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07/27/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Yankees used the long ball to come through with a win over the Cleveland Indians last night, but none came off the bat of Alex Rodriguez.
With their star slugger still stuck on 599 career home runs, the Yankees vie for a second straight victory in this four-game series when the defending world champions return to Progressive Field this evening.
Rodriguez failed in his attempt to become the seventh player in major league history to reach the 600-homer milestone in Monday's opener of this set, but the Yankees did receive round-trippers from Curtis Granderson and Nick Swisher in their 3-2 triumph over the Indians. Granderson's shot, a two-run blast off Tribe starter Jake Westbrook in the top of the eighth inning, erased a 2-1 deficit and helped give New York its fifth win in its last six contests.
Westbrook (6-7) had limited the Yankees' potent offense to one run over the first seven innings, but gave up a leadoff single to Jorge Posada in the eighth and Granderson followed with a deep drive into the right-field seats to put New York ahead.
"I don't know exactly [about] the location," said Westbrook of the pitch. "I mean, [Granderson's] a good low-ball hitter and that's what I'm trying to do is keep the ball down and get a double play -- and he hit a homer."
Granderson's homer also made a winner out of Javier Vazquez (9-7) after the Yankee starter held Cleveland to two runs and five hits over seven innings. Mariano Rivera protected the lead with a scoreless ninth to notch his 21st save of the year.
Rodriguez finished 0-for-4 and has now gone four games since hitting career homer No. 599 in a win over Kansas City last Thursday. The three-time American League MVP will continue his quest tonight, when he'll also be celebrating his 35th birthday.
"I'm not really concerned about it," said Rodriguez of reaching the mark. "It's going to come whether it's this week, or next week or next month. The important thing for me is to stay within the game, take my walks. It all comes back to the same fundamentals."
Rodriguez, as well as the rest of his Yankee teammates, will be going up against an unfamiliar opponent this evening, with the Indians tabbing Josh Tomlin to make his first major league start. The young right-hander will be taking the rotation spot of Aaron Laffey, placed on the disabled list last week due to a fatigued left shoulder.
Tomlin earned tonight's assignment by compiling an 8-4 record over 20 appearances (17 starts) with Triple-A Columbus, and his 2.68 earned run average currently ranks second-best in the International League. The 25-year- old has been a consistent winner after since being selected by the Tribe in the 19th round of the 2006 draft, having gone 51-24 over five seasons in the minors.
The Yankees bring a far more experienced pitcher into the fray tonight, with former Indians star CC Sabathia set to take on his original team. The All-Star southpaw will be taking aim at his 150th career victory when he takes the mound, in addition to trying to become the AL's first 14-game winner of the season.
Sabathia is tied with Tampa Bay's David Price for the league lead in wins and enters tonight's game having come out on top in each of his last nine decisions. The New York ace is unbeaten in 11 straight starts since his most recent loss, which took place against the crosstown-rival Mets on May 23.
He extended his remarkable win streak in the Yankees' 10-4 triumph over Kansas City on Thursday, although Sabathia wasn't at his best that night. He was touched for four runs (three earned) and gave up a season high-tying 11 hits over 6 1/3 innings, but did register nine strikeouts for the game.
Sabathia broke into the majors with the Indians in 2001 and pitched 7 1/2 seasons with Cleveland before being traded to Milwaukee midway through the 2008 campaign. He amassed a 106-71 record during his tenure with the Tribe and captured the AL's Cy Young Award after going 19-7 with a 3.21 ERA in 2007.
The 30-year-old did take on the Indians at Progressive Field once last season, and dealt his ex-club a loss with seven innings of three-run ball that night. Sabathia also recorded a pair of no-decisions in two other starts against Cleveland, including a May 29 clash at Yankee Stadium in which he permitted five runs in six innings of work.
New York took three of four games from the Indians in that late-May series at Yankee Stadium and has prevailed in eight of the last 10 clashes between the teams. In their only visit to Cleveland last season, the Yankees won three of four tests from the Tribe.
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(This is an update of a sportsbook for the May 4th issue of ESPN The Magazine).
