Cust homers, Blanton dazzles as A's top ChiSox
Baseball Betting Lines
07/04/2008 -
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jack Cust slammed a two-run homer and Joe
Blanton pitched seven solid innings in Oakland's 7-1 victory over the Chicago White Sox in the second of a four-game series.
Blanton (5-11) allowed just one run while scattering six hits and two walks
for the Athletics, adding five strikeouts in the club's second straight win.
Donnie Murphy had two hits and two runs batted in, while Emil Brown and Wes
Bankston each recorded three-hit nights.
"Our hitters took a good approach to Mark Buehrle, and we were able to
execute," Cust said.
The aforementioned Buehrle (6-7) snapped a personal four-decision winning
streak by surrendering four runs on 10 hits and three walks, as Chicago
dropped its second straight following a seven-game winning streak. The White
Sox gave up 17 hits, the most allowed this season by a usually stingy
pitching staff. Jim Thome went 2-for-4 with the lone RBI in defeat.
Both starters held the offenses in check for the first three frames before the
A's plated a pair on two pitches in the fourth. Buehrle's first offering was
lined to left by Brown for a single, and Cust quickly answered with an
opposite-field shot to left for his 15th home run of the year.
"I never had my stuff from the first inning on," Buehrle said. "I'm just glad
I could minimize the damage."
The White Sox cut the lead in half in the bottom half, as Thome roped a two-
out double to the left field wall. Carlos Quentin was on with a walk, and he
came around to score when Mark Ellis didn't attempt to throw him out at the
plate.
Another two-spot for the away team made it a 4-1 game in the sixth. Carlos
Gonzalez scored from first on Jack Hannahan's two-out double to the right
field gap. Buehrle then intentionally walked Ellis, and Ryan Sweeney rolled an
RBI single up the middle. Hannahan slid past the tag of A.J. Pierzynski and
was called safe, even though replays showed he may have missed touching the
plate.
The A's added two more an inning later behind three straight singles off
reliever Nick Masset, the last of which a broken-bat base-hit by Bankston to
bring in a run. Two batters later, Murphy bounced a single in front of Quentin
in left and the score read, 6-1.
Murphy doubled home another run in the ninth, and Santiago Casilla followed up
Brad Ziegler's perfect eighth with one of his own in the ninth to seal the
victory.
Game Notes
Buehrle is just 3-11 in 23 lifetime appearances -- 18 starts -- against
Oakland...The White Sox are still an excellent 30-13 as the host this
season... Oakland has won seven of its eight most recent meetings with
Chicago...Oakland placed veteran reliever Keith Foulke on the 15-day disabled
list Friday, retroactive to July 3, with right shoulder inflammation. To take
his spot on the roster, the A's recalled left-handed pitcher Jerry Blevins
from Triple-A Sacramento...Gonzalez left the game in the seventh with
tightness in his right hamstring...Despite the win, the A's left 13 runners on
base.
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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 Nick Mangold (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 Reggie Williams 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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