Yankees, Rays close key series; A-Rod still aiming for 600th HR
Baseball Betting Lines
08/01/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Yankees and Tampa Bay Rays continue to battle for supremacy in the AL East and will close out a three-game series with the rubber match this afternoon at Tropicana Field.
The Yankees are 66-37, good for first place, while Tampa is only two games back in what many consider to be baseball's best division.
New York got even deeper on Saturday. One day after acquiring Austin Kearns in a trade with Cleveland, the Yankees made their deal for Houston first baseman Lance Berkman official while also getting Kerry Wood from Cleveland in another deadline move.
CC Sabathia will be on the mound for New York today in what will be his 23rd start of the season. The workhorse has compiled a 13-4 record and a 3.15 ERA with 124 strikeouts. He is, however, coming off a loss to Cleveland on Tuesday despite allowing just two earned runs in seven innings.
Sabathia is 1-0 in two appearances against Tampa this season and 8-3 lifetime versus the Rays with a 3.03 ERA.
James Shields will get the ball for Tampa Bay this afternoon, hoping to improve his mediocre 9-9 record and 4.79 ERA. Shields has allowed 154 hits in 135 1/3 innings of action and has been touched for a high total of 22 home runs. He was most recently in action on Tuesday when he managed to knock off Detroit in front of the home crowd.
Shields is 1-0 this season versus New York, but he is a lackluster 2-7 lifetime against the Yankees with a 5.45 ERA.
Just after Alex Rodriguez failed to club career homer No. 600 on Saturday, Robinson Cano belted a solo shot to right field with one out in the ninth inning, providing the New York Yankees with a 5-4 win over the Rays, snapping Tampa Bay's seven-game winning streak.
Rodriguez went 0-for-3 with a walk and scored once, but he hasn't gone deep since July 22 against Kansas City as he attempts to become the seventh member of the 600-homer club.
"The way I'm swinging now it's probably going to take a while," Rodriguez said of his home run quest. "Everybody get comfortable. I just have to be out there and help the team win somehow."
Mark Teixeira added a two-run homer and Nick Swisher a solo blast for the Yankees, who won for the eighth time in 11 games. Berkman went 0-for-4 in his debut.
Matt Garza, pitching for the first time since his no-hitter against Detroit on Monday, lasted seven innings, allowing five hits and four runs while fanning nine batters.
"This one falls on me," Garza said. "They spot me a two-run lead and I give it away. I had these guys beat and I gave it away."
Javier Vazquez yielded eight hits and four runs over 6 1/3 innings. David Robertson (2-3) pitched the eighth inning to get the win and Mariano Rivera recorded his 22nd save.
Rays first baseman Carlos Pena is day-to-day after leaving in the seventh inning with a sore right foot.
Carl Crawford stole the 400th base of his career, becoming only the seventh player to reach that mark before the age of 29.
Before Saturday, Tampa Bay's bullpen had allowed one run in the previous 19 innings.
These teams have split their 10 matchups this season.
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Detroit Tigers and the Boston Red Sox are set for the rubber match of their three-game weekend series at Fenway Park this afternoon. Detroit (AL Central) and Boston (AL East) are both in third place in their respective
<< Blue Jays host Indians in rubber match
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Toronto Blue Jays and Cleveland Indians have split the
first two games of this weekend's set and a series victory is up for grabs
this afternoon at Rogers Centre.
Cleveland dwells in the basement of the AL Central with
<< Takayama cruises to victory in Japan
Hokkaido, Japan (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tadahiro Takayama closed with a two-under
70 Sunday to cruise to a three-stroke win at the Sun Chlorella Classic.
Takayama finished at 17-under-par 271 to collect his third Japan Tour title.
Dinesh Cha
<< Almagro titles in Gstaad
Gstaad, Switzerland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Nicolas Almagro of Spain beat France's
Richard Gasquet 7-5, 6-1 to capture the title at the Swiss Open Gstaad.
The second-seeded Almagro fired 17 aces en route to his seventh career title
and second
<< Siddikur a playoff winner in Brunei
Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Siddikur parred the first extra
hole Sunday to defeat Jbe Kruger and win the Brunei Open.
