Yanks rout Rays to sweep doubleheader

Baseball Betting Lines

07/22/2007 - Bronx, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Alex Rodriguez belted his 33rd homer of the season, drove in four runs, and Johnny Damon had a four-RBI game as well to lead New York's 17-5 thrashing of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, completing a sweep of a day/night doubleheader for the Yankees in the middle two games of a four- game set.

Rodriguez's homer brought him to within three of career number 500, and his four RBI put him at 96 on the season. Damon also scored three times for the Yankees, who pounded out 20 hits to win their seventh in nine games. Bobby Abreu finished 2-for-4 with three RBI and three runs scored for New York.

Yankees starter Matt DeSalvo was rocked for seven hits and four runs in 4 2/3 innings. Luis Vizcaino (8-2) tossed 1 1/3 innings of scoreless relief to pick up his second win of the day.

JP Howell (1-4) surrendered a career-high 10 hits and career-high seven runs in five innings for the Devil Rays, who had won three of four after Friday's 14-4 rout of the Yanks, but have now dropped three of four. Jonny Gomes went 3-for-4 with two runs scored for Tampa Bay.

The Yankees picked right up with three runs in the first, plating two on Abreu's double to left-center. Rodriguez followed with a double to right- center, scoring Abreu.

Josh Wilson's two-run single in the second brought the Rays to within a run, but Damon's run-scoring groundout in the bottom of the inning made it a 4-2 Yankees lead.

New York tacked on three more in the third, courtesy of Robinson Cano's RBI single and Wil Nieves' two-run double, taking a five-run edge.

BJ Upton's two-run single in the fifth and Wilson's sacrifice fly in the sixth again pulled Tampa Bay to within two runs, but Rodriguez came through in the bottom of the inning to end any hopes of a comeback win.

Damon got things started in the sixth with a two-run double, and Abreu laced a one-out single to right, scoring Damon. Rodriguez followed by blasting a two- run shot to left-center, giving the Yanks a 12-5 lead.

"It's disappointing. We definitely had a good shot in the first game, the second game it just got away fast," said Devil Rays manager Joe Madden. "We battled back to 7-5, then the floodgates just opened up after that. We've just got to forget about this and move on to tomorrow."

New York locked up the laugher with five more runs in the seventh. Damon ripped a ground-rule double to left, scoring one run, and Rodriguez stepped to the plate later in the inning with the bases loaded and one out. D-Rays reliever Brian Stokes was able to hold Rodriguez to a sacrifice fly to deep center, but Hideki Matsui followed by blasting a three-run shot to right- center, and New York led by 12.

"I like the fact that we started that way and we kept going," said Yankees manager Joe Torre. "We didn't have many dry innings, to me that's probably the manager's best friend."

Game Notes

During the game, the Yankees announced the acquisition of catcher Jose Molina from the Angels in exchange for right-handed pitcher minor-leaguer Jeff Kennard. DeSalvo is expected to head to the minors when Molina joins the team...Tampa Bay outfielder Carl Crawford left the first game of the doubleheader in the fifth inning with a sprained left ankle, and did not play in the second game...The Rays have never won a doubleheader. They have been swept six times and split six...The Yankees had eight doubles, two shy of the franchise record, set in 1988 and tied in 2003.

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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.

''It's certainly creative, it's certainly fun and it has something for the horsemen, which we always want to embrace,'' Churchill Downs president and chief executive Robert Evans said at a news conference. ''What's really cool is it will force us to remember Barbaro.''
    
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.

''We're not running against history,'' trainer Steve Asmussen said Monday. ''We're running against who they load up.''

Six other horses have run in the Derby without benefit of 2-year-old races and with three or fewer starts. The best any of them managed was a sixth-place finish by Showing Up last year.
   
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.

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Academy Award Betting Odds for Best Picture Offer Great Value

If there is any category that is not an obvious win for any one nominee in this year's Academy Awards, it would be for Best Picture.  Sure the Departed is a 5/7 favorite, but that's hardly anything when we look at Helen Mirren and her "out-of-reach" 1 to 40 odds (which means you would win a whopping $1 for every $40 bet).

For value, take a look at MySportsbook.com Oscars betting odds on my personal favorite, The Queen - a remarkable 12 to 1 long shot.  The film hasn't won any pre-awards for Best Picture (compared to The Departed and Little Miss Sunshine), but there is a tremendous following and it is a strong enough film to warrant a surprise win.

TV Guide advises Oscar watchers should be cautioned not to discount the  drama "Babel" with its strong social themes about overcoming communication gaps among people of different cultures.

"While 'Babel' lost several guild awards to 'Sunshine' and 'Departed,'  it still enjoys loyal support, and historically Oscar voters favor dramas with social messages over comedies like 'Sunshine' and violent crime movies like 'Departed'."

"It hasn't done well in the guilds, which means there isn't much industry support," said Tom O'Neil of awards site TheEnvelope.com, "But several critics are expecting it to win, and that gets my attention." Babel had 7 to 2 odds at press time.

Who is to say independently produced Little Miss Sunshine won't be this year's Crash.  Last year, Crash won for Best Motion Picture, shocking those who bet on gay cowboy flick, Brokeback Mountain, as the favorite to win. 

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