Mussina, Yankees begin set with Devil Rays

Baseball Betting Lines

07/20/2007 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mike Mussina attempts to extend an impressive streak of home supremacy over the Tampa Bay Devil Rays when the New York Yankees hurler starts tonight's opener of a four-game series between the American League East foes.

Since joining the Bronx Bombers prior to the 2001 season, Mussina has won all seven of his starts against Tampa Bay at Yankee Stadium and amassed an amazing 1.07 earned run average over the course of those games. For his career, the veteran right-hander owns a 16-6 record and a 3.30 ERA in 28 starts versus the Devil Rays.

Mussina wasn't as sharp when he faced Tampa Bay at Tropicana Field this past Sunday, however. He yielded a season-high 11 hits and did not record a strikeout in six innings, but was able to hold the Rays to three runs and did not factor in the decision of New York's 7-6 come-from-behind victory.

Edwin Jackson opposed Mussina in that contest and will do so again tonight for the Devil Rays. The young righty also received a no decision after allowing four runs on six hits, including a two-run homer to Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter, while striking out six over six innings.

It has been a trying first full season in the big leagues for Jackson, a one- time heralded prospect in the Dodgers organization who has amassed an ugly 1-9 record and 7.14 ERA in 17 starts and one relief appearance this year.

The 23-year-old made his first career start against New York on Sunday after four previous relief outings versus the club. Jackson has no record and a 5.56 ERA over 11 1/3 total innings logged versus the Yanks.

New York enters this set trailing rival Boston by seven games in the AL East standings and has the same deficit to Cleveland in the race for the league's wild card berth. The Yankees closed the gap with a five-game win streak that came to an end with Thursday's home 3-2 setback to Toronto.

Chien-Ming Wang held the Blue Jays scoreless over the first six innings, but the Taiwanese star was touched for three runs in the top of the seventh to suffer the loss.

Both Yankee runs came on a two-run double from Bobby Abreu in the first inning. New York mustered just four hits against Toronto starter Dustin McGowan and relievers Casey Janssen and Jeremy Accardo the rest of the way.

Yankees outfielder Hideki Matsui was able to extend his hitting streak to 14 games with a sixth-inning single.

Tampa Bay comes in off its first series win in nearly a month, as the Rays took two of three games with the AL West-leading Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim at Tropicana Field. The Angels averted a sweep, however, with a 3-0 victory on Thursday.

Kelvim Escobar scattered nine hits and three walks over 7 2/3 innings for Anaheim, while Francisco Rodriguez threw a 1-2-3 ninth for his 25th save of the campaign.

The Devil Rays, who stranded 10 baserunners, received three hits from Carl Crawford and a 2-for-4 performance out of Delmon Young.

Andy Sonnanstine (1-5) pitched well in a hard-luck defeat, as the Tampa rookie gave up three runs on eight hits while striking out six without a walk over seven frames.

Since taking two of three matchups with the Dodgers from June 22-24, the Devil Rays have lost 17 of 21 games.

These divisional inhabitants have split eight meetings so far in 2007, including a pair of games in a rain-shortened series at Yankee Stadium to begin the season. The Yankees won three of four encounters with Tampa Bay at Tropicana Field last weekend.

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Colts give the ‘D’ its due

The Indianapolis Colts know that winning the Super Bowl last season put a huge target on their backs, and they expect opponents to go all-out to knock them from the top of the mountain.

They’ll get their first test from the New Orleans Saints this Thursday night. The defending champs had nothing but good things to say about the New Orleans defense this past week, praising their opponents’ pass rush and run-stopping abilities.

"They play very aggressively," head coach Tony Dungy told the New Orleans Times-Picayune. "They play a lot of man-to-man coverage, and they come after you. They have good pass rushers, and they're going to try to pressure us, I'm sure."

Both center Jeff Saturday and quarterback Peyton Manning gave New Orleans’ front four props, admitting keeping guys like Will Smithand Charles Grant contained would be a tall task for the offensive line.

New Orleans ranked second in total defense during the preseason at a sportsbook, allowing just under 233 yards per game. Last season, the defense finished 11th in the league after giving up 307.3 yards and 20.1 points per contest.

Not so sound on the ground

If Indianapolis' efficient offense has a weakness it has to be its running attack. The Colts one-two-punch of Dominic Rhodes and Joseph Addai is no longer, leaving the bulk of the carries to Addai, the second-year back out of LSU.

Former Saskatchewan Roughrider Kenton Keith was named Addai’s backup this week after beating out DeDe Dorsey for the second-string position. Indy has only three backs on the roster right now, including fullback Luke Lawton, and coach Dungy is aware of the thinness of his ground game. Sports Betting lines on the game can be found at BettingExpress.com

“We’ll continue to look. Luke Lawton’s done a good job for us too. So probably getting a third true tailback is something that we’d like to do,” Dungy told the Indiana Tribune-Star.

Last season, Addai rushed for over 1,000 yards in his rookie campaign and scored seven touchdowns on the ground.

Brees says bring it on

Opening the season on the road against the defending Super Bowl champions is not the way most teams would like to kick off their year – unless you’re the New Orleans Saints or their quarterback Drew Brees. This internet Sportsbooks had the Saints as the favorites.

Brees told the New Orleans Times-Picayune that he is excited to get the regular season started and the Colts are a great challenge for him and his teammates. The 28-year-old QB, entering his second season with the Saints, is expecting a wild environment in the RCA Dome this Thursday when the franchise celebrates its 2007-2007 championship.

Brees said he sees the opening game scheduling as an honor and a testament to how well New Orleans did last season. The Saints missed facing the Colts in the Super Bowl by one game, losing to the Chicago Bearsin the NFC Championship game.

"I mean, people think we can hang with these guys," Brees told reporters. "Even if they didn't, it wouldn't matter what they thought because as a team we're very confident. We know what we can do. We're not satisfied where we finished the season last year. And we've been looking forward to this opportunity for a long time."

SportsBooks ready for a shootout

Oddsmakers are preparing for some fireworks this Thursday when the NFL season kicks off. online Sportsbooks have Thursday’s total set at a whopping 52 points, accounting for two of the league’s most explosive offenses.

“This is like must-see TV,” Saints cornerback and former Colt Jason David told the Baton Rouge Advocate. “It’s two exciting offenses with great players. You’ve got a lot of star power on offense. At any given time a big play can happen. If I was a fan, I wouldn’t miss a snap.”

New Orleans, who ranked No.1 in total offense last season, can go blow-for-blow with the Colts’ attack. Head coach Sean Payton’s offensive schemes will get even better production out of Drew Brees, Reggie Bush and receiver Marques Colston now that they’ve each had a season of playing together under their belts.

The Saints and Colts were the top two passing teams in the NFL last year, but while Indianapolis managed to put up almost 27 points per game, New Orleans struggled to capitalize on their efforts. The Saints ranked fifth in points per game.

“Yards are great,” running backDeuce McAllister told reporters, “but to be able to score more touchdowns would be important for us.”

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