Riggans, Sonnanstine lead Rays over Bucs, into first in AL East
Baseball Betting Lines
06/29/2008 -
Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Shawn Riggans went 3-for-4, homered, drove
in two and scored, and the Tampa Bay Rays edged the Pirates, 4-3, to take
two of three from Pittsburgh, and take first place in the American League
East.
The Red Sox lost to the Astros, 3-2, on Sunday, allowing the Rays to vault
past Boston and into first prior to a three-game set between the clubs.
Boston, which led Tampa by a half-game entering play Sunday, visits the Rays
for three games starting on Monday. This will be the first matchup between the
clubs since Boston's three-game sweep of the Rays at Fenway Park in early
June, a series which included a benches-clearing brawl.
The win put the Rays back at a franchise-record 17 games over .500. Tampa is
49-32 at the season's official halfway point, after going a major league-worst
66-96 last season. The previous best record for the club at the halfway mark
was 40-41 in 2004.
Andy Sonnanstine (9-3) scattered five hits and two runs over seven frames,
fanning four and walking one for the Rays, who have won five of six heading
into another clash with the American League East-leading Red Sox.
"I went in with the mindset, knowing that I'm going in as long as I can. It's
tough with the National League rules,the pitchers bat in the line-up. I feel
real good about what happened," said Sonnanstine.
Jack Wilson went 2-for-4 and scored twice for the Pirates, who have dropped
three of four. Tyler Yates (3-1) took the loss after allowing two runs on
three hits in two innings of relief for Tom Gorzelanny, who gave up two runs
on eight hits with eight strikeouts and two walks in six frames.
"Today was a tough one," said Wilson. "We battled, Gorzo (Gorzelanny) threw
great.The other guy (Sonnanstine) had really good off-speed stuff, keeping us
off-balanced. We had our chances. In the end, we couldn't come though."
The game was tied at 2-2 after seven innings, but an Xavier Nady throwing
error allowed the Rays to go on top in the eighth. Carlos Pena led off with a
single to right, and Willy Aybar followed with another single to right. Nady
tried to throw Pena out at third, but his throw bounced up the line, allowing
Pena to score the go-ahead run.
Riggans singled in Aybar later in the frame for a 4-2 lead.
Ryan Doumit's pinch-hit RBI single in the eighth cut the deficit to one run
for the Pirates, but Troy Percival recovered from a leadoff walk and set down
the next three batters in the ninth to pick up his 19th save.
Riggans' leadoff homer in the fourth put Tampa on top, but Jason Bay's
sacrifice fly in the home half tied it at 1-1.
Aybar led off the sixth with a homer to left, again putting the Rays in front
by a run, but Nate McLouth's RBI groundout in the sixth knotted the game.
Game Notes
Tampa finished its interleague slate 12-6, while the Pirates went 5-9 against
the AL...Following their 4-3, 13-inning win on Saturday, the Pirates
optioned pitcher Ty Taubenheim to Triple-A Indianapolis. On Sunday they
recalled right-handed reliever Romulo Sanchez from their Triple-A
affiliate...The Rays outhit the Bucs, 12-7, but left 11 runners on base,
including failing to score despite loading the bases with one out in the
second.
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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
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.
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