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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Big East Conference odds

Work left to do: Villanova, Syracuse, DePaul, West Virginia, Providence

Notre Dame and Louisville appear to have done enough to make the move, so we'll make them locks. The Cardinals, despite a modest RPI, are trending way up and have clinched at least a tie for third in the Big East, which should be more than enough with their pair of big road wins. Villanova got back to .500 and gets back to more solid footing. Syracuse got a very important road win and crippled a fellow contender in the process. West Virginia's fate could be in its hands Tuesday at Pitt.

Work left to do:

Villanova [18-9 (7-7), RPI: 21, SOS: 5] Pounded Rutgers to get back to .500. If Cats can get their last two (at UConn, vs. Syracuse), that should be enough with strong computer numbers and a host of wins away from The Pavilion. The Cats have beaten Texas and swept the Big 5 (never easy in Philly), but have a couple of losses to bubble teams (Xavier, Drexel), too. I still think they'll be OK, possibly even at 8-8.

Syracuse [20-8 (9-5), RPI: 53, SOS: 62] History says 10 wins will be plenty, but it might be hard for the Orange to get that last one with a final two vs. G'town, which is trying to win the league title, and at Villanova, which will be desperate for a W. The relative lack of nonconference heft and the weak computer numbers are still concerns, but the Orange have won four in a row and got a very, very big win at Providence on Saturday.

DePaul [16-12 (8-7), RPI: 54, SOS: 18] Beat Cincy and should get past South Florida to get to 9-7, but then what? They have beaten Kansas and Cal (right after the DeVon Hardin injury) earlier this season, but also have lost to Bradley and Purdue, among others. They'll likely need a couple of BE tourney wins, too, but we'll see ...

West Virginia [19-7 (8-6), RPI: 58, SOS: 125] The game at Pitt on Tuesday night could decide the Mountaineers' fate (barring a deep tournament run). They can still get to 9-7 in the Big East without it by beating Cincinnati, but the nine wins would be against UConn, Villanova, St. John's, South Florida, DePaul, Rutgers, Seton Hall twice and the Bearcats. Beating bubble foes is fine, but where's the beef? Outside of beating PG-less UCLA in nonconference play (still a top quality win), there's not a lot to fall back on (besides maybe NC State). WVU vs. Syracuse would be an interesting debate, as the teams don't play in the Big East regular season. WVU has the best win, but Cuse has played the much better schedule.

Providence [17-10 (7-7), RPI: 70, SOS: 33] The Friars likely saw their at-large hopes die at home in the four-point loss to Syracuse, barring an unexpected run to the Big East semis or more. The RPI, bad already, won't be helped by playing St. John's and South Florida in the final two league games.

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