Blue Jays seek fourth straight victory in opener with Indians

Baseball Betting Lines

07/30/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Toronto Blue Jays take aim at their fourth straight win this evening when they open a three-game series against the Cleveland Indians at Rogers Centre.

Toronto started its six-game homestand in impressive fashion, as it completed a sweep of the woeful Baltimore Orioles, culminating with a 5-0 win on Wednesday.

Brad Mills threw seven shutout innings for his first career win and gave up just two hits and three walks with four strikeouts, as Toronto moved to 12-0 against Baltimore on the season.

"When you're in a tight game like that it's easy to focus and concentrate on the pitches I'm trying to make," said Mills. "It was nice to come out here and get the win."

Lyle Overbay smacked a three-run home run while Adam Lind went 3-for-3 with an RBI for the Blue Jays, who have homered in their last 10 games and have won five of their last six.

Heading to the hill for the Jays tonight will be righty Shaun Marcum, who has won his last two starts. Marcum beat the Detroit Tigers on Saturday, holding them to two runs and eight hits in 5 2/3 innings to run his record to 9-4 to go along with a 3.36 earned run average.

Marcum's last loss came to the Indians back on July 1 - a setback that afterwards landed him on the disabled list with elbow discomfort - and is 0-3 lifetime against them with a 5.34 ERA in seven games, five of which have been starts.

Cleveland will counter with righty Justin Masterson, who beat Marcum and the Jays in that July 1 contest, but is 0-2 in four starts since. Masterson fell to Tampa Bay on Sunday, as he allowed four runs (three earned) and five hits in 6 2/3 innings, dropping him to 3-9 on the year.

This will be Masterson's second start against the Blue Jays. He is 2-0 in eight appearances against them with a 2.04 ERA.

Cleveland enters this series on the heels of losing three of four to the New York Yankees, including an 11-4 loss on Thursday at Progressive Field. Austin Kearns and Matt LaPorta each drove in a run for the Indians, who have lost five of six.

Frank Herrmann (0-1) was charged in defeat with a run in 1 1/3 relief innings. Starter Mitch Talbot departed after two-plus innings due to a mid-back strain after allowing a run while walking four.

Cleveland has won four of its seven meetings with the Jays this season.

Wwwtangierscasino Baseball Betting News

<< Tigers bring up Frazier; designate Larish for assignment
Detroit, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Detroit Tigers have purchased the contract of outfielder Jeff Frazier from Triple-A Toledo and opened a roster spot for the slugger by designating infielder Jeff Larish for assignment. Frazier was hitti

<< NBA Atlantic Division Off-Season Grades
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Atlantic Division had only one team finish with a winning record last season (Celtics), and although some members have improved since then, it looks like it will be pretty weak once again. Let's take a look a

<< Unpredictable tournament sets up USA-Cuba in quarters
Thunder Bay, Canada (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - After six exciting days and 30 hard- fought games of round-robin competition, the 2010 International Baseball Federation World Junior Baseball Championship is set to begin the medal round. Anything but pre

<< Bruins sign Blake Wheeler after arbitration award
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Boston Bruins have signed forward Blake Wheeler to a one-year contract after the two sides went to arbitration earlier this week. According to the Boston Globe, Wheeler was awarded a $2.2 million deal f

<< Knicks' Stoudemire in Israel to trace Hebrew roots
JERUSALEM (AP) -NBA star Amare Stoudemire says he has come to Israel to explore whether he has Jewish heritage.He tells The Associated Press on Friday that he believes he has ``Hebrew roots'' through his mother, Carrie.The five-time All-Star who rec

Tigers hope to stop road skid in clash with Red Sox >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Detroit Tigers are quickly falling out of contention in the American League Central. Tonight, they try to put the brakes on their 10- game road losing streak when they open a three-game series against the Boston Red Sox a

Yankees open key set with Rays; A-Rod tries again for 600th homer >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Alex Rodriguez's quest to become the youngest player in baseball history with 600 home runs takes him to St. Petersburg where the New York Yankees open a three-game series against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field. Ro

Slumping Diamondbacks visit Mets >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The slumping Arizona Diamondbacks head to New York in hopes of notching a rare road win when they open a three-game weekend series with the Mets at Citi Field. The Diamondbacks, now 24 games off the pace in the National Le

Giants send Lincecum to the hill versus Dodgers >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tim Lincecum goes after win No. 11 this evening when the San Francisco Giants open a three-game series against the Los Angeles Dodgers at AT&T Park. Lincecum has not received a decision in either of his last two outing

With trade rumors swirling, ChiSox start set with Oakland >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago White Sox have been an awfully tough team to beat over the past two months, and the current American League Central leaders have been virtually invincible at U.S. Cellular Field during that time period. Chicago

Police report: Terrell Owens hospitalized after attempt

Terrell Owens will address the media at a 3:15 p.m. ET news conference outside the Cowboys' practice facility after an internal police report indicated he tried to kill himself by overdosing on prescription pain medication, even putting two more pills into his mouth after a friend intervened.

The Dallas police report said Owens was asked by rescue workers "if he was attempting to harm himself, at which time [he] stated, 'Yes.'"

Owens left the hospital late Wednesday morning, giving reporters a "thumbs up" but making no comment as he was driven away in an SUV.

Michael Irvin said that Owens denied he attempted suicide and said he was rushed to the hospital as a result of an adverse reaction to medication. And a source close to Owens told Michael A. Smith that Owens wasn't attempting suicide.

NFL Network analyst Deion Sanders said he spoke with Owens shortly before his release from the hospital and that Owens was in good spirits.

