Rodriguez earns 34th save against A's
Baseball Betting Lines
07/03/2008 -
Anaheim, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Juan Rivera homered in the sixth to break a
three-all tie and Francisco Rodriguez picked up his 34th save, tying a pre-
All-Star break record, as the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim won 7-4 in the
rubber match of a three-game set against the Oakland Athletics.
"I don't want to pay attention to it right now. John Smoltz is one of the best
pitchers in the big leagues," Rodriguez said. "I just want to do my job. When
they call the bullpen, I want to get it done. I just want to stay healthy for
the rest of the season."
Joe Saunders (12-4) struck out five batters in 6 1/3 innings allowing four
runs -- two earned -- on six hits and two walks. Rodriguez tied Smoltz's
record set in 2003 while with Atlanta with the save and Saunders' 12 victories
tie Arizona's Brandon Webb for the major league lead.
"Twelve (wins) means I've gotten off to a good start. I didn't have much
today, but I got some ground balls," Saunders said. "I think I found my
curveball in the sixth inning. It was a battle today."
Rivera had three RBI and Erick Aybar hit a solo home run and scored twice for
the Angels, who have won two in a row and three of four.
Dana Eveland pitched 5 2/3 innings giving up three runs on four hits and a
walk while striking out four as Oakland lost its second straight game and
fourth in its last five.
Keith Foulke (0-3) took the loss allowing two runs on two hits and a walk in
one-third of an inning.
Mark Ellis was 2-for-4 with a pair of RBI, while Rajai Davis had a double and
a run scored for the Athletics.
A two-out rally in the bottom of the sixth inning gave the Angels a 5-3 lead.
Torii Hunter doubled to left with one out and remained there on a Howie
Kendrick groundout. The A's brought Foulke in for Eveland to get the final
out, but Casey Kotchman doubled to plate Hunter and tie the game. Rivera
followed with his first homer this season.
Oakland had a chance to tie the game in the seventh, but Rob Bowen botched it
with poor baserunning. Carlos Gonzalez hit a one-out single and come home on a
Bowen grounder that Aybar threw wide of first, allowing Gonzalez to come all
the way home as Bowen advanced to third. Donnie Murphy followed with a walk
before Davis hit a grounder to third baseman Chone Figgins, who got Murphy out
in a rundown as he tried to score on the play.
Aybar atoned for his throwing error in the bottom of the inning with his third
homer.
The Angels scored for a third consecutive inning in the eighth on a Reggie
Willits one-out sacrifice fly. Kendrick scored on the play after leading off
with a single, moving to second on a passed ball, and to third on a Kotchman
sacrifice fly.
Los Angeles scored in each of the first two innings to take a 2-0 lead. Aybar
moved to third on a Vladimir Guerrero two-out single after reaching on a
fielder's choice in the first inning. Aybar then scored on an Eveland wild
pitch.
Kendrick led off the second with a double and advanced to third on a Kotchman
groundout. Kendrick scored when Rivera grounded to shortstop Bobby Crosby, who
failed to get Kendrick on a throw home instead of taking the easy out at
first.
The A's cut the lead in half with a run in the fourth. Crosby hit a one-out
single before scoring on an Emil Brown double one batter later. Crosby stopped
at third but came home on a Gary Matthews throwing error while Brown was
thrown out trying to reach third.
Murphy walked and Davis doubled to lead off the sixth. Ellis brought both
runners home with a single to center giving Oakland a 3-2 lead.
Game Notes
All three of switch-hitter Aybar's home runs have come from the left side of
the plate...Saunders is 4-1 lifetime against Oakland...Anaheim has won eight
of its last 12.
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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.
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
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