A-Rod goes for 600th homer as Yankees continue set with Royals

Baseball Betting Lines

07/23/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) -- Alex Rodriguez will be attempting to achieve another milestone in his illustrious career when the New York Yankees superstar takes the field against the visiting Kansas City Royals this evening.

After homering in New York's 10-4 victory in Thursday's opener of this four- game series, Rodriguez is now just one shy of becoming only the seventh player in major league history to hit 600 for his career. The All-Star third baseman added a pair of doubles and knocked in four runs to help the Yankees win for the 12th time in their last 15 games.

"I'm having fun," said Rodriguez after last night's game. "I'm trying to drive in big runs for this team. When I hit [number 600], hopefully it is for a win."

Derek Jeter added an inside-the-park home run, the longtime shortstop's first since 1996, and Nick Swisher delivered a two-RBI double during a four-run eighth inning that broke open a close contest. Both players finished with two hits, while Mark Teixeira ended 3-for-5 with an RBI single to help pace New York's 14-hit attack.

The Yankees' offensive barrage helped offset a somewhat shaky performance from ace CC Sabathia, who was reached for four runs (three earned) and allowed 11 hits over the first 6 1/3 innings. The standout lefty still was able to become the AL's first 13-game winner and struck out nine Kansas City hitters before exiting.

Royals starter Bruce Chen (5-4) surrendered five runs on nine hits in six innings to take the loss. Kansas City supported him with 14 hits on the night, but stranded 14 runners in losing for the eighth time in 10 games.

"Great game for eight innings," said Royals manager Ned Yost. "Bruce battled through some things, grinded it out."

Kansas City made a move prior to Thursday's matchup, trading third baseman Alberto Callaspo to the Angels in exchange for pitcher Sean O'Sullivan and a minor-leaguer. Wilson Betemit took Callaspo's place in the lineup and went 2- for-4 with an RBI.

The Royals were also without David DeJesus for much of last night's game after the center fielder injured himself while attempting to flag down Jeter's homer in the third inning. DeJesus suffered a sprained right thumb when running into the wall and will sit out the remainder of this series.

Brian Bannister will try to stave off Rodriguez's attempt at history when he takes the mound for Kansas City tonight, but may have a tough time doing so. Rodriguez has clubbed three homers in seven lifetime at-bats against the right-hander, who comes in having lost three straight decisions and has allowed four runs or more in each of his past four starts.

Bannister has had his share of struggles against the rest of the New York lineup as well. The 29-year-old owns a horrid 15.07 earned run average in four career starts against the Yankees, with the Bronx Bombers having racked up six homers and 30 hits in 14 1/3 innings over those games. In his most recent encounter with New York, Bannister was torched for 10 runs and 10 hits -- including three homers -- while lasting only one inning in a loss at the old Yankee Stadium on August 17, 2008.

The University of Southern California product has also posted a poor 7.45 ERA along with a 3-7 record in 12 starts at night this season. Bannister's most recent outing came during the day but wasn't a good one either, as he permitted five runs and walked six men in 6 1/3 innings to lose to Oakland last Sunday.

New York's A.J. Burnett will also be seeking to put a forgettable last start behind him this evening. The struggling right-hander threw only two-plus innings against Tampa Bay this past Saturday, but was rocked for four runs on four hits in a 10-5 setback to the Rays. The defeat was the sixth in seven decisions for Burnett, and he's registered a lousy 8.15 ERA over that eight- start stretch.

Burnett didn't help his cause on Saturday by reportedly cutting both his hands while taking out his frustrations on a clubhouse door after finishing the second inning. He sustained only minor injuries during the blowup, though, and will be able to take his regular turn in the rotation tonight.

The 33-year-old owns a 2-2 record with a 3.32 ERA over six career starts against Kansas City.

Thursday's victory improved the Yankees to 15-4 against the Royals at home since the start of the 2006 season. New York has won 26 of the 35 meetings between the clubs over that time period.

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Pacific-10 Conference odds

Teams that should be in: Stanford

Oregon and USC get their tickets punched after taking care of business this weekend. Yes, the Trojans' computer numbers aren't great, but there's no way the third-place team in this league is getting nixed. Grudgingly, I added Arizona after consultation with our Bracketologist. I don't know that Arizona will lose its last three (including a Pac-10 quarterfinal game), and even if the Cats do, I still can't see how they'd be left out, given the overall profile. That said, it bears watching, as three more L's would leave them at 18-12 (9-9) and on a 6-11 skid entering the Dance. It would be nice to see the Wildcats get at least one W in the Bay Area next week, as Cincinnati (albeit without Armein Kirkland and with a worse profile) was axed after a similar slide last season. I just couldn't rationalize having some of the other teams as locks and not having Arizona in that category -- there just aren't enough good teams behind the Cats to threaten their spot, it seems. Stanford has its fate in its own hands with the Arizona schools coming to the Farm to close out the regular season next weekend.

Should be in:

Stanford [17-10 (9-7), RPI: 40, SOS: 21] No shame in not getting a win in L.A., but that makes the home game against Arizona State a must-win ahead of what could be an intriguing meeting with Arizona should the Cats lose at Cal. Getting to 11 Pac-10 wins would make Selection Sunday much more comfortable, but 10's probably more than enough this season. The Cardinal have nonconference wins over Texas Tech and at Virginia to lean on, although they also lost badly to Air Force and Santa Clara at home.

Southeastern Conference odds
Work left to do: Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, Mississippi State

It looks more and more possible that no one from the SEC West will make the NCAAs. How weird is that? Tennessee and Vandy move into the locks category after more good work this weekend. Kentucky stays there, although it would be smart for the Cats to handle Georgia at home Wednesday ahead of a trip to the Swamp. Could a disaster scenario (two more L's and a first-round SEC tourney exit) somehow dislodge the Cats despite their incredible computer numbers? Still unlikely, but not worth chancing it.

Work left to do:

Alabama [19-9 (6-8), RPI: 43, SOS: 47] The tough L at Tennessee was understandable, and even created some hope. Unfortunately, that hope was dashed by a home loss to Auburn, which leaves the Tide in some real trouble. There's still no signature win on the profile (no, Kentucky doesn't count), and the computer profile is weakening rapidly. The Tide conceivably could beat Ole Miss and win at Miss. State to get to 8-8 and clinch at least a share of the West crown, but that's probably not enough right now. The Tide will need to do some work in the SEC tourney.

Georgia [16-10 (8-6), RPI: 52, SOS: 23] This is the team with the best chance to make it from this section right now. The Bulldogs rebounded from a terrible performance at Ole Miss to beat down Miss. State. Now they are at Kentucky (king of the RPI 51-100 win) and home to Tennessee. That would be worth a lot of computer points to get both (which is doable), as both teams are in the top 11 in RPI. Finishing at least 9-7 is an absolute must, and I would feel much better about the Dawgs' chances if they got both to get to 10 SEC wins. They also beat Gonzaga, but lost to ACC bubblers Georgia Tech and Clemson.

Mississippi [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 63, SOS: 79] Like everyone else in this division, Ole Miss gacked up a chance to stake a claim, losing by double figures at South Carolina. Even 9-7 likely is not nearly enough with a nonconference profile devoid of anything notable.

Mississippi State [16-11 (7-7), RPI: 66, SOS: 37] With a chance to get in the mix, these Bulldogs were leashed by their Georgia counterparts. Could they get to 9-7? I guess -- although winning at Arkansas, then beating Alabama is no lock -- but would that mean all that much for a team with this overall profile? Probably not. There's nothing of note (on the good side) in the nonconference profile.

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