The Kentucky Derby's post-position draw happened on Wednesday. And, as is always the case, shortly afterwards, a buzz raced around Churchill Downs. It was a low rumble at first, nothing that the squares in the mint julep crowd pick up right away. But by the time the sun set over the twin spires, the chatter was impossible to ignore. Everyone -- sharps, trainers, owners -- was talking about one thing: the wise guy horse, the pre-draw long shot us mopes didn't have on our radar until it was too late.
"You think you're hearing the scoop," says handicapper Lane Gold. "Then you get to the window, the odds are short, and you missed it."
Recognizing a wise-guy horse early is as hard as picking a Derby bonnet. That's because handicappers don't like hype (see ya, I Want Revenge). They want Thoroughbreds who look good losing prep races like the Santa Anita Derby. They eye horses who ate up the field after starting wide or made an easy transition from synthetic tracks to dirt. They look for ponies who showed muscle gain race to race and those who ran hard after several weeks' rest.
"A wise guy," says John Avello, a bookmaker at Wynn Las Vegas, "looks for a horse who can improve."
When I first wrote Horse Betting for The Mag, which I turned in a three weeks before Wednesday's draw, I predicted these three horses had wise guy potential:
CHOCOLATE CANDY (15-1 in mid-April, currently 20-1 according to Avello): His second-place finish at Santa Anita, following a seven-week layoff, proved two things: He can run after resting, and -- by losing a high-profile prep race -- he wouldn't be overhyped.
DESERT PARTY (15-1; 15-1): He was upset in the UAE Derby by a horse he had beaten twice. The public remembers his loss, but the wise guys his wins.
PIONEEROF THE NILE (8-1; 4-1): The big favorite at Santa Anita struggled to win, so he initially got less hype than Quality Road and I Want Revenge.
You may have noticed that the odds on Pioneerof the Nile have been cut in half, from 8-1 to 4-1. Which means the wise guys took a shine to him long before the post-position draw. But, to be honest, this is one of those years with four elite horses getting everyone's attention, squares and sharps alike.
"You're not gonna get a lot of chatter about a horse that isn't in that group, which includes Pioneer, I Want Revenge, Dunkirk and Friesan Fire," Avello told me Wednesday. "We don't have a group of horses behind those top four who look like real legit contenders."
Come Derby week, the final two elements in picking a wise guy horse are how he's working out and what gate he's coming out of.
(By the way, picking a Preakness favorite is a whole different bale of hay, partially based on how horses finish in the Derby. You can see my analysis of who has the best shot at Pimlico on Insider Sunday morning.)
Well, early in the week I Want Revenge, Pioneerof the Nile and Friesan Fire were working out better than anyone. Some thought Friesan Fire, currently 6-1, might have run too fast, burning a five-furlong run in :57 4/5. "When you are running that fast you have the sense that it took something out of him," says Gold. "The Derby is longer than any horse has run, and if they need that extra surge you worry they won't have it because they burned it in the workout."
But, Gold points out, Friesan Fire's trainer is Larry Jones, Two years ago his horse Hard Spun did a five-eighths workout in :57 3/5 and then went on to finish second, behind Street Sense, in the Derby. "Every trainer has different methods," says Gold. "And clearly he knows what he's doing."
Now, as for starting position, Gold says to remember this: Churchill Downs traditionally has 14 starting gates. For the Derby, it brings out auxiliary gates and between the original 14th gate and the new 15th gate, there is a little more space than there is between gates 1-14. "That 15 position will give you a precious second or two to sort out what's happening to your inside," says Gold. "Sixteen is also okay because you can follow the horse in front of you."
Dunkirk, one of the race favorites, is coming out of gate 15. In 16 is Baffert's Pioneerof the Nile. I Want Revenge drew 13, where Smarty Jones won from in 2004, and Friesan Fire picked the sixth position. "He doesn't have a lot of speed to the inside of him," says Gold. "So he will get a clear shot to be near the front."
All the jibber-jabber means this: Pioneerof the Nile has leapfrogged from 8-1 to being the second favorite, along with Dunkirk, behind I Want Revenge. Meanwhile, Friesan Fire, with a good trainer, a strong week of training and a decent post position, is still at 6-1. "By Saturday, it's possible he could go from fourth to the favorite," says Gold.
In other words, meet Friesan Fire, your 2009 wise guy horse.
"Now," says Avello, "it's time for action."
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