"The fact that it has been reported a suicide attempt, he's laughed at that notion. It was a case that medication that was taken wasn't accepted well in his system with the other vitamins he's on," Sanders said.

The series of events began a little before 8 p.m. Tuesday.

Owens' publicist, Kim Etheredge, said she was at Owens' home when he took pain medicine for his broken right hand. Concerned by how he began acting, Etheredge said in various interviews Wednesday with Dallas-area media that she called 911. Owens was taken to a hospital, with Etheredge saying it was an allergic reaction to the medicine.

But early Wednesday, several media outlets received a police report -- that had yet to be released by the authorities -- saying Owens had attempted suicide by overdosing on the painkillers, even putting two more pills into his mouth after an unidentified friend intervened.

The police document, first reported by WFAA-TV, said Owens was asked by rescue workers "if he was attempting to harm himself, at which time [he] stated, 'Yes.'"

When officially released by police, about half the document was blacked out, including the phrases "attempting suicide by prescription pain medication" and "a drug overdose," as well as the details of Owens having two pills pried from his mouth and Owens saying "Yes" when asked if he intended to harm himself.

Etheredge, who said she was the friend cited in the police document, told Dallas-area media Wednesday that the police got the story wrong.

The tape of the 911 call could help clear things up. The Associated Press filed a request under the Freedom of Information Act to get its contents, but fire department officials said it would not be available before late Wednesday.

The police report said the 32-year-old Owens told his friend "that he was depressed." Details of the police report were first reported by WFAA-TV.

The friend, who is not identified in the report, "noticed that [his] prescription pain medication was empty and observed [Owens] putting two pills in his mouth," the police report said.

Using her fingers, the friend attempted to pry them out of Owens' mouth. Owens told police he had taken only five of the 40 pain pills in the bottle he'd emptied before the incident.

Etheredge told the Star-Telegram that Owens was "fine."

Etheredge said she called 911 because Owens was groggy and lethargic. After taking some supplements "it kicked in a reaction" with the painkillers, she told the Star-Telegram.

"Here's a person whose body is so clean, it really had a negative reaction to the medication and supplements he was taking," Etheridge told The Morning News. "Thank goodness someone was there to call an ambulance."

Police Lt. Rick Watson said he could only confirm that paramedics called police to say they were taking Owens to the hospital. He said no more details would come from the police because no laws were broken.

It is not a crime in Texas for a person to attempt suicide.

"This is a high-profile person. We looked into it and we determined it is not a criminal offense," Watson said. "This a medical type of situation that occurred."

Watson and fire department spokesman Joel Lavender cited privacy laws for the lack of information they could provide. Lavender said more details could come from the 911 call. The Associated Press filed a request under the Freedom of Information Act to get the contents of the call.

"Let's just look at the tape, review the tape," Lavender said. "I'll give you an honest answer once I know something."

At the police news conference, Watson released a version of the police narrative with certain sections blacked out. The full report was obtained by several news outlets and reported first by WFAA. The AP received the full version from WFAA.

According to the police report, Dallas Fire and Rescue was called regarding someone "attempting suicide by prescription pain medication." Officers arrived to find Owens being stabilized by ambulance workers, who then took him to Baylor University Medical Center.

Owens was hospitalized late Tuesday because of what his publicist said was an allergic reaction to pain medicine he was taking for a broken hand. Doctors reportedly tried to induce vomiting.

Owens, one of the league's top receivers during his 11-year NFL career, is best known for wild stunts on the field and other publicity-seeking antics off it.

When the Cowboys signed him to a $25 million, three-year deal in March, they said their background checks indicated no red flags. In fact, team consultant Calvin Hill -- who mostly deals with troubled players -- said during training camp that his department was not involved with Owens because he didn't have a history of those kinds of problems.

He missed most of training camp, and three of four preseason games, because of a hamstring injury. He was late for work during his recovery and was fined for it, but Owens laughed it off, saying he overslept. He said it had happened before, though not with Dallas, and would probably happen again.

Owens broke the bone leading to his right ring finger during a game a week ago Sunday. The next day, doctors screwed in a plate so the bone could heal without fear of further damage. Cowboys coach Bill Parcells said last week that the pain medicine made Owens ill.

Owens had not practiced since the injury, but because Dallas had a bye this past weekend he did not miss a game. He was expected to practice Wednesday, and Parcells had said there was a chance Owens could play Sunday against Tennessee.

Owens had been especially looking forward to the Cowboys' game after that -- Oct. 8, in Philadelphia, against the team that dumped him midway through last season only months after he helped them nearly win the Super Bowl.

Owens was seen laughing and joking on the practice field Tuesday morning. He chatted briefly with reporters in the locker room in the afternoon and seemed fine. A 2-inch scar on the top of his hand was puffy but not wrapped, and he said the swelling was doing down.

While in the locker room, he took a pill from a white paper bag and looked at another medicine bottle that was in the bag. He also called a business partner about a towel-wrap venture they're starting and joked to TV cameras that he wasn't talking until Wednesday and it was only Tuesday.

"My little boy knows better than that," he said, laughing, as he plopped onto a sofa in the middle of the locker room.

Also Tuesday, Owens was involved in launching a national campaign for the National Alliance to End Abuse, an organization aimed at helping at-risk youngsters. He appeared at a high school Tuesday morning and was scheduled to visit others but had to cancel because of changes in the team's practice schedule.

Owens has played two games for the Cowboys, catching nine passes for 99 yards and a touchdown. For updated football betting lines and Dallas Cowboy Superbowl odds visit online sportsbook MySportsbook.com

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your VISA Sportsbook needs.