A-Rod takes another crack at 600th home run in Cleveland

Baseball Betting Lines

07/28/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Alex Rodriguez was supposed to take center stage in the New York Yankees' game with the Cleveland Indians last night, but an unknown rookie on the opposing team wound up being the star of the show.

After coming up empty once more in his quest to join baseball's 600 home run club, Rodriguez will attempt to help the Yankees bounce back from a loss to the last-place Indians when the two teams continue a four-game series from Progressive Field tonight.

Rodriguez went 0-for-4 in his latest stab at becoming the seventh player in major league history to reach the 600-homer milestone, but he wasn't the only New York hitter who struggled against Cleveland starter Josh Tomlin. The young right-hander delivered seven outstanding innings in his first big-league start as the Indians evened this series with a 4-1 win.

Tomlin, called up from Triple-A Columbus to replace an injured Aaron Laffey in the Cleveland rotation, held New York's potent offense to a run and three hits in a dazzling debut. The 25-year-old did not walk a batter as well and threw 60-of-93 pitches for strikes.

"Outstanding effort by the kid," said Indians manager Manny Acta of Tomlin. "He's not going to be intimidated. He showed tremendous poise out there."

While Tomlin was shutting down the Yankees, his teammates put up four runs off former Indian CC Sabathia to hand the New York ace his first loss since May 23. Sabathia (13-4) lasted seven innings and gave up nine hits while walking three, and was hurt by a pair of Yankee errors that accounted for two earned runs in the fourth.

"My stuff was pretty good but I wasn't getting ahead and putting people away," said Sabathia.

Matt LaPorta went 2-for-3 with two RBI to lead the way offensively for Cleveland, which halted a three-game skid and avenged a 3-2 loss to the Yanks in Monday's opener.

New York lost for only the second time in seven tries but did have its lead atop the American League East shortened when second-place Tampa Bay defeated Detroit on Tuesday. The Rays are now just two games in back of the Yankees.

Rodriguez, meanwhile, has now gone five games and 20 at-bats since hitting career homer No. 599 in a victory over Kansas City last Thursday.

He and the Yankees figure to face a another tough challenge this evening, with the Indians set to send top starter Fausto Carmona to the mound. The 2010 All- Star enters tonight's clash having won his last three starts and sports an impressive 10-7 season record along with a 3.51 earned run average over 20 total appearances.

Carmona got to double-digit wins after yielding one unearned run and a mere one hit while striking out seven over five innings to best Tampa Bay this past Friday. The right-hander did issue six walks in his previous start, but still managed to limit Detroit to three runs through seven innings and pick up a win in a July 17 matchup at Progressive Field.

The 26-year-old, who's 5-4 with a 3.47 ERA in 11 home starts this year, did lose to New York at Yankee Stadium after surrendering four runs in six innings back on May 28. In nine career regular-season appearances (six starts) against the Bronx Bombers, Carmona is 1-3 with a 5.30 ERA.

Rodriguez has two hits, including one homer, and struck out five times in eight lifetime at-bats against Carmona, who's surrendered only seven long balls over 128 1/3 innings pitched this season.

Fresh off a very encouraging last start, A.J. Burnett gets the call for New York and will be aiming to climb over the .500 mark for the season. The erratic right-hander delivered five shutout innings before leaving due to a rain delay in a 7-1 victory over Kansas City on Friday, a stark improvement over his prior time out. Against Tampa Bay on July 17, Burnett was tagged for four runs in two-plus innings and was forced to exit early after cutting both his hands on a clubhouse door in frustration.

Aside from that forgettable performance, Burnett has actually pitched very well this month. After enduring a five-start losing streak from June 4-26, the 33-year-old has gone 2-1 with a 2.61 ERA in four July assignments.

One of Burnett's best showings of the year came against the Indians, a May 30 win in which he allowed three runs -- one earned -- and struck out eight without a walk over eight innings. He's still just 2-4 with a 5.68 ERA in seven career starts versus Cleveland, and 0-4 with a 9.00 ERA through four all-time visits to Progressive Field.

New York took three of four games from the Indians in that late-May series at Yankee Stadium and has prevailed in eight of the last 11 clashes between the teams. In their only visit to Cleveland last season, the Yankees won three of four tests from the Tribe.

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MySportsbook.com and Kentucky Derby Offer Bonuses
The 2008 Kentucky Derby has announced a $1-million bonus for this weekend’s 134th ‘Run for the Roses’ and MySportsbook.com is doing the same.

