A's, Tigers wrap four-game set in Detroit

Baseball Betting Lines

08/13/2007 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Right-hander Chad Durbin returns to the starting rotation for the Detroit Tigers tonight when they host the Oakland Athletics in the finale of a four-game set at Comerica Park.

Durbin, a 29-year-old who was drafted in the third round by the Kansas City Royals in 1996, has made 15 starts and 12 appearances out of the bullpen this season. He was exclusively used in relief between mid-June and early August, then lasted 4 1/3 innings against Tampa Bay in a start on August 8.

He's pitched twice against the Athletics in relief during 2007, combining to toss 2 1/3 scoreless innings while allowing one hit and striking out three. In his career, Durbin is 2-2 in eight appearances -- six starts -- against Oakland and has allowed 25 earned runs in 33 innings.

Slumping right-hander Chad Gaudin goes for the Athletics in search of his first win since July 5.

The 24-year-old New Orleans native was 8-3 after a 3-2 defeat of Seattle, but has since gone 0-5 in six starts since, allowing at least four earned runs in each outing.

He was touched for eight hits and seven runs in five innings en route to an 8-6 loss in Texas in his last start on Tuesday.

This will be Gaudin's first lifetime start against the Tigers. He's made five career relief appearances against them and is 1-0 with a 1.29 ERA in seven innings, allowing four hits and a run.

On Sunday, Magglio Ordonez blasted two home runs off Dallas Braden in an eight-run second inning as Detroit downed Oakland, 11-6.

Ordonez became just the second player in Tigers history to go deep twice in the same inning, joining the legendary Al Kaline, who belted two homers in the sixth inning of an April 17, 1955 affair against Kansas City. Ordonez is a gaudy 8-for-12 in the series with three homers and eight RBI.

Brandon Inge finished 1-for-3 with two RBI for the Tigers, who won their second straight and leapfrogged over Cleveland to take first place in the AL Central by one-half game. The Indians fell to the New York Yankees, 5-3, Sunday.

Nate Robertson (7-9) allowed four runs on five hits in 5 2/3 innings to earn the win.

Marco Scutaro was 3-for-4 with a two-run homer and a pair of run-scoring doubles for the Athletics, who have lost three of their last five games. Mark Ellis and Dan Johnson added an RBI apiece.

Braden (1-7) was rocked for eight runs on seven hits in just 1 2/3 innings en route to the loss.

These teams have split six encounters so far in 2007. Detroit won five of nine regular-season game against Oakland last season, then swept the A's in the best-of-seven American League Championship Series in October.

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Brandon Roy Favorite to Win 2007 NBA Rookie of the Year

Portland TrailBlazer’s guard, Brandon Roy, is MySportsbook.com’s overwhelming favorite to win the NBA Rookie of the Year odds.

Despite missing 20 games due to an injury earlier this season, Roy has definitely put up the best numbers of his 1st year peers. In 32 games, Roy is averaging 15.3 PPG, 4.2 boards and 3.5 assists in over 33 minutes of play per game. While most rookies breakdown as the season progresses (see Morrison), Roy is only getting stronger as his playing time and scoring average has increased each month.

With 30 or so games left in the regular season, Roy isn’t a lock for the award by any means. Other rookies are putting together some pretty impressive campaigns and a few could give Roy a run for the award with increased playing time. Heading the list is first pick, Andrea Bargnani of the Toronto Raptors. Even though he has started only two games all season, Bargnani is averaging 10.3 PPPG while shooting 35% from deep.

Randy Foye of the Minnesota Timberwolves could be set to give Roy the best competition NBA Rookie of the Year betting lines. With the benching of Mike James, Foye looks like he could be the starter in the T-Wolves backcourt for the rest of the season. So far, Foye has averaged 9 PPG and 2.4 assists in just under 21 minutes per game. With his new role of starter, Foye’s numbers will definitely increase. In his first game as the new starting guard this past Sunday, Foye had 10 points; five rebounds and 8 assists. More importantly, he logged 34 minutes of playing time; his third highest run of the season.

Adam Morrison, of the Charlotte Bobcats, was the favorite early on in the season after averaging 15+ PPG through the first month of the season. Ever since his torrid start, Morrison’s point production has declined each month. This really isn’t surprising, considering at 6’8” he only weighs 205 lbs. Obviously he will need to hit the weights big time during the off-season in order to keep from breaking down in the future.

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