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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Pacific-10 Conference odds

Teams that should be in: Stanford

Oregon and USC get their tickets punched after taking care of business this weekend. Yes, the Trojans' computer numbers aren't great, but there's no way the third-place team in this league is getting nixed. Grudgingly, I added Arizona after consultation with our Bracketologist. I don't know that Arizona will lose its last three (including a Pac-10 quarterfinal game), and even if the Cats do, I still can't see how they'd be left out, given the overall profile. That said, it bears watching, as three more L's would leave them at 18-12 (9-9) and on a 6-11 skid entering the Dance. It would be nice to see the Wildcats get at least one W in the Bay Area next week, as Cincinnati (albeit without Armein Kirkland and with a worse profile) was axed after a similar slide last season. I just couldn't rationalize having some of the other teams as locks and not having Arizona in that category -- there just aren't enough good teams behind the Cats to threaten their spot, it seems. Stanford has its fate in its own hands with the Arizona schools coming to the Farm to close out the regular season next weekend.

Should be in:

Stanford [17-10 (9-7), RPI: 40, SOS: 21] No shame in not getting a win in L.A., but that makes the home game against Arizona State a must-win ahead of what could be an intriguing meeting with Arizona should the Cats lose at Cal. Getting to 11 Pac-10 wins would make Selection Sunday much more comfortable, but 10's probably more than enough this season. The Cardinal have nonconference wins over Texas Tech and at Virginia to lean on, although they also lost badly to Air Force and Santa Clara at home.

Southeastern Conference odds
Work left to do: Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, Mississippi State

It looks more and more possible that no one from the SEC West will make the NCAAs. How weird is that? Tennessee and Vandy move into the locks category after more good work this weekend. Kentucky stays there, although it would be smart for the Cats to handle Georgia at home Wednesday ahead of a trip to the Swamp. Could a disaster scenario (two more L's and a first-round SEC tourney exit) somehow dislodge the Cats despite their incredible computer numbers? Still unlikely, but not worth chancing it.

Work left to do:

Alabama [19-9 (6-8), RPI: 43, SOS: 47] The tough L at Tennessee was understandable, and even created some hope. Unfortunately, that hope was dashed by a home loss to Auburn, which leaves the Tide in some real trouble. There's still no signature win on the profile (no, Kentucky doesn't count), and the computer profile is weakening rapidly. The Tide conceivably could beat Ole Miss and win at Miss. State to get to 8-8 and clinch at least a share of the West crown, but that's probably not enough right now. The Tide will need to do some work in the SEC tourney.

Georgia [16-10 (8-6), RPI: 52, SOS: 23] This is the team with the best chance to make it from this section right now. The Bulldogs rebounded from a terrible performance at Ole Miss to beat down Miss. State. Now they are at Kentucky (king of the RPI 51-100 win) and home to Tennessee. That would be worth a lot of computer points to get both (which is doable), as both teams are in the top 11 in RPI. Finishing at least 9-7 is an absolute must, and I would feel much better about the Dawgs' chances if they got both to get to 10 SEC wins. They also beat Gonzaga, but lost to ACC bubblers Georgia Tech and Clemson.

Mississippi [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 63, SOS: 79] Like everyone else in this division, Ole Miss gacked up a chance to stake a claim, losing by double figures at South Carolina. Even 9-7 likely is not nearly enough with a nonconference profile devoid of anything notable.

Mississippi State [16-11 (7-7), RPI: 66, SOS: 37] With a chance to get in the mix, these Bulldogs were leashed by their Georgia counterparts. Could they get to 9-7? I guess -- although winning at Arkansas, then beating Alabama is no lock -- but would that mean all that much for a team with this overall profile? Probably not. There's nothing of note (on the good side) in the nonconference profile.

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Online Sportsbook Football Betting

Colts give the ‘D’ its due

The Indianapolis Colts know that winning the Super Bowl last season put a huge target on their backs, and they expect opponents to go all-out to knock them from the top of the mountain.

They’ll get their first test from the New Orleans Saints this Thursday night. The defending champs had nothing but good things to say about the New Orleans defense this past week, praising their opponents’ pass rush and run-stopping abilities.

"They play very aggressively," head coach Tony Dungy told the New Orleans Times-Picayune. "They play a lot of man-to-man coverage, and they come after you. They have good pass rushers, and they're going to try to pressure us, I'm sure."

Both center Jeff Saturday and quarterback Peyton Manning gave New Orleans’ front four props, admitting keeping guys like Will Smithand Charles Grant contained would be a tall task for the offensive line.

New Orleans ranked second in total defense during the preseason at a sportsbook, allowing just under 233 yards per game. Last season, the defense finished 11th in the league after giving up 307.3 yards and 20.1 points per contest.

Not so sound on the ground

If Indianapolis' efficient offense has a weakness it has to be its running attack. The Colts one-two-punch of Dominic Rhodes and Joseph Addai is no longer, leaving the bulk of the carries to Addai, the second-year back out of LSU.

Former Saskatchewan Roughrider Kenton Keith was named Addai’s backup this week after beating out DeDe Dorsey for the second-string position. Indy has only three backs on the roster right now, including fullback Luke Lawton, and coach Dungy is aware of the thinness of his ground game. Sports Betting lines on the game can be found at BettingExpress.com

“We’ll continue to look. Luke Lawton’s done a good job for us too. So probably getting a third true tailback is something that we’d like to do,” Dungy told the Indiana Tribune-Star.

Last season, Addai rushed for over 1,000 yards in his rookie campaign and scored seven touchdowns on the ground.

Brees says bring it on

Opening the season on the road against the defending Super Bowl champions is not the way most teams would like to kick off their year – unless you’re the New Orleans Saints or their quarterback Drew Brees. This internet Sportsbooks had the Saints as the favorites.

Brees told the New Orleans Times-Picayune that he is excited to get the regular season started and the Colts are a great challenge for him and his teammates. The 28-year-old QB, entering his second season with the Saints, is expecting a wild environment in the RCA Dome this Thursday when the franchise celebrates its 2007-2007 championship.

Brees said he sees the opening game scheduling as an honor and a testament to how well New Orleans did last season. The Saints missed facing the Colts in the Super Bowl by one game, losing to the Chicago Bearsin the NFC Championship game.

"I mean, people think we can hang with these guys," Brees told reporters. "Even if they didn't, it wouldn't matter what they thought because as a team we're very confident. We know what we can do. We're not satisfied where we finished the season last year. And we've been looking forward to this opportunity for a long time."

SportsBooks ready for a shootout

Oddsmakers are preparing for some fireworks this Thursday when the NFL season kicks off. online Sportsbooks have Thursday’s total set at a whopping 52 points, accounting for two of the league’s most explosive offenses.

“This is like must-see TV,” Saints cornerback and former Colt Jason David told the Baton Rouge Advocate. “It’s two exciting offenses with great players. You’ve got a lot of star power on offense. At any given time a big play can happen. If I was a fan, I wouldn’t miss a snap.”

New Orleans, who ranked No.1 in total offense last season, can go blow-for-blow with the Colts’ attack. Head coach Sean Payton’s offensive schemes will get even better production out of Drew Brees, Reggie Bush and receiver Marques Colston now that they’ve each had a season of playing together under their belts.

The Saints and Colts were the top two passing teams in the NFL last year, but while Indianapolis managed to put up almost 27 points per game, New Orleans struggled to capitalize on their efforts. The Saints ranked fifth in points per game.

“Yards are great,” running backDeuce McAllister told reporters, “but to be able to score more touchdowns would be important for us.”

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