Well, not quite $1 million, but MySportsbook.com is offering a 75% rebate for Kentucky Derby lines. Check out the exclusive horse racing bonus for all the details.

According to MySportsbook.com, the favorites for Saturday’s Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky are: Curlin (+250); Street Sense (+500); Scat Daddy (+700); Circular Quay (+750); and Nobiz Like Shobiz (+800).

Derby organizers announced this week that there will be a $1-million bonus at the 2007 Kentucky Derby odds if the first-place horse wins by more than 6 1/2 lengths – the margin of Barbaro's victory last year. The bonus would be divided Saturday among the winning trainer, jockey, owner and a charity, with each receiving 25 percent. The designated charity is the Barbaro Memorial Fund.

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Meanwhile, the Derby favorite – Curlin – is going against the odds this year. It's been 125 years since Apollo won after skipping his 2-year-old season, and not since Regret in 1915 has such a lightly seasoned horse worn the blanket of red roses.

Arkansas Derby winner Curlin – unbeaten in three career races – tries to overcome both those obstacles in Saturday's 133rd Derby.

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Asmussen dismissed suggestions that Curlin's lack of racing experience could keep him from the winner's circle.

”He exudes confidence and he's got a great presence about him,'' the trainer said. ''I feel great about the position we're in. He's not worried about anything, why should you be?''
   
The Kentucky Derby is at 4:04 p.m., ET Saturday.

For complete odds on the Kentucky Derby, visit MySportsbook.com. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.


Pro Football Odds : NFC SOUTH BETTING ODDS

NFL Sports Betting

NFL betting action is back! At MySportsbook, all of the pro football odds are posted for the NFC North. Check out how we see the four teams in this cloudy division stacking up this year in the chase for the playoffs! Green Bay Packers (+125) - With QB Aaron Rodgers leading the offense and DC Dom Capers working his magic on defense, the Packers are a real force to be reckoned with.

Virtually nothing changed on this offense for Green Bay from last year to this year, save for the addition of rookie OT Brian Bulaga to the bunch. Expect more huge numbers from the Pack, and a relatively favorable schedule should get them over the hump and into the playoffs once again this season. My NFL Betting Predictions: 11-5, 1st place in NFC North Minnesota Vikings (+130) - There are still too many unknowns about the Vikes this year. There is a huge difference between QB Brett Favre and either Tarvaris Jackson or Sage Rosenfels under center. Plus, is Favre comes back, is he really going to be able to keep his pick total under double digits again? Depth at running back looked like it might have been an issue with RB Chester Taylor fleeing in free agency, but drafting RB Toby Gerhart should pick up the difference. This defense is still suitable, but with a first place schedule, making the playoffs is going to be very tough regardless of whether #4 comes back or not.

There is a huge difference between QB Brett Favre and either Tarvaris Jackson or Sage Rosenfels under center. Plus, is Favre comes back, is he really going to be able to keep his pick total under double digits again? Depth at running back looked like it might have been an issue with RB Chester Taylor fleeing in free agency, but drafting RB Toby Gerhart should pick up the difference. This defense is still suitable, but with a first place schedule, making the playoffs is going to be very tough regardless of whether #4 comes back or not. Play this weekly NFL Football Contestto see if you can win.

Chicago Bears (+350) - The Bears are probably a bit of an overhyped team once again this year.No, we don't think it is plausible for QB Jay Cutler to have as bad of a season as he did last year, and we do think the additions of RB Chester Taylor and DE Julius Peppers are going to help immensely, but there's still something in the water in the Windy City that we aren't so sure about. Maybe Chicago finds its way to .500... but then again, maybe it doesn't. If Favre comes back, Cutler might be the worst quarterback in this division this year.

Detroit Lions (+1500) - The Lions are probably once again going to be the whipping boys for the rest of the teams in the NFC North, but they aren't just going to roll over and die once again. There is some real talent amassing on this team offensively, as the combination of QB Matt Stafford, RB Jahvid Best, WR Calvin Johnson, and TE Brandon Pettigrew should put a bunch of points on the board if the offensive line can even remotely hold up. The questions really lie on defense, where it feels like DT Ndamukong Suh is going to be trying to stop opposing teams all by himself. This year should show some marked improvement in the Motor City.

The Patriots will make NFL betting fans a lot of money this season, get in early and enjoy the cash.

NFL Betting

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