Siddikur had closed with a four-under 67, while Kruger posted a five-under 66.
They finished at 16-under
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Phillies won a season-high eight straight games entering their weekend set with the Nationals and it didn't seem likely they were going to slow down against the last-place team. However, Washington will be going for it
Reds send Volquez to the hill to take on Braves >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Former staff ace Edinson Volquez makes his fourth start in
a return from ligament replacement surgery today when the Cincinnati Reds
close out a three-game series with the visiting Atlanta Braves at Great
American Ball Park.
Hudson to make Diamondbacks debut against Mets >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Right-hander Daniel Hudson takes the mound for the first
time as a National Leaguer today when his new team -- the Arizona Diamondbacks
-- visits New York for the finale of a three-game weekend series with the Mets
at Citi Fi
New-look Astros seek sweep of struggling Brewers >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Despite trading away two of their top players, the Houston
Astros find themselves in position to do something they haven't done all
season; win five games in a row.
The Astros will try to do just that this afternoon when t
Wainwright aims to stay unbeaten at home in finale with Pirates >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Cardinals made a move yesterday to bolster their
rotation in the hopes of securing a second straight National League Central
title. Getting home-field advantage in the postseason would be big for St.
Louis given Adam Wain
Work left to do: Villanova, Syracuse, DePaul, West Virginia, Providence
Notre Dame and Louisville appear to have done enough to make the move, so we'll make them locks. The Cardinals, despite a modest RPI, are trending way up and have clinched at least a tie for third in the Big East, which should be more than enough with their pair of big road wins. Villanova got back to .500 and gets back to more solid footing. Syracuse got a very important road win and crippled a fellow contender in the process. West Virginia's fate could be in its hands Tuesday at Pitt.
Work left to do:
Villanova [18-9 (7-7), RPI: 21, SOS: 5] Pounded Rutgers to get back to .500. If Cats can get their last two (at UConn, vs. Syracuse), that should be enough with strong computer numbers and a host of wins away from The Pavilion. The Cats have beaten Texas and swept the Big 5 (never easy in Philly), but have a couple of losses to bubble teams (Xavier, Drexel), too. I still think they'll be OK, possibly even at 8-8.
Syracuse [20-8 (9-5), RPI: 53, SOS: 62] History says 10 wins will be plenty, but it might be hard for the Orange to get that last one with a final two vs. G'town, which is trying to win the league title, and at Villanova, which will be desperate for a W. The relative lack of nonconference heft and the weak computer numbers are still concerns, but the Orange have won four in a row and got a very, very big win at Providence on Saturday.
DePaul [16-12 (8-7), RPI: 54, SOS: 18] Beat Cincy and should get past South Florida to get to 9-7, but then what? They have beaten Kansas and Cal (right after the DeVon Hardin injury) earlier this season, but also have lost to Bradley and Purdue, among others. They'll likely need a couple of BE tourney wins, too, but we'll see ...
West Virginia [19-7 (8-6), RPI: 58, SOS: 125] The game at Pitt on Tuesday night could decide the Mountaineers' fate (barring a deep tournament run). They can still get to 9-7 in the Big East without it by beating Cincinnati, but the nine wins would be against UConn, Villanova, St. John's, South Florida, DePaul, Rutgers, Seton Hall twice and the Bearcats. Beating bubble foes is fine, but where's the beef? Outside of beating PG-less UCLA in nonconference play (still a top quality win), there's not a lot to fall back on (besides maybe NC State). WVU vs. Syracuse would be an interesting debate, as the teams don't play in the Big East regular season. WVU has the best win, but Cuse has played the much better schedule.
Providence [17-10 (7-7), RPI: 70, SOS: 33] The Friars likely saw their at-large hopes die at home in the four-point loss to Syracuse, barring an unexpected run to the Big East semis or more. The RPI, bad already, won't be helped by playing St. John's and South Florida in the final two league games.
For more March Madness odds go to MySportsbook.com
For more College Basketball betting lines go to BettingExpress.com
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.