Major League Baseball Betting
With another strong performance at Boston’s favorite home away from home, Josh Beckett became the first major leaguer to reach 15 wins. His only regret was that he couldn’t finish what he started. Beckett came within one out of his third career shutout, and Julio Lugo and J.D. Drew each drove in two runs to help the Red Sox beat the Baltimore Orioles 6-2 Saturday.
Angels manager Mike Scioscia wasn’t too comfortable with the way the Minnesota Twins’ infield was guarding against a bunt by Maicer Izturis, so he called him over and told him to swing away. Izturis did just that, hitting his third home run in 11 at-bats to drive in the tying and go-ahead runs for Los Angeles in the eighth inning of a 4-3 victory Saturday night.
Jamey Carroll has struggled this year to find the groove he had in 2006. At least for one swing, he captured it again Saturday night. Carroll hit a pinch-hit grand slam to break open a tie game in the sixth and Brad Hawpe and Troy Tulowitzki each drove in three runs to lead the Colorado Rockies past the Chicago Cubs 15-2 Saturday night.
Miguel Cabrera and Josh Willingham were two of the last Florida Marlins to leave the field Saturday night. They might have been looking for more Mets relievers to feast on. Cabrera hit a tiebreaking single in the eighth inning, Willingham had his first career grand slam and the Florida Marlins rallied for a 7-5 victory over New York.
A second consecutive late-inning rally might be just what the Milwaukee Brewers need to shake their recent slump. Ryan Braun hit a three-run homer and Prince Fielder followed with a solo shot, both off Astros closer Brad Lidge, as the Brewers rallied in the ninth to defeat Houston 7-4 Saturday night.
When Brandon Webb takes the mound for Arizona lately, one run for the Diamondbacks is plenty. The reigning NL Cy Young award winner pitched his second shutout in a row to extend his scoreless inning streak to a club-record 33 Saturday night and lead the Diamondbacks to their 17th victory in 20 games, 1-0 over the Washington Nationals.
After chasing Atlanta starter Lance Cormier with three runs in the fifth inning, the Philadelphia Phillies had runners on the corners and nobody out. With a raucous crowd rallying them on, they appeared ready to take the lead. That’s when reliever Ron Mahay stopped the Phillies — fast. The left-hander struck out Ryan Howard and Aaron Rowand before retiring Greg Dobbs on a grounder to preserve a…
Alex Rodriguez took a couple more swings up to No. 503. Mike Mussina saved mementos from No. 100. The Cleveland Indians? They got their usual two and stopped right there. Rodriguez kept up his unrelenting surge against the Indians — six homers in five games — and New York cruised to an 11-2 victory Saturday night that gave Mussina his 100th win with the Yankees, who have gone a month without slowing…
Jim Leyland usually gives his players all the credit for victories. Saturday, he gave it to someone else. “Dave Dombrowski showed today why he’s such a good general manager,” the Detroit Tigers manager said after a 5-2 win over Oakland on Saturday night. “He knows what we need and he takes care of it.” The Tigers came into the game with their bullpen in tatters after allowing 37 runs in four games,…
Rick Ankiel has a simple message for St. Louis Cardinals fans. “Don’t hold me to days like this,” he said. Ankiel homered twice and drove in three runs, the latest power display by the former pitcher, and the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-1 on Saturday. Ankiel, who scored three times, hit the first pitch he saw in the first and seventh innings to right field, giving him three home…
