Bombs away: Power-swinging Yanks charge into Kansas City

Baseball Betting Lines

07/23/2007 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Yankees bring their powerful bats into Kansas City for a four-game series with an improving Royals club that begins this evening at Kauffman Stadium.

After enduring a disappointing 14-4 loss to Tampa Bay on Friday, New York outscored the lowly Devil Rays by a 45-12 margin to win the final three tests of a four-game weekend set between the clubs at Yankee Stadium. The 49 total runs were the most in club history for a four-game series since the Bronx Bombers scored 57 times against the Philadelphia Athletics from August 11-13, 1939.

The Yankee offense was at its best over the final two contests. New York pounded out 20 hits in a 17-5 shellacking in the nightcap of a doubleheader on Saturday, then followed with a 25-hit, six-homer barrage in Sunday's 21-4 rout of the Rays.

Alex Rodriguez belted his major league-leading 34th home run of the season and finished with three RBI for the Yankees, while rookie Shelley Duncan clubbed a pair of homers and drove in four runs on the afternoon. New York also received five hits from Hideki Matsui, including a home run, while Robinson Cano went 4-for-6 with a homer and three RBI.

Bobby Abreu also went deep for New York, which has won five straight series and compiled a 14-5 record over that span, and ended 3-for-4 with three RBI.

Andy Pettitte (6-6) was the beneficiary of Sunday's power surge and won his 12th consecutive decision over Tampa Bay by allowing three runs and striking out eight over the first six innings.

With his two-run blast in the sixth inning, Rodriguez now needs just two long balls to become the youngest player in baseball history to reach the coveted 500-homer milestone.

While the Yankees clearly flexed their offensive muscle over the weekend, the club hasn't provided the same type of support when Roger Clemens has taken the mound lately.

The 44-year-old, who will start tonight's opener for New York, received a no decision in his most recent outing despite pitching well enough to win. Clemens held Toronto to one run in six innings of work on Wednesday, but left the game trailing by a 1-0 score. The Yankees later scored six times to emerge victorious.

Clemens is 0-1 in three starts since he earned his 350th career victory by defeating Minnesota on July 2, although the future Hall of Famer has posted a 3.26 earned run average during that stretch.

The seven-time Cy Young Award winner has dominated the Royals over the course of his brilliant career, having amassed a 24-7 record with a 2.17 ERA in 39 lifetime starts. He has not faced Kansas City since the 2005 season, though.

Clemens will take on a Royals squad that has won four of its last five games and just took two of three matchups on the road from the defending AL champion Detroit Tigers. In Sunday's rubber match, Brian Bannister delivered seven outstanding innings to lead Kansas City to a 5-2 triumph.

Bannister (6-6) yielded only one run and four hits while recording three strikeouts. The right-hander received offensive support from Mark Grudzielanek, who collected four hits, and Esteban German, who finished 2- for-5 with a solo home run.

Grudzielanek is batting .542 (13-for-24) over his last five games.

The Royals will send out Odalis Perez in the opener and the left-hander will attempt to win back-to-back starts for the first time since April.

Perez wasn't overly impressive his last time out, as he allowed five runs on seven hits in five innings at Boston on Wednesday, but wound up with the win in a 6-5 Kansas City decision. In his three July starts, the native Dominican has surrendered 13 earned runs and 24 hits over 15 2/3 innings.

The 30-year-old's only previous start against the Yankees came while he was with Atlanta on July 17, 1999. It wasn't a memorable occasion, as Perez was rocked for eight runs and eight hits in just 4 2/3 innings to suffer the loss.

Tonight's game marks the first 2007 meeting between these teams. The Yankees have won 10 of their last 12 encounters with Kansas City and took two of three contests at Kauffman Stadium last September.

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Albert Pujols to be This Year's Home Run Champ Says Online Sportsbook

Barry Bonds is a 50-1 long shot to be this year's home run champ odds.  The favorite to be this year's home run champ is none other than Albert Pujols, however.

Now that Barry Bonds is signed and in Giants camp, it is on to his pursuit of all of sports most prestigious records: the all-time home run mark. Bonds sits just 21 homers shy of tying Hank Aaron for the career mark at 755. Word out of Giants’ camp is that Bonds is the healthiest he has been in a few years. Bonds is just two seasons removed from his injury riddled 2005 campaign where he played in only 14 games and hit only 5 home runs. He did come back last year and had a solid season hitting .270 with 26 bombs. All eyes will be on Bonds this spring and summer not only because of his home run chase but his highly publicized steroid abuse allegations. If and when Bonds breaks the record, he surely will not get the positive attention one should for breaking a record that was once thought of as “unbreakable”. Despite Bonds decent season last year, he is just 50-1 at MySportsbook.com to lead the MLB in long balls this season.

Not surprisingly, the favorites to go deep the most times this season are Albert Pujols 5-1, Ryan Howard 6-1, David Ortiz 8-1 and Alex Rodriguez 12-1. With 49 homers, Pujols finished second in the National League behind Howard (58). Pujols is considered the favorite due to the consistent power numbers that he has posted since breaking into the league in 2001. Also one must consider the fact that he played in 16 fewer games then Howard did due to an injury. Howard smashed 58 homers in his first complete season of big league play en route to the National League MVP odds award. He silenced his critics by successfully hitting left-handed pitching. Howard also displayed the ability to use his power to the opposite field. Two attributes which should keep Howard amongst the league leaders in long balls for years to come. From the American League representatives, David Ortiz leads the field. Ortiz was second in the majors last year with 54 home runs. Except for 1999 when he only played in 10 games, Ortiz has improved on his home run numbers each year he has been in the majors (1997).

Be sure to log onto online sports betting site MySportsbook.com to check out the odds for who will lead the MLB in home runs this season. Below is just a sample of the players listed. With the highest credit card rates in the industry, MySportsbook.com is the place to bet on baseball this summer.

World Series odds

Adam Dunn 15-1

Albert Pujols 5-1

Alex Rodriguez 12-1

Alfonso Soriano 15-1

Andruw Jones 25-1

Barry Bonds 50-1

Carlos Delgado 40-1

David Ortiz 8-1

Jermaine Dye 40-1

Ken Griffey Jr. 100-1

Lance Berkman 40-1

Manny Ramirez 20-1

Richie Sexson 40-1

Ryan Howard 6-1

Travis Hafner 20-1

Vladimir Guerrero 40-1

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.

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

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your Sportsbook credit cards needs.