Thome's HR in 10th pushes Twins' division lead to four

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08/18/2010 - Minneapolis, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jim Thome played hero against his former team, drilling a two-run homer off Matt Thornton in the 10th inning, as the Twins edged Chicago, 7-6, to widen their lead to four games over the White Sox in the AL Central.

Alexei Ramirez hit the tying homer off Matt Capps to start the ninth inning and then singled in Brent Lillibridge with the go-ahead run in the 10th for Chicago, but Thome delivered in a big spot to send Minnesota to its fifth straight win.

Delmon Young singled to center to start the bottom of the 10th and Thome, who played for nearly four full seasons (2006-09) for the White Sox, then clobbered an 0-1 pitch from Thornton (3-4) into the crowd beyond the wall in right field.

Thome's 581 career home runs rank 10th on baseball's all-time list, two behind Mark McGwire.

After the game, Thome received a celebratory shaving cream pie to the face while he was being interviewed on the field.

"With them (White Sox) you take it day-by-day, you don't get ahead of yourselves," Thome said. "Any time you can gain ground or gain a game in the standings against a team like that, they can get hot like they did and run off a win streak. Our big thing is to keep the approach we have every day and stay true to our approach. Each of us knows our role and we've done a nice job with that."

Orlando Hudson and Young both homered off starter John Danks. Thome had three hits and drove in three runs in Minnesota's biggest win yet at new Target Field. Young also had three hits as the Twins moved to 9-4 this season against the White Sox.

Ron Mahay (1-1) retired the final batter in the top of the 10th to get the win in the opener of the big three-game series.

Paul Konerko and Mark Kotsay also homered for the White Sox, who lost for the seventh time in nine games.

Young homered to left field in the fifth, putting the Twins up 5-4.

Thornton escaped a jam in the eighth by retiring Denard Span on a fly ball to center, leaving runners at the corners.

Ramirez then homered to left field, but the White Sox lost an opportunity to add to their lead after loading the bases. Konerko, though, grounded into a 4-6-3 double play with first baseman Michael Cuddyer digging a low throw out of the dirt.

Kotsay and A.J. Pierzynski each singled in the 10th. Ramirez singled beyond diving shortstop J.J. Hardy to give Chicago the short-lived lead.

Hudson homered to left-center in the first inning, Kubel added a two-run triple just after singles from Joe Mauer and Cuddyer. Thome singled in Kubel later in the frame.

Konerko and Kotsay went deep in the second for a 4-3 game.

Thome was thrown out at the plate trying to score on Danny Valencia's double to end the third, and the White Sox tied it in the fourth on Pierzynski's RBI double.

Twins starter Scott Baker loaded the bases in the fifth, but Glen Perkins got Kotsay on a ground ball to keep the game tied.

"We fought back," White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen said. "They're playing hard, they played very good. The only thing you can do is go out and get them tomorrow."

Game Notes

Hardy missed the previous four games with a sore wrist...Danks allowed 11 hits over his seven innings...Baker yielded four hits in 4 2/3 frames...Chicago left 10 men on base and Minnesota nine.

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The NFL preseason is approaching. Time for players, coaches and teams to turn over a new leaf. General managers have hired some new coaches, while coaches have added some offensive and defensive assistants to try and improve things. Here’s a look at some changes to look for in the preseason.

New York Jets: The Jets were one of the surprise teams in the NFL last season, making the playoffs under hard-driving first-year coach Eric Mangini. Mangini rebuilt the offensive line with rookies D'Brickashaw Ferguson (the No. 4 pick in the 2007 Draft) and Ohio State center (the 29th pick in the first round). This season he upgraded the defense with rookie linebacker David Harris (Michigan) while the secondary picked up a much needed top-notch corner in Pitt CB Darrelle Revis (No. 14 overall).

The Jets have added balance to the offense for QB Chad Pennington with RB Thomas Jones, essentially stolen from the Bears. He will upgrade a New York ground game that was 20th in rushing with a weak 3.5 yards per carry. They have their first true feature back since Curtis Martin. Offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer prefers ball control, like his father Marty. In preseason, behind Pennington you’ll see second-year QB Kellen Clemens and mobile newcomer QB Marques Tuiasosopo.

Jacksonville Jaguars: The heat is on Jack Del Rio in Jacksonville as the Jaguars flopped last season despite a ton of talent. Keep in mind that under Del Rio the Jaguars have been outstanding in preseason with a 12-4 SU, 11-5 ATS August mark. online football betting Their defense is loaded, it’s the offense that has been stuck in first gear the last few years.

