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KC ROYALS Texas sportswire also on the royals
MLB Baseball-Animal
3 Units on Kansas City Royals -123 (May - L, Bell - R)
Bottom Line. We have a first-place team in Kansas City who is leading their division by the skin of their teeth (1 game over Chicago) and knowing another close competitor has already lost today (Baltimore 5 Minnesota 3). The opposition tonight is an annual doormat who is 26 games under .500. At this price. You bet I'm on the Royals. We had a similar situation last week in Kansas City when Jimmy Gobble was dirt cheap (-130) over Jeremy Gonzales. The Royals are 10-3 in this series since April 26, 2001. Kansas City should be extremely hungry and determined after suffering back-to-back one run losses at Chicago. Who's a better motivator than Tony Pena? Sure Tampa Bay has won 6/9 but remember five of those wins were against Toronto who they seem to own for whatever reason. Take the Blue Jays out of the equation and the Devil Rays are 21-43 in their last 64. The last four opponents Rob Bell has faced have scored a combined 34 runs. Ding-Dong the pitcher is dead! Ten of those 34 runs were scored by KC in his last start. Not exactly a glowing endorsment tonight! Anybody else notice how resilient the Royals have been in 2003? Just when you think they are about to surrender first place, they win or play Tampa Bay in a series. The Royals have made a habit of beating on bad teams in the junior circuit going 10-2 against clubs that win between 38-46 percent of their games. Don't expect a huge crowd at Tropicana Field tonight knowing the Rays are 1-8 in home Thursday games. The Royals have won six of their last eight with May on the hill. I can't resist this bargain tonight.
Texas Sportswire
KAN D MAY-L (5-5, 3.80 ERA) vs TAM R BELL -R (2-2, 6.85 ERA)
The Royals and the Devil Rays open up a four game series in Tampa Bay. In the Royals game yesterday, Carlos Lee went 3-for-5 with a homer and two RBI and Bartolo Colon pitched eight shutout innings, as the White Sox beat the Royals as -230 home favorites. Paul Konerko had a pair of hits and Roberto Alomar homered for the White Sox, who are now just one game behind Kansas City for the top spot in the AL Central. Ken Harvey had three hits for the Royals, who have dropped two in a row after a three-game win streak. Kansas City has dropped seven of the 12 meetings with Chicago this season. The two teams will not meet again until late September when they play seven of the final 10 games against each other. Kris Wilson (5-2) was dealt the loss, permitting two runs and five hits over five innings. Jeremy Affeldt and Al Levine both allowed a run in relief. In Tampa Bay's game yesterday, Roy Halladay threw his third complete game of the year to earn his major league-leading 16th win, as Toronto defeated the Devil Rays 7-3 as -200 road favorites. Joe Kennedy (3-9) took the loss after permitting five runs -- four earned -- on seven hits over 5 2/3 innings, while walking three and striking out seven. Kennedy, who is in the midst of a six-game losing streak, lost for the first time against the Blue Jays (6-1). Damian Rolls and Carl Crawford each had two hits and drove in a run for the Devil Rays, who had their two-game winning streak snapped. In tonight's series opener, Darrell May takes the mound for the Royals to face Rob Bell of the Devil Rays. May has been Kansas City's most consistent pitcher for much of the year. He worked on three days' rest his last time out against Tampa Bay and left with his team in front. However, May wound up with a no-decision as the Devil Rays rallied from a 7-2 deficit to temporarily go in front against the Kansas City bullpen. After seeming to settle in earlier in July, Bell has struggled in his last two starts. Not blessed with overpowering stuff, he has to work the corners of the plate and keep hitters off balance to be successful. This could be an important start for Bell, as a couple of younger pitchers are waiting in the wings, but will side with the Royals in this one.
SELECTION: KANSAS CITY
MLB Baseball-Animal
3 Units on Kansas City Royals -123 (May - L, Bell - R)
Bottom Line. We have a first-place team in Kansas City who is leading their division by the skin of their teeth (1 game over Chicago) and knowing another close competitor has already lost today (Baltimore 5 Minnesota 3). The opposition tonight is an annual doormat who is 26 games under .500. At this price. You bet I'm on the Royals. We had a similar situation last week in Kansas City when Jimmy Gobble was dirt cheap (-130) over Jeremy Gonzales. The Royals are 10-3 in this series since April 26, 2001. Kansas City should be extremely hungry and determined after suffering back-to-back one run losses at Chicago. Who's a better motivator than Tony Pena? Sure Tampa Bay has won 6/9 but remember five of those wins were against Toronto who they seem to own for whatever reason. Take the Blue Jays out of the equation and the Devil Rays are 21-43 in their last 64. The last four opponents Rob Bell has faced have scored a combined 34 runs. Ding-Dong the pitcher is dead! Ten of those 34 runs were scored by KC in his last start. Not exactly a glowing endorsment tonight! Anybody else notice how resilient the Royals have been in 2003? Just when you think they are about to surrender first place, they win or play Tampa Bay in a series. The Royals have made a habit of beating on bad teams in the junior circuit going 10-2 against clubs that win between 38-46 percent of their games. Don't expect a huge crowd at Tropicana Field tonight knowing the Rays are 1-8 in home Thursday games. The Royals have won six of their last eight with May on the hill. I can't resist this bargain tonight.
Texas Sportswire
KAN D MAY-L (5-5, 3.80 ERA) vs TAM R BELL -R (2-2, 6.85 ERA)
The Royals and the Devil Rays open up a four game series in Tampa Bay. In the Royals game yesterday, Carlos Lee went 3-for-5 with a homer and two RBI and Bartolo Colon pitched eight shutout innings, as the White Sox beat the Royals as -230 home favorites. Paul Konerko had a pair of hits and Roberto Alomar homered for the White Sox, who are now just one game behind Kansas City for the top spot in the AL Central. Ken Harvey had three hits for the Royals, who have dropped two in a row after a three-game win streak. Kansas City has dropped seven of the 12 meetings with Chicago this season. The two teams will not meet again until late September when they play seven of the final 10 games against each other. Kris Wilson (5-2) was dealt the loss, permitting two runs and five hits over five innings. Jeremy Affeldt and Al Levine both allowed a run in relief. In Tampa Bay's game yesterday, Roy Halladay threw his third complete game of the year to earn his major league-leading 16th win, as Toronto defeated the Devil Rays 7-3 as -200 road favorites. Joe Kennedy (3-9) took the loss after permitting five runs -- four earned -- on seven hits over 5 2/3 innings, while walking three and striking out seven. Kennedy, who is in the midst of a six-game losing streak, lost for the first time against the Blue Jays (6-1). Damian Rolls and Carl Crawford each had two hits and drove in a run for the Devil Rays, who had their two-game winning streak snapped. In tonight's series opener, Darrell May takes the mound for the Royals to face Rob Bell of the Devil Rays. May has been Kansas City's most consistent pitcher for much of the year. He worked on three days' rest his last time out against Tampa Bay and left with his team in front. However, May wound up with a no-decision as the Devil Rays rallied from a 7-2 deficit to temporarily go in front against the Kansas City bullpen. After seeming to settle in earlier in July, Bell has struggled in his last two starts. Not blessed with overpowering stuff, he has to work the corners of the plate and keep hitters off balance to be successful. This could be an important start for Bell, as a couple of younger pitchers are waiting in the wings, but will side with the Royals in this one.
SELECTION: KANSAS CITY
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