Garza outduels Wakefield as Rays top BoSox
Baseball Betting Lines
07/01/2008 -
St. Petersburg, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Matt Garza twirled seven strong innings
and Dioner Navarro drove in two runs, as the Tampa Bay Rays defeated the
Boston Red Sox, 3-1, at Tropicana Field.
Garza (7-4) allowed one unearned run and five hits with three strikeouts for
the Rays, who have captured the first two of this three-game series and moved
2 1/2 games ahead of Boston atop the American League East standings.
"I believe we're seeing the beginning of good things in the future for
(Garza)," said Tampa Bay manager Joe Maddon. "He pounded the bottom of the
strike zone with good velocity and a good delivery."
Veteran knuckleballer Tim Wakefield allowed two runs -- one earned -- on five
hits over seven innings and suffered the loss. Wakefield (5-6) struck out four
and walked three in the losing effort. The only Red Sox run of the game was
scored by Jacoby Ellsbury, who also notched two hits. Boston dropped its
fourth straight game.
These teams have now faced each other 11 times this season -- the home team
has won every game.
After the Rays opened the scoring in the home first when Carl Crawford scored
on a Wakefield wild pitch, the visitors tied it up in the top of the fourth.
Ellsbury reached first on an infield single but ended up on third base due to
a throwing error by Navarro. When J.D. Drew flied out, Ellsbury tagged from
third and the score was knotted at 1-1.
In the bottom of the inning, though, Navarro made up for his mistake and his
RBI single allowed the Rays to regain the lead. Evan Longoria's one-out
infield single preceded a strikeout by Cliff Floyd. However, Longoria moved to
second on another Wakefield wild pitch and scored when Navarro singled to
right field.
The Red Sox threatened in the sixth with runners on first and second and two
outs, but Manny Ramirez fouled out. In the seventh, Brandon Moss ripped a two-
out single but was stranded after Alex Cora grounded out.
It was the top of the eighth that provided the game's biggest drama. With J.P.
Howell on the mound for Tampa Bay, Ellsbury reached first on Howell's fielding
error and then stole second base. Dustin Pedroia followed with a walk before
Howell fanned Drew.
Grant Balfour then entered from the bullpen and issued a walk to Ramirez,
which loaded the bases. Mike Lowell failed to cash in -- he grounded out to
end the threat.
"We had very few opportunities and we couldn't cash in," said Boston manager
Terry Francona.
Tampa added an insurance run in the home eighth. Boston reliever Manny
Delcarmen took the mound with two outs and runners on first and second. He was
greeted by an RBI single off the bat of Navarro and Carlos Pena crossed the
plate for a two-run lead. Delcarmen struck out Gabe Gross to end the inning.
Balfour remained on the hill for the ninth. He struck out Kevin Youkilis and
Moss before a double into the left-field corner by Cora. But Balfour came
right back and fanned Jason Varitek for his second save of 2008.
"He just steps in and closes the game down (as if) he's been doing it for
years," said Longoria about Balfour.
Game Notes
Despite the loss, Wakefield is 19-4 in 30 career starts against Tampa
Bay...The Rays improved to 32-13 at home this season, while Boston fell to
19-26 on the road in 2008...Garza threw 102 pitches, 65 for strikes...Both
teams produced six hits...It was the 35th stolen base of the season for
Ellsbury, who leads the AL in steals...Wednesday's series finale is scheduled
to feature a strong pitching matchup of Rays' southpaw Scott Kazmir against
popular Boston right-hander Daisuke Matsuzaka...Attendance was 31,112.
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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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