Blue Jays shoot for first four-game sweep of White Sox

Baseball Betting Lines

05/05/2008 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Dustin McGowan will attempt to extend the Toronto Blue Jays' recent run of strong starting pitching tonight, while his team aims for a four-game sweep of the reeling Chicago White Sox at the Rogers Centre.

Toronto has surrendered a total of 12 runs over its last eight outings and the club's starters have lasted at least 6 2/3 innings in every one of those games. The Blue Jays, who have won a season-high four in a row following Sunday's 4-3 decision over the White Sox, also rank second in the American League with a 3.37 team earned run average.

McGowan did his part with an excellent 7 1/3-inning stint at Boston on Wednesday, although the talented right-hander did not receive a victory for his efforts. He limited the Red Sox to one run and four hits while recording five strikeouts and left with a no-decision in an eventual 2-1 Toronto loss.

The 26-year-old has held the opposition to two runs or less in four of his six 2008 starts, but only has one win on the season thus far. Toronto has not scored more than three runs in any of McGowan's appearances this year.

McGowan is 1-0 with a 6.75 ERA over three previous matchups with Chicago, two of which have been starts. That lone win came at Rogers Centre last June, when McGowan tossed seven innings of three-run ball to help the Jays to a 9-3 triumph.

He'll try to follow up another top-notch performance from Toronto ace Roy Halladay on Sunday. The four-time All-Star worked 7 1/3 innings in yesterday's win over the White Sox and allowed just three runs and three hits.

Jesse Carlson preserved the Blue Jays' one-run lead by getting the final two outs in the eighth, then Jeremy Accardo and Scott Downs teamed up for a scoreless ninth to seal the win. Downs registered the final out to earn his third save of the year.

Matt Stairs led Toronto offensively with a pair of doubles and two RBI, while Vernon Wells added a run-scoring single on the afternoon.

Chicago dropped its season-high fifth straight contest despite a complete-game effort out of Jose Contreras (2-3), who gave up four runs on six hits and fanned five in eight innings.

The White Sox managed just four hits on Sunday and are last in the AL with a .232 composite batting average. Chicago has been outscored by an 11-5 count in this series.

The slumping Sox turn to Javier Vazquez in the finale, with the veteran seeking to duplicate an outstanding last start.

Vazquez last pitched on April 28 against Baltimore and yielded just one run on four hits while striking out seven batters over eight innings. He left the game with a 2-1 lead, but the Orioles scored off closer Bobby Jenks in the ninth to send it into extra innings and the contest was eventually suspended in the 12th frame because of rain.

The right-hander has enjoyed success when pitching at the Rogers Centre, where Vazquez is 2-0 with a 1.59 ERA in four career starts. He is 4-5 with a 4.54 ERA in 12 overall encounters with Toronto.

The Blue Jays have now won seven of their last eight over the White Sox at home. Toronto has never swept a four-game series from Chicago in its 32-year history.

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Super Bowl XLIII Betting Odds

Super Bowl XLIII, the Arizona Cardinals and the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Super Bowl XLIII is now set, the Arizona Cardinals and the Pittsburgh Steelers will meet each other on February 1st in Tampa's Raymond James Stadium to battle it out for the coveted Lombardi Trophy. The game kicks off at 6:00pm ET on NBC with announcers Al Michaels and John Madden covering the on-field action. Super Bowl XLIII betting odds at online bookmaker MySportsbook.com have the Steelers listed as an early -6.5 against the spread favorite.Super Bowl XLIII Betting Odds

Pittsburgh earned their passage to the big game by beating their division rival, the Baltimore Ravens, 23-14 in yesterday's AFC Championship Game. The Steelers jumped on Baltimore early, building a 13-0 first half lead, and never let up on their way to a fairly easy win. Although the Ravens did close to within two points in the fourth quarter, it never appeared as if they had enough offense to pull off the upset.

The Steelers dominating defense held Baltimore to a total of 198 yards while allowing them to convert just three third downs in 13 attempts. Pittsburgh also forced quarterback Joe Flacco into three interceptions, one of which safety Troy Polamalu returned fourty yards for a touchdown.

The Cardinals, by far the playoff team with the longest odds to reach Super Bowl XLIII, did so yesterday with a 32-25 upset of the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC Championship. Arizona charged out of the gates and built a 24-6 halftime lead that had the Eagles venerable defense reeling. Quarterback Kurt Warner and wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald did most of the damage, connecting on three first half touchdowns.

Arizona, however, could not sustain their momentum and the Eagles took a 25-24 with 10:45 left to play in the fourth. The Cardinals, with the franchise's first Super Bowl appearance hanging in the balance, mounted a fourteen play, 72 yard touchdown drive that consumed 7:52 off the clock. Warner hit running back Tim Hightower on a short screen for the go-ahead, game clinching score that will forever live in Cardinal infamy.

MySportsbook.com's Super Bowl XLIII Betting Odds:

Pittsburgh Steelers -6.5 (-110), Over 46.5 (-110), -260 (Money line)

Arizona Cardinals +6.5 (-110), Under 46.5 (-110), +220 (Money line)

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