Yankees hope A-Rod stays hot in finale vs. Seattle
Baseball Betting Lines
07/02/2009 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Alex Rodriguez is starting to heat up. Not coincidentally, so are the New York Yankees.
The Bronx Bombers will be shooting for an eighth consecutive victory and a series sweep of Rodriguez's original team, the Seattle Mariners, when the two clubs wrap up a three-game set tonight at Yankee Stadium.
New York kept up its winning ways with Wednesday's 4-2 triumph over the Mariners, in which Rodriguez snapped a 2-2 deadlock with a two-run homer in the bottom of the sixth inning.
The homer was the fourth in six contests for the superstar third baseman, and he's batting .435 (10-for-23) with 13 RBI during a seven-game hitting streak. The surge has raised Rodriguez's season average from .207 to .239.
"Even when I struggled I never felt like it was an at-bat where I wasn't going to get the job done," said Rodriguez, who sat out the season's first five weeks while recovering from hip surgery. "That hasn't changed. My question has always been 'is my body going to bounce back.' It was never about my game. My body feels good. The results are better."
Johnny Damon and Melky Cabrera also homered to help the Yankees to their 10th straight home win over the Mariners, while Andy Pettitte delivered seven sharp innings on the mound.
Pettitte (8-3) held Seattle to two runs on six hits while walking just one batter to notch his team-best eighth victory of the year.
The red-hot Yankees now own a 2 1/2-game lead on Tampa Bay for the top spot in the American League Wild Card standings and trail first-place Boston by the same margin in the AL East race.
Ken Griffey Jr. hit his 621st career home run for Seattle, which came into this series having won four times in a five-game span. Starting pitcher Jarrod Washburn (4-6) was saddled with the loss after allowing four runs on eight hits over seven innings of work.
CC Sabathia will attempt to match Pettitte's season win total when he takes the mound for New York tonight. The offseason acquisition rebounded strongly from an injury-shortened start at Florida on June 21 this past Friday, when he limited the rival Mets to just one run and three hits while racking up eight strikeouts over seven innings in the Yankees' 9-1 Subway Series win.
Sabathia had left the Florida game after just 1 1/3 innings after experiencing tightness in his left biceps, but threw 99 pitches against the Mets without any problems.
The 2007 AL Cy Young Award winner is 2-1 with a respectable 3.99 earned run average in seven starts at hitter-friendly Yankee Stadium this year, and owns a 4-3 mark with a 2.95 ERA in 11 lifetime starts against the Mariners.
Seattle will hand the ball to Jason Vargas in the finale and hope the left- hander can work out his recent troubles. After going 2-0 with an excellent 1.93 ERA over his first seven appearances in a Mariners uniform, Vargas is 1-3 in his last four starts and has surrendered 17 runs (16 earned) in 22 innings during that span.
Each of Vargas' last three losses have come on the road, the most recent being an 8-2 setback to the Dodgers on Friday. The 26-year-old was tagged for five runs on nine hits -- including a pair of homers -- before exiting after just 4 2/3 innings.
This will be Vargas' first-ever appearance against the Yankees.
New York has dominated this series as of late, having won 11 of its past 13 encounters with the Mariners. The Yankees are 10-0 as the host during that stretch.
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Atlanta Braves are gradually working their way up the NL East standings and will try to extend their winning streak to a season-high four straight games tonight in the finale of a three-game series versus the Philadelphia
<< Cubs, Brewers to begin key NL Central series
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - If the Chicago Cubs are going to win a third straight
National League Central title, they are going to have to pick it up
offensively. This weekend would be a good time to get it going, as they return
home for the start of a
<< Astros go for series win at Petco
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Houston Astros shoot for a series win this afternoon
over the San Diego Padres at Petco Park, where the two ballclubs will wrap up
a four-game set.
Houston has won five of its last seven games, including two of the fir
<< Mets head to Pittsburgh for makeup with Bucs
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Before the New York Mets begin a critical three-game set in
Philadelphia this weekend, they must first play a makeup game in the Keystone
State against the Pittsburgh Pirates today at PNC Park.
Today's contest was original
<< Judge lifts Mayfield's suspension
Charlotte, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A federal judge lifted the NASCAR-imposed
suspension on driver Jeremy Mayfield Wednesday, allowing him to race again,
possibly as soon as this weekend at Daytona International Speedway.
"This is huge for us.
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Cincinnati Reds hope that Aaron Harang can have the same type of outing Johnny Cueto had last night, as they wrap up a three-game series Thursday afternoon from Great American Ball Park. Cueto tossed six shutout inning
Cardinals try to even up Giants in series finale >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Barry Zito tries to slow down Albert Pujols this evening
when the San Francisco Giants and St. Louis Cardinals conclude a four-game set
at Busch Stadium.
St. Louis won in dramatic fashion on Wednesday, as Colby Rasmus bel
White Sox take win streak to Kansas City >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago White Sox will be putting a season-high win
streak on the line when the resurgent club heads to Kansas City's Kauffman
Stadium tonight for the opener of a four-game series with the Royals.
Chicago comes
Angels return home to host Orioles >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Los Angeles Angels return home from a six-day road
trip in first place in the American League West. The two-time defending
division champions will try to stay on top when they start up a four-game
series
Thrashers re-sign Thorburn >>
Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Atlanta Thrashers have re-signed forward
Chris Thorburn to a multi-year contract.
Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Thorburn appeared in all 82 games for the Thrashers last season and r
Dallas Cowboys Super Bowl Odds
Will he or won't he? Now that the Dallas Cowboys have a new head coach in Wade Phillips, the big question will be: Does Terrell Owens stay with the team.
Jerry Jones continues to suggest that Terrell Owens will remain with the team.
"I've said that he's back, he's here, he's under contract," Jones said. "In the interviews I've just been through (to hire a new coach), it was very clear to me how highly he's thought of and how much of an impact he had on our offensive success."
Just to be sure though, Terrell Owens cleared out his locker and removed his name plate.
Terrell Owens was among the Cowboys most productive players this past season, catching 85 passes for 1,180 yards and a league-best 13 touchdowns.
But T.O. is due a $3 million roster bonus in June, then a $5 million salary this season. Cutting him before then would save a lot of money and headaches.
Aside from the questions surrounding Terrell Owens, the oddsmakers at MySportsbook.com have concerns over starting quarterback Tony Romo's state of mind and whether he will remain a starting quarterback. It is also not known how players will adjust to new head coach, Wade Phillips.
Here are the football odds as seen at MySportsbook.com and subject to change after February 10, 2007 if not locked in prior to that date.
Arizona Cardinals 60-1
Atlanta Falcons 50-1
Baltimore Ravens 15-1
Buffalo Bills 50-1
Carolina Panthers 18-1
Chicago Bears 10-1
Cincinnati Bengals 15-1
Cleveland Browns 100-1
Dallas Cowboys 15-1
Denver Broncos 15-1
Detroit Lions 100-1
Green Bay Packers 50-1
Houston Texans 100-1
Indianapolis Colts 6-1
Jacksonville Jaguars 30-1
Kansas City Chiefs 30-1
Miami Dolphins 40-1
Minnesota Vikings 75-1
New England Patriots 10-1
New Orleans Saints 18-1
New York Giants 20-1
New York Jets 30-1
Oakland Raiders 100-1
Philadelphia Eagles 18-1
Pittsburgh Steelers 10-1
Saint Louis Rams 60-1
San Diego Chargers 6-1
San Francisco 49ers 75-1
Seattle Seahawks 20-1
Tampa Bay Buccanneers 75-1
Tennessee Titans 40-1
Washington Redskins 50-1
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