt Warner to start, Matt Leinart to watch
Despite the debate that's swirling , Kurt Warner will remain the starting quarterback for the Arizona Cardinals, coach Dennis Green said today. The Arizona Cardinals are the +7 point underdog at online sportsbook MySportsbook.com for this Sunday's game.
Green's comment came in a statement released by the team following an ESPN report that Green decided that rookie Matt Leinart would replace Warner as starter for Sunday's game at Atlanta.
"Generally talking about the starting lineup is not something we do," Green told the AP. "However, given the speculation that was out there we want to make it clear. We're disappointed after last week, but we still expect to be a playoff football team and we fully expect Kurt Warner to be the quarterback that leads us. That has not changed."
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The NFL preseason is approaching. Time for players, coaches and teams to turn over a new leaf. General managers have hired some new coaches, while coaches have added some offensive and defensive assistants to try and improve things. Here’s a look at some changes to look for in the preseason.
New York Jets: The Jets were one of the surprise teams in the NFL last season, making the playoffs under hard-driving first-year coach Eric Mangini. Mangini rebuilt the offensive line with rookies D'Brickashaw Ferguson (the No. 4 pick in the 2007 Draft) and Ohio State center (the 29th pick in the first round). This season he upgraded the defense with rookie linebacker David Harris (Michigan) while the secondary picked up a much needed top-notch corner in Pitt CB Darrelle Revis (No. 14 overall).
The Jets have added balance to the offense for QB Chad Pennington with RB Thomas Jones, essentially stolen from the Bears. He will upgrade a New York ground game that was 20th in rushing with a weak 3.5 yards per carry. They have their first true feature back since Curtis Martin. Offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer prefers ball control, like his father Marty. In preseason, behind Pennington you’ll see second-year QB Kellen Clemens and mobile newcomer QB Marques Tuiasosopo.
Jacksonville Jaguars: The heat is on Jack Del Rio in Jacksonville as the Jaguars flopped last season despite a ton of talent. Keep in mind that under Del Rio the Jaguars have been outstanding in preseason with a 12-4 SU, 11-5 ATS August mark. Their defense is loaded, it’s the offense that has been stuck in first gear the last few years.
Enter a new offensive coordinator in Dirk Koetter, the former Boise State and Arizona State pass-happy coach. He will try and upgrade a passing game that ranked 24th last season. Del Rio has criticized wide receivers and Matt Jones this summer, both of whom have battled injuries. It will be interesting to watch the “new” Jaguars passing game in preseason.
Arizona Cardinals: Word out of Arizona is that the players like new coach Ken Whisenhunt, who was the Steelers offensive coordinator last year. We think of Arizona as all-passing because their running game has been awful of late because of a poor offensive line. However, keep an eye on the running game in preseason as they’ve made a lot of changes.
The new coach brings in Russ Grimm to coach the offensive line (Grimm did a marvelous job building the Steelers line). They took Penn State OT Levi Jones in the first round and signed two offensive linemen, Mike Gandy and Al Johnson, to provide depth. Reggie Wells was moved from right tackle to left guard and they want more speed out of the offensive line for pulling and traps, a Pittsburgh staple under Bill Cowher.
Atlanta Falcons: While all the attention has been focused on QB Mike Vick’s off-field problems, new coach Bobby Petrino is revamping the Falcons from an all-running team to a more balanced one. Petrino likes the experience of backup QB Joey Harrington and he has veteran backup Chris Redman, who used to play for Petrino at Louisville and knows his offenses better than anyone. Petrino wants Vick to be more of a pocket passer.
The addition of FB Ovie Mughelli is a sign Petrino wants a power rushing attack behind a physical fullback and newcomer WR Joe Horn should upgrade what was a below average wideout corps. Petrino is changing their old zone-blocking scheme to a more traditional in-line blocking scheme and the offensive line is bigger. Rookie DE Jamaal Anderson was grabbed in the first round and the secondary got younger with former Auburn cornerback David Irons, who the Falcons think was a steal as a sixth-round pick.
Cleveland Browns: The 2007 Browns look like a double-edged sword. There was the excitement of the offseason, trading for RB Jamel Lewis, upgrading the offensive line with Wisconsin’s Joe Thomas (the No. 2 pick in the draft) and free agent LG Eric Steinbach, then trading for Notre Dame QB Brady Quinn when he fell to No. 22. GM Phil Savage and head coach Romeo Crennel feel they have a talented, balanced offense with these new pieces, plus TE >Kellen Winslow and WR Braylon Edwards.
However, were these moves made in desperation? And were they foolish ones? The Browns gave up their 2008 first-round pick for Quinn and we all know QBs take time to develop. And even first-round QBs can be busts (Joey Harrington, Akili Smith). We also don’t know if the offensive line is that much improved (31st in rushing in 2007) and they did nothing to improve a defense that was awful against the run (142 yds pg allowed).
The Browns have a new offensive coordinator in Rob Chudzinski. This is a young offense and Quinn looked tentative, indecisive and inaccurate early in camp. Crennel will play Charlie Frye, Quinn and Derek Anderson in preseason. And there is a mixed bag for rookie QBs receiving significant starts: Tim Couch (14), Kerry Collins (13), Ben Roethlisberger (13), Vince Young (13), Joey Harrington (12), Matt Leinart (11) and Kyle Boller (nine). While all the focus will be on the Browns new-look offense, I’m more concerned with the defense.
Carolina Panthers: Coach Jon Fox loves the ground game, but Carolina has made some interesting changes for 2007. Fox fired offensive coordinator Dan Henning and brings in Jeff Davidson to run the offense. Davidson has brought in zone-blocking schemes to the Panther offense, a dramatic change for a system that's been built around a power-running style.
In zone-blocking, offensive linemen are responsible for blocking any defender who appears in their zone, instead of focusing on one defender. The Broncos and Falcons have had success with the system, which features smaller, more athletic offensive linemen and can create running lanes on the inside and outside. Keep an eye in preseason on how Carolina adjusts as it will take time to learn the system. Fox has been one of the top coaches in preseason, with a 15-5 SU, 12-7-1 ATS August record.
Dallas Cowboys: WR Terrell Owens is still here, but QB Drew Bledsoe and Bill Parcells are gone. New head coach Wade Phillips takes over, replacing Parcells. He ran the Chargers defense last season. Phillips was chosen by teary-eyed owner Jerry Jones partly because he is one of the best 3-4 coaches in football and the Cowboys have loaded up on players for that scheme.
Remember that Phillips was blitz-happy with the Chargers last season and early reports out of the Dallas camp have mentioned how the Cowboys have been blitzing a lot, a departure from Parcells. The theme of the 2007 Dallas defense appears to be one of attack.
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