Encarnacion lifts Blue Jays over Giants

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06/18/2010 - Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Edwin Encarnacion blasted the game-winning home run leading off the bottom of the eighth inning to push Toronto past San Francisco, 3-2, in the opener of a three-game interleague set at Rogers Centre.

Encarnacion had two of Toronto's four hits and drove in all three runs, as the Blue Jays won their second straight after dropping seven out of nine. Eight of Encarnacion's last 16 hits have been home runs since he came off the disabled list May 18.

Scott Downs (2-5) earned the win after tossing a perfect eighth inning for Toronto, which won for just a third time in 10 all-time meetings with San Francisco. Kevin Gregg retired all three hitters he faced, with a little help from Encarnacion, who made a diving stop of a sharply hit Buster Posey ground ball to end the game, to nail down his 17th save.

Barry Zito (7-3) went the distance and was the hard-luck loser after issuing one walk and fanning five as the Giants fell for only a second time in their last seven games.

Zito had retired the Blue Jays in order in the sixth and seventh innings before Encarnacion belted his first pitch of the eighth into left field for his ninth home run of the season and first since June 4.

The Giants mustered the first run of the game in the first inning when Pablo Sandoval walked with two outs and the bases loaded. Brandon Morrow avoided further trouble when Alex Gonzalez made a sliding grab of a Posey grounder and turned it into a force at second base.

Zito kept the Jays hitless through four innings before Gonzalez led off the fifth with an infield single and Jose Bautista was hit by a pitch to put two runners on. Bautista then beat Sandoval's throw to second base on a Lyle Overbay ground ball to load the bases for Encarnacion, who looped a broken bat, two-run single to left to give Toronto a 2-1 lead.

The southpaw was able to work out of further trouble when Jose Molina bunted into a force at third and Fred Lewis bounced into an inning-ending double play.

Aubrey Huff opened the sixth with a double but was thrown out trying to score on a Pat Burrell single. Juan Uribe, who had been hit by a pitch, advanced to third base on the play and came into score the tying run on Sandoval's groundout.

Morrow was not involved in the decision in his first career meeting with the Giants after yielding a pair of runs on five hits over six frames. He walked three and fanned four and was followed by Jason Frasor, who struck out the side in order in the seventh.

Game Notes

Zito fell to 5-3 in 11 career starts against Toronto as he faced the Blue Jays for the first time since July 29, 2006 as a member of the Athletics...He has allowed seven home runs over his last seven starts after not giving up a long ball in his first seven turns...It was the first complete game of the year for Zito and the 11th of his career. The Blue Jays have outhomered their opponents at home 42-7 since April 29...Encarnacion had been mired in a 2-for-26 slump entering the game...Bautista was 0-for-2 and is just 2 for his last 31...Toronto has slugged a major league-leading 104 homers...The Giants are winless in four interleague road games this season and 5-5 in interleague action overall, while the Jays are 4-6 in interleague play this year...San Francisco is 4-22 when scoring fewer than four runs.

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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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