Enter a new offensive coordinator in Dirk Koetter, the former Boise State and Arizona State pass-happy coach. He will try and upgrade a passing game that ranked 24th last season. Del Rio has criticized wide receivers and Matt Jones this summer, both of whom have battled injuries. It will be interesting to watch the “new” Jaguars passing game in preseason.

Arizona Cardinals: Word out of Arizona is that the players like new coach Ken Whisenhunt, who was the Steelers offensive coordinator last year. We think of Arizona as all-passing because their running game has been awful of late because of a poor offensive line. However, keep an eye on the running game in preseason as they’ve made a lot of changes.

The new coach brings in Russ Grimm to coach the offensive line (Grimm did a marvelous job building the Steelers line). They took Penn State OT Levi Jones in the first round and signed two offensive linemen, Mike Gandy and Al Johnson, to provide depth. Reggie Wells was moved from right tackle to left guard and they want more speed out of the offensive line for pulling and traps, a Pittsburgh staple under Bill Cowher.

Atlanta Falcons: While all the attention has been focused on QB Mike Vick’s off-field problems, new coach Bobby Petrino is revamping the Falcons from an all-running team to a more balanced one. Petrino likes the experience of backup QB Joey Harrington and he has veteran backup Chris Redman, who used to play for Petrino at Louisville and knows his offenses better than anyone. Petrino wants Vick to be more of a pocket passer.

The addition of FB Ovie Mughelli is a sign Petrino wants a power rushing attack behind a physical fullback and newcomer WR Joe Horn should upgrade what was a below average wideout corps. Petrino is changing their old zone-blocking scheme to a more traditional in-line blocking scheme and the offensive line is bigger. Rookie DE Jamaal Anderson was grabbed in the first round and the secondary got younger with former Auburn cornerback David Irons, who the Falcons think was a steal as a sixth-round pick.

Cleveland Browns: The 2007 Browns look like a double-edged sword. There was the excitement of the offseason, trading for RB Jamel Lewis, upgrading the offensive line with Wisconsin’s Joe Thomas (the No. 2 pick in the draft) and free agent LG Eric Steinbach, then trading for Notre Dame QB Brady Quinn when he fell to No. 22. GM Phil Savage and head coach Romeo Crennel feel they have a talented, balanced offense with these new pieces, plus TE >Kellen Winslow and WR Braylon Edwards.

However, were these moves made in desperation? And were they foolish ones? The Browns gave up their 2008 first-round pick for Quinn and we all know QBs take time to develop. And even first-round QBs can be busts (Joey Harrington, Akili Smith). We also don’t know if the offensive line is that much improved (31st in rushing in 2007) and they did nothing to improve a defense that was awful against the run (142 yds pg allowed).

The Browns have a new offensive coordinator in Rob Chudzinski. This is a young offense and Quinn looked tentative, indecisive and inaccurate early in camp. Crennel will play Charlie Frye, Quinn and Derek Anderson in preseason. And there is a mixed bag for rookie QBs receiving significant starts: Tim Couch (14), Kerry Collins (13), Ben Roethlisberger (13), Vince Young (13), Joey Harrington (12), Matt Leinart (11) and Kyle Boller (nine). While all the focus will be on the Browns new-look offense, I’m more concerned with the defense.

Carolina Panthers: Coach Jon Fox loves the ground game, but Carolina has made some interesting changes for 2007. Fox fired offensive coordinator Dan Henning and brings in Jeff Davidson to run the offense. Davidson has brought in zone-blocking schemes to the Panther offense, a dramatic change for a system that's been built around a power-running style.

In zone-blocking, offensive linemen are responsible for blocking any defender who appears in their zone, instead of focusing on one defender. The Broncos and Falcons have had success with the system, which features smaller, more athletic offensive linemen and can create running lanes on the inside and outside. Keep an eye in preseason on how Carolina adjusts as it will take time to learn the system. Fox has been one of the top coaches in preseason, with a 15-5 SU, 12-7-1 ATS August record.

Dallas Cowboys: WR Terrell Owens is still here, but QB Drew Bledsoe and Bill Parcells are gone. New head coach Wade Phillips takes over, replacing Parcells. He ran the Chargers defense last season. Phillips was chosen by teary-eyed owner Jerry Jones partly because he is one of the best 3-4 coaches in football and the Cowboys have loaded up on players for that scheme.

Remember that Phillips was blitz-happy with the Chargers last season and early reports out of the Dallas camp have mentioned how the Cowboys have been blitzing a lot, a departure from Parcells. The theme of the 2007 Dallas defense appears to be one of attack.

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