A-Rod reaches Reggie, Yankees outslug Braves
Baseball Betting Lines
06/25/2009 - Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Alex Rodriguez moved into a tie for 11th place on the all-time home run list and finished with four runs batted in to lead the New York Yankees to an 11-7 win over the Atlanta Braves in the rubber match of a three-game interleague series at Turner Field.
Rodriguez belted the 563rd homer of his illustrious career and in the process moved into a tie with former Yankee great Reggie Jackson.
Johnny Damon also drove in four runs while Derek Jeter posted four hits and four runs scored for the Yankees, who have won two straight following a three- game skid and will return to New York for a weekend "Subway" series at Citi Field against the Mets. Cody Ransom added two RBI in the win.
Andy Pettitte started on the mound for the Yankees but did not factor in the decision. He lasted just 3 2/3 innings, allowing six runs -- three earned -- on seven hits with four strikeouts and three walks.
Derek Lowe (7-6) toed the rubber for the Braves and was charged in defeat with eight runs, six of which were earned, on 11 hits in three-plus innings of work.
Yunel Escobar knocked in three runs for the Braves, who have dropped four of their last six games overall. Casey Kotchman notched two RBI in the loss.
In the bottom of the ninth, the Yankees held an 11-6 lead and David Robertson was on the hill. He was greeted by Brian McCann's leadoff homer over the wall in right field. With one out, Garret Anderson singled before Robertson fanned Jeff Francoeur. Pinch-hitter Gregor Blanco posted an infield single to put runners on the corners.
Mariano Rivera entered from the bullpen and induced a game-ending fly out off the bat of Diory Hernandez for his 17th save of the season and the 499th of his career.
The Yankees opened the scoring early with a pair of runs in the top of the first inning. Consecutive singles Jeter and Damon preceded a double-play grounder off the bat of Mark Teixeira. On the play, Jeter scored. The next batter was Rodriguez, whose milestone solo homer gave the visitors a two-run lead.
Escobar's RBI double in the home first cut the Braves' deficit in half.
An RBI single by Rodriguez in the second inning made it 3-1.
In the top of the third, the Yankees loaded the bases. One-out base hits by Brett Gardner and Ransom preceded a two-out walk to Jeter and Damon then cleared the bases with a triple for a 6-1 advantage.
Ransom's two-run double in the fourth, which brought home Rodriguez and Jorge Posada, increased the Bombers' lead to seven.
Pettitte found trouble in the bottom of the fourth, though not all of it was his fault. He surrendered a single to Anderson and a double to Francoeur that put runners on second and third. The next batter was Kotchman, who roped a double to right field and drew the Braves within 8-3.
Pettitte then plunked pinch-hitter Matt Diaz and with one out, Martin Prado's fly ball to shallow center was mishandled by Gardner and fell to the grass, allowing Kotchman to score. Chipper Jones drew a walk to load the bases but Pettitte worked hard to strike out McCann. Escobar, though, singled to right scoring both Diaz and Prado.
Alfredo Aceves (5-1) entered from the New York bullpen and struck out Anderson to avoid further damage. Aceves ended with 2 1/3 scoreless frames of relief.
A two-run single by Rodriguez in the seventh padded the New York lead to 10-6.
In between Phil Coke's scoreless relief innings in the seventh and eighth for the Yanks, Damon's RBI single capped the New York offensive output.
Game Notes
This marked the first trip to Atlanta by the Yankees since 2000...The Yankees outhit the Braves, 16-13...Jeter stole his 17th base of the season and raised his batting average to .308...The contest took 3 hours, 49 minutes to complete...The Yankees improved to 12-10 all-time against the Braves in interleague play.
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Knicks sent veteran swingman Quentin Richardson and cash to the Memphis Grizzlies in exchange for forward Darko Milicic. The 29-year-old Richardson is coming off a season in which he averaged 10.2
<< Knicks get draft rights to Douglas from Lakers
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Knicks acquired the draft rights
of Florida State shooting guard Toney Douglas from the Los Angeles Lakers.
The Knicks sent the Lakers 2011 second-round draft choice and cash
considerations.
Do
<< Smoltz activated from DL, makes season debut
Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Right-handed pitcher John Smoltz
was activated from the 15-day disabled list on Thursday in time to make his
season and Red Sox debut.
It was not a successful one for the 42-year-old, who w
<< McCutchen's hit in ninth lifts Pirates over Tribe
Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Andrew McCutchen singled in Jack Wilson with
the winning run in the bottom of the ninth inning to boost Pittsburgh over
Cleveland, 3-2, in the rubber match of a three-game series.
McCutchen, playing in
<< Votto helps Reds down Jays
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Joey Votto went 4-for-5 with a double, homer
and three runs batted in as the Cincinnati Reds edged the Toronto Blue Jays,
7-5, in the finale of a three-game interleague series at Rogers Centre.
Jay Bruce
Calgary, AB (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Stuart Anderson and Tom Stankowski, both former Canadian Tour Championship winners, carded rounds of five-under 67 and shared the lead with two other players Thursday after the first round of the ATB Financi
Nuggets get Lawson from Timberwolves >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Denver Nuggets acquired the rights to
draft pick Ty Lawson from the Minnesota Timberwolves in exchange for a future
protected first-round selection.
Lawson, a point guard from the University of North Carol
Blazers send Rodriguez to Kings in draft day deal >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Portland Trail Blazers and Sacramento
Kings consummated a trade on draft night.
The Blazers acquired the draft rights of forward Jeff Pendergraph from
Sacramento in exchange for guard Sergio Rodriguez and
Heat deal draft pick Thornton to Hornets >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Miami Heat traded the draft rights of
shooting guard Marcus Thornton to the New Orleans Hornets for a pair of future
second-round picks.
