A-Rod's HR in ninth lifts Yankees past Red Sox

Baseball Betting Lines

06/04/2007 - Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Alex Rodriguez's home run in the top of the ninth lifted the New York Yankees over the Boston Red Sox, 6-5, in the finale of a three-game series at Fenway Park.

Rodriguez, who ended 2-for-5 with two RBI, drove an 0-2 pitch from Jonathan Papelbon (0-1) over the wall in right-center with two outs, helping the Yankees take two of three from the AL East leaders and pull within 12 1/2 games of the Red Sox.

Jorge Posada and Josh Phelps also had two hits and drove in a run apiece for New York, which improved to 3-3 on its current 10-game road trip that will continue on Monday with the opener of a four-game set against the Chicago White Sox.

Brian Bruney (2-1) got the win, tossing one inning of relief. Mariano Rivera worked the ninth, retiring David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez before hitting Kevin Youkilis and then striking out Mike Lowell, for his fifth save of the season.

Dustin Pedroia had two hits and drove in three runs for the Red Sox, who lost for only the second time in eight games and ended a six-game homestand 3-3.

Boston starter Josh Beckett pitched well, but didn't record a decision. The right-hander, who has won his first eight decisions, left the game with a chance to earn the win, but received a no-decision instead. He was charged with four runs on eight hits with three walks and five strikeouts in 6 1/3 innings.

After New York tied the game an inning earlier, Rodriguez ended a tumultuous week in dramatic fashion. The week started for the New York slugger with a newspaper report inferring infidelity, continued with a controversial play while running the bases in Toronto and continued in Boston as he made sure he was seen in public dinning with his wife.

Rodriguez now has 20 homers this season and few have been bigger. If the Yankees are to get back into the playoff picture, taking two of three from Boston, the best team in the majors, is a good start.

The Yankees began the scoring in the second inning. With one out Posada doubled, moved to third on Hideki Matsui's single and scored on Phelps' two- out single that went off the glove of Julio Lugo at short.

New York extended its lead in the fifth. Phelps and Melky Cabrera singled to start the inning. After Johnny Damon flew out and Derek Jeter grounded into a fielder's choice, Bobby Abreu walked to load the bases for Rodriguez, who came through with an infield single to third. On the play, Jeter followed Phelps home as Lowell was charged with a throwing error.

Posada then singled home Abreu for a 4-0 Yankees' cushion.

Boston, though, rallied in the bottom of the inning, scoring five times to take the lead and also knocking New York starter Andy Pettitte from the contest.

Jason Varitek, Wily Mo Pena and Coco Crisp hit consecutive singles to start the inning and load the bases. Pedroia then doubled to clear the bases and draw the Red Sox within one run.

Ortiz followed with a single to chase home Pedroia with the tying run and advanced all the way to third when Abreu misplayed the ball in right field.

Luis Vizcaino then came on for Pettitte and intentionally walked Ramirez before Youkilis lifted a sacrifice fly to center that scored Ortiz with the go-ahead run.

Pettitte allowed five runs on seven hits in 4 1/3 innings, striking out three and walking one.

Boston had a chance to add a run in the sixth, but Lugo was thrown out at the plate on a Pedroia double to end the inning.

The Yankees got Pettitte off the hook in the eighth. After Hideki Matsui singled, Robinson Cano tripled against Red Sox reliever Hideki Okajima. However, Okajima got out of any further trouble by striking out Phelps and inducing ground outs from Cabrera and Damon, as New York stranded the go-ahead run at third.

Game Notes

This was the 12th meeting of the season between these two clubs, with the Red Sox winning seven...Ramirez went 2-for-4 for Boston...Yankees first baseman Doug Mientkiewicz could miss up to six weeks after suffering a concussion, cervical sprain and a broken bone in his right wrist in a collision with Lowell on Saturday...Boston begins a seven-game road trip in Oakland on Monday.

Vegaas Baseball Betting News

<< Chicago tops Columbus to snap five-game skid
Bridgeview, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chad Barrett's amazing 75-yard scoring run helped Chicago defeat Columbus, 3-2, on Sunday and end a five-game winless streak. Barrett picked up a loose ball about 10 yards outside his own box off a cor

<< Buffalo Sabres
Signed goaltender Philippe Gogulla to a three-year entry level contract.

