Thomas homers twice as Blue Jays top Twins

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07/24/2007 - Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Frank Thomas hit a pair of two-run home runs as the Toronto Blue Jays downed the Minnesota Twins, 6-4, in the opener of a three-game set.

Thomas, who has 503 career home runs, is now just one home run behind Eddie Murray for a tie of 20th place on the all-time list.

Alex Rios and Reed Johnson each hit solo home runs for the Blue Jays, who have won three straight.

Shaun Marcum (6-4) got the win as he gave up four runs on eight hits with three strikeouts in six innings.

Justin Morneau hit two home runs and had three RBI, and Torii Hunter added a solo shot for the Twins, who have dropped five of their last seven contests.

Johan Santana (11-8) got the loss as he was rocked for six runs on seven hits in five innings.

The Blue Jays jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first inning. Johnson led off the frame by hitting a 1-0 low fastball into the left field stands. After the next two batters recorded outs, Vernon Wells kept the inning alive with a single and Thomas followed by hitting the ball over the center field wall.

Morneau got the Twins on the board in the second inning when he started the inning with a home run to left-center.

Rios got Toronto another run in the bottom of the third as he led off the inning with a homer to left and a 4-1 lead.

Minnesota made it a one-run game in the fourth as Joe Mauer started the inning with a triple and Morneau followed with his second home run of the game to make it a 4-3 contest.

The Blue Jays, though, made it a 6-3 game in the fifth when Thomas hit a two- run shot over the left-center wall for his second home run of the game.

The balls continued to fly out of the park as Hunter hit a two-out homer in sixth to cut the Twins deficit to 6-4.

That was as close as the Twins got, though. Casey Janssen pitched a scoreless seventh and got two outs in the eighth before Scott Downs recorded the final out of the inning. Jeremy Accardo got around a leadoff double to Hunter in the ninth by retiring the final three batters and pick up his 16th save of the season.

Game Notes

Each team has won four games in the season series...Marcum is 1-1 in three career games against the Twins...Santana is 2-4 in 10 career appearances against the Blue Jays...Thomas has 16 home runs on the season...Morneau has 28 homers and 85 RBI this season...Attendance was 26,091.

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After all the trouble that’s ensued since Braylon Edwards allegedly punched one of LeBron James’ homeboys in the face at a club, the Cleveland Browns have sent away their last remaining player of worth to the New York Jets. This is a great move for Dirty Sanchez and all, but it’s even better for the Knicks. Now Donnie Walsh can say, “You get to haunt Braylon Edwards with your posse if you sign here!” next summer.

Putting that aside for a moment, the move is a clear indication that the new-look Jets are gunning for the Super Bowl this year. I don’t think that New York thought that Dirty Sanchez was going to be such a rock star. With a 75.2 passer rating that was killed against the Jets, Sanchez is doing an admirable job of managing games and putting the Jets in a position to win. The defense has been the major story in New York thus far, but the acquisition of Braylon Edwards makes this offense loaded with talent that can dent any defense…as long as Dirty Sanchez continues his meteoric rise.

Thus far, Edwards has been a non-factor in the NFL piling up just 139 receiving yards on 10 catches. He has yet to find the endzone, and with the Browns mired in the most unsexy quarterback controversy of all time (Anderson vs. Quinn...yawn), there going nowhere fast. Edwards is two seasons removed from a career year which saw him catch 80 passes for 1,289 yards and 16 touchdowns when the Browns were the spread killing monsters of 2007. In 2008, injuries slowed the receiver down to just 873 yards and three touchdowns though he played in all 16 games.

So that being said, we really don’t know if Braylon Edwards is just a flash in the pan, or a legit threat. At 6-foot-3 and 215 pounds, he is a prototypical receiver. But he’s also shown a strange, and unwarranted, talent for dropping passes. Lining up opposite Jericho Cotchery, a speed demon with 23 catches, 356 yards and a single touchdown, may give Braylon the open looks he needs. A change of scenery may also rejuvenate the star receiver.

In return, the Browns will receive Chansi Stuckey, online football betting a special teams player you’ve never heard of and a pair of draft picks. That’s a tall order for a guy whose only real value right now is in his name, and it shows no promise to the Browns that they can rebuild around those acquisitions. Braylon was the only reason to hope for the Browns to go 3-14 SU this year. Without him, they don’t have a single guy on offense that can scare any team.

For the Jets, it’s a response to the pounding that they took at the hand of the Saints. Thomas Jones and Leon Washington have averaged around 4.0 yards per carry each on the ground, but striking a fair balance between the passing and rushing attacks in New York has been a struggle. You have to believe that the trio of Dustin Keller, Jericho Cotchery and Braylon Edwards will give Sanchez the weapons he needs to unleash through the air. Theoretically, that would open up holes for the rushing game. But the proposed public option health care plan works in theory too. We need to see the proof in the pudding before we start loading up mega bucks on the New York Jets to take the AFC.

The one wrinkle in this whole thing is that Braylon could very well be suspended by the league for disciplinary action due to his “brawl” with LeBron’s friend. If that’s the case, the Jets may have to bench him for a few games leaving them with a somewhat depleted receiving corps for a few games. Also, this is a guy who gets in fights with people at clubs. New York may not be the best place for him. Just sayin’.

The Jets have a long week before they meet the Miami Dolphins on Monday Night Football Betting in a virtual pick ‘em game. Braylon’s excess baggage may be a distraction, and his curiously low production may be what we should be expecting of him overall, but for the Jets, taking a chance to strike gold is well worth it. At the end of the year, they can simply just blame it on their rookie quarterback.

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