Thornton was taken in the second round, 43rd overall. He helped LSU
Rockets make deals to get second-round players >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Houston Rockets made three separate deals
to get a trio of players in the second round of Thursday night's NBA Draft.
The Rockets obtained the draft rights of guard Jermaine Taylor, the 32nd
overall pick,
Since the late 1990's, MySportsbook.com has been an online sportsbook / poker room / casino that focuses on quality.. MySportsbook caters to the experienced sports fan who values reliability and accuracy, with great attention to detail. MySportsbook's success over the past 3 years has made them the envy of the sports gambling industry. There are hundreds of sites appearing all over the Internet claiming to be the next best sportsbook online, each one is trying to use the same marketing techniques as MySportsbook originated.
If you want to try the most stylish and reliable type of online sportsbook, go with MySportsbook. Most online sportsbooks give you live odds and plenty of games and events to bet on, at MySportsbook they'll give you that and more. While perfection may be a lofty goal, MySportsbook attempts to achieve that goal. All sorts of ways to bet on football, football betting, Super Bowl betting lines.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your football sportsbook needs.
Horse Betting
(This is an update of a sportsbook for the May 4th issue of ESPN The Magazine).
The Kentucky Derby's post-position draw happened on Wednesday. And, as is always the case, shortly afterwards, a buzz raced around Churchill Downs. It was a low rumble at first, nothing that the squares in the mint julep crowd pick up right away. But by the time the sun set over the twin spires, the chatter was impossible to ignore. Everyone -- sharps, trainers, owners -- was talking about one thing: the wise guy horse, the pre-draw long shot us mopes didn't have on our radar until it was too late.
"You think you're hearing the scoop," says handicapper Lane Gold. "Then you get to the window, the odds are short, and you missed it."
Recognizing a wise-guy horse early is as hard as picking a Derby bonnet. That's because handicappers don't like hype (see ya, I Want Revenge). They want Thoroughbreds who look good losing prep races like the Santa Anita Derby. They eye horses who ate up the field after starting wide or made an easy transition from synthetic tracks to dirt. They look for ponies who showed muscle gain race to race and those who ran hard after several weeks' rest.
"A wise guy," says John Avello, a bookmaker at Wynn Las Vegas, "looks for a horse who can improve."
When I first wrote Horse Betting for The Mag, which I turned in a three weeks before Wednesday's draw, I predicted these three horses had wise guy potential:
CHOCOLATE CANDY (15-1 in mid-April, currently 20-1 according to Avello): His second-place finish at Santa Anita, following a seven-week layoff, proved two things: He can run after resting, and -- by losing a high-profile prep race -- he wouldn't be overhyped.
DESERT PARTY (15-1; 15-1): He was upset in the UAE Derby by a horse he had beaten twice. The public remembers his loss, but the wise guys his wins.
PIONEEROF THE NILE (8-1; 4-1): The big favorite at Santa Anita struggled to win, so he initially got less hype than Quality Road and I Want Revenge.
You may have noticed that the odds on Pioneerof the Nile have been cut in half, from 8-1 to 4-1. Which means the wise guys took a shine to him long before the post-position draw. But, to be honest, this is one of those years with four elite horses getting everyone's attention, squares and sharps alike.
"You're not gonna get a lot of chatter about a horse that isn't in that group, which includes Pioneer, I Want Revenge, Dunkirk and Friesan Fire," Avello told me Wednesday. "We don't have a group of horses behind those top four who look like real legit contenders."
Come Derby week, the final two elements in picking a wise guy horse are how he's working out and what gate he's coming out of.
(By the way, picking a Preakness favorite is a whole different bale of hay, partially based on how horses finish in the Derby. You can see my analysis of who has the best shot at Pimlico on Insider Sunday morning.)
Well, early in the week I Want Revenge, Pioneerof the Nile and Friesan Fire were working out better than anyone. Some thought Friesan Fire, currently 6-1, might have run too fast, burning a five-furlong run in :57 4/5. "When you are running that fast you have the sense that it took something out of him," says Gold. "The Derby is longer than any horse has run, and if they need that extra surge you worry they won't have it because they burned it in the workout."
But, Gold points out, Friesan Fire's trainer is Larry Jones, Two years ago his horse Hard Spun did a five-eighths workout in :57 3/5 and then went on to finish second, behind Street Sense, in the Derby. "Every trainer has different methods," says Gold. "And clearly he knows what he's doing."
Now, as for starting position, Gold says to remember this: Churchill Downs traditionally has 14 starting gates. For the Derby, it brings out auxiliary gates and between the original 14th gate and the new 15th gate, there is a little more space than there is between gates 1-14. "That 15 position will give you a precious second or two to sort out what's happening to your inside," says Gold. "Sixteen is also okay because you can follow the horse in front of you."
Dunkirk, one of the race favorites, is coming out of gate 15. In 16 is Baffert's Pioneerof the Nile. I Want Revenge drew 13, where Smarty Jones won from in 2004, and Friesan Fire picked the sixth position. "He doesn't have a lot of speed to the inside of him," says Gold. "So he will get a clear shot to be near the front."
All the jibber-jabber means this: Pioneerof the Nile has leapfrogged from 8-1 to being the second favorite, along with Dunkirk, behind I Want Revenge. Meanwhile, Friesan Fire, with a good trainer, a strong week of training and a decent post position, is still at 6-1. "By Saturday, it's possible he could go from fourth to the favorite," says Gold.
In other words, meet Friesan Fire, your 2009 wise guy horse.
"Now," says Avello, "it's time for action."
To visit this horse betting site go to MySportsbook.com for all your horse racing betting needs.