<< Bengals' Joseph sidelined until training camp
Cincinnati, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Cincinnati Bengals cornerback Johnathan Joseph suffered an apparent left foot fracture in the team's minicamp on Saturday. Joseph is expected to undergo surgery in the near future and be ready fo

<< Andersson wins Aurora Health Care Championship
Lake Geneva, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Sofie Andersson of Sweden shot a two-under 70 on Sunday to come from behind and win the Aurora Health Care Championship on the Duramed Futures Tour. She finished at four-under-par 212 for her first win

<< Houston tops Dallas to end three-game losing streak
Houston, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ricardo Clark and Joseph Ngwenya scored in the second half as Houston rallied for a 2-1 win over FC Dallas on Sunday to end its three-game losing streak. Houston had scored just five goals all season, but

Report: Donovan wants out of Orlando >>
Orlando, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - According to a report, Billy Donovan is trying to get out of his contract with the Orlando Magic and return to the University of Florida. Fox Sports, citing two sources close to the situation, reported that

Rice advances to Super Regionals; Florida State, Arkansas upset >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rice, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, Oklahoma State, and UCLA each advanced to the super regionals of the NCAA Tournament on Sunday. The Rice Owls, the No.2 ranked team in the country and th

Magic: Donovan is 'conflicted,' but contact talks continue >>
GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) -Billy Donovan is ``conflicted'' about his decision to leave the Florida Gators to coach the Orlando Magic, and he will continue talking with the NBA team about the contract he agreed to last week, the Magic said Monday.Donova

Magic: Donovan is 'conflicted,' contact talks continue >>
GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) -Billy Donovan is ``conflicted'' about his decision to leave the Florida Gators to coach the Orlando Magic, and he will continue talking with the NBA team about the contract he agreed to last week, the Magic said Monday.It's u

Magic: Donovan is 'conflicted,' contract talks continue >>
GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) -Billy Donovan is ``conflicted'' about his decision to leave two-time NCAA champion Florida to coach the Orlando Magic, the NBA team said Monday, and talks will continue about the contract he agreed to last week.It's unclear w

Big Ten Conference odds

Teams that should be in: Michigan State, Indiana
Work left to do: Illinois, Purdue, Michigan, Iowa

Behind the big two, the pecking order might be in a bit of flux. Has Michigan State passed Indiana after handling the Hoosiers in East Lansing? Where is Illinois in that mix? What looked like a four-big league last week could be morphing into five -- and even six is not unthinkable at this point if everything breaks right.

Should be in:

Michigan State [21-8 (8-6), RPI: 20, SOS: 15] The Spartans made it four-for-four on the homestand, a gigantic accomplishment that leaves them in extremely good shape. MSU is only 1-6 on the road and is at Michigan and at Wisconsin to close things out, meaning the date with the Wolverines on Tuesday looms very, very large. Beating Texas early will hold up well, as will the rout of Bradley and the win over BYU, but will 8-8 be enough? It very well could be, as the computer numbers are good, but why chance it?

Indiana [18-9 (8-6), RPI: 24, SOS: 32] Hmm ... good thing the last two are at Northwestern and home to Penn State, because IU might want to get both to feel completely safe after dropping its third in the last four, fading after halftime at Michigan State. Who knew the best nonconference win would be over Southern Illinois, which is a gift that keeps on giving for the Hoosiers. The win over Wisconsin also looks good on the mantel.

Work left to do:

Illinois [21-9 (9-6), RPI: 31, SOS: 25] A good performance at Penn State leaves the Illini in pretty good shape. Can they go to Iowa and take care of business to really look on their way? That's a huge game, as there is a possible cluster of teams that will end at 9-7. Illinois beat Bradley, but has lost to Xavier. A 9-7 mark and a semifinals trip in Chicago could be enough with the computer profile hanging in there, but it would be better not to mess around, clinching at least a tie for third.

Purdue [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 47, SOS: 28] Couldn't get it done at Iowa, but did win at Northwestern to put 9-7 squarely in sight. Where does that leave the Boilermakers, though? Even if they beat Minnesota and Northwestern at home, that won't help the computer numbers. Nonconference wins over Virginia, DePaul and Oklahoma are solid, but not spectacular. The Boilers very well might need an upset in the B10 quarters to have a legit claim.

Michigan [19-10 (7-7), RPI: 55, SOS: 53] Well, Michigan did what it needed to do, winning at Minnesota to take control of its fate. The Wolverines have Michigan State and an already-wrapped-up-the-league Ohio State at home to close, so the chances are there. Win both and we can talk. There is no marquee win yet in the profile, and the Wolverines were splattered in several games against name opponents. A mediocre computer profile fueled by a lack of road wins isn't helping, either.

Iowa [16-12 (8-6), RPI: 80, SOS: 64] For the sake of being complete, we'll add Iowa, this season's Stanford. It's plausible that the Hawkeyes could get to 10-6 (at Penn State, vs. Illinois left), but where does that leave them after a gruesome nonconference performance where the best win was over ... Toledo? Iowa State? Cornell?? If they get to 10-6, we can start to look at what they need to do in the B10 tourney, although my gut sense is that they would need to make the final and have knocked off Ohio State or Wisconsin on the way to have any real claim.

For more College Basketball betting lines go to MySportsbook.com

Additional sports lines can be found at: www.Sportsbooks.com

To bet on March Madness games this online sportsbook accepts credit cards.