A-Rod goes for 50th homer in Yanks' matchup against Royals

Baseball Betting Lines

09/08/2007 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Alex Rodriguez could become just the fourth player in Yankees history to reach 50 home runs this evening when New York resumes its three-game series with the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium.

Rodriguez belted his major league-leading 49th homer and finished 3-for-4 on Friday to help the Yankees pull out a 3-2 win in the opener of this set. Bobby Abreu knocked in the go-ahead run in the seventh and Jorge Posada added a home run for the Yankees, who have won three straight games and hold a three-game lead in the AL wild card race over Detroit.

The Rodriguez homer, a lead-off shot in the second, was the 513th of his career, passing both Ernie Banks and Eddie Mathews for sole possession of 17th place on the all-time list. One more home run and A-Rod, who has homered in his last three games and has five home runs in his last six contests, will join Babe Ruth, Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris as the only Yankees to ever reach 50 in a season.

Kyle Farnsworth (2-1) earned the win by pitching a scoreless inning. Ian Kennedy, in his second major-league start, allowed seven hits and two runs with three walks and a pair of strikeouts over five innings.

Joba Chamberlain was again brilliant for the Yankees, tossing two more scoreless innings, while Mariano Rivera retired the side in order in the ninth for his 24th save.

Neal Musser (0-1) took the loss, charged with the Yanks' go-ahead run in two- thirds of an inning in relief. Royals starter Gil Meche gave up two runs and five hits over six innings in the no-decision.

Alex Gordon went 2-for-4 and scored a run for the Royals, who have lost three in a row.

Getting the call for the Yankees this evening will be reliable left-hander Andy Pettitte, who is 12-8 with a 3.82 ERA on the season, but had a six-start losing streak stopped in his last outing. Against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays on Sunday Pettitte allowed five runs and 11 hits in 6 1/3 innings to absorb the loss.

Pettitte has faced the Royals 18 times (16 starts) and is 10-3 against them with a 3.17 ERA.

Kansas City will counter with Brian Bannister, who is 12-7 with a 3.16 ERA. Bannister, though, won his fourth straight start on Sunday in Minnesota, as he held the Twins to a run and six hits in eight innings.

This will be his first-ever appearance against the Yankees.

The Yankees have won seven of eight from the Royals this season, including four of five in KC. New York is also 14-3 in the last 17 meetings.

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COLLEGE FOOTBALL BETTING

NCAA Football Betting

Many fans thought it was the best side in the nation by the end of last season. This year, the polls have built on Georgia's momentum and granted it the No. 1 preseason ranking, followed by Ohio State and USC. (The Associated Press has the Buckeyes at No. 2; USA Today took the Trojans.)

"To have people believing we have one of the best teams in the nation going into this thing, it's exciting for us," Bulldogs coach Mark Richt told the AP. "I don't think anything is guaranteed, but we certainly have put ourselves in position where at least the college football world thinks we're pretty good."

Georgia Bulldogs - 9.5 wins

There's no question they're good, but the Bulldogs have one of the toughest 12-game schedules in the nation, mostly because they play in the powerhouse Southeastern Conference. Away games at No. 15 Arizona State, No. 7 LSU and No. 10 Auburn loom large, with contests between the hedges versus No. 24 Alabama and No. 18 Tennessee as well as the World's Largest Cocktail Party in Jacksonville versus No.5 Florida.

Ohio State Buckeyes - 10 wins

Like the Bulldogs, the Buckeyes also have a number of tough road contests in 2008. After two scrimmages dressed up as real games versus Youngstown State and Ohio, it's off to face USC. Other tough away games include No.13 Wisconsin in October and No. 20 Illinois in November. Granted, it should be pretty easy sledding at the Horseshoe. In fact, the only ranked team that travels to Columbus is No. 22 Penn State, in October.

USC Trojans - 10.5 wins

A similarly light schedule awaits the Trojans of Southern California, which is why the oddsmakers' total is one win more and the over is currently commanding -150 odds. Pete Carroll's troops only play three ranked teams in 2008, and all of those games are at home. After what should be an easy trip to Virginia to start things off on Aug. 30, the Trojans get two weeks to prepare for Ohio State in Los Angeles. Their two other ranked opponents, No. 21 Oregon and No. 15 Arizona State, visit in consecutive weeks to start the month of October. After that, the competition eases up. Of course, this is the same highly-touted school that lost to Stanford in 2007 and Oregon State in 2006. And don't discount the fact that USC plays its biggest rivals, Notre Dame and UCLA, back-to-back to close out the regular season. On paper, the Trojans are far superior, but motivation will be high for the Irish and Bruins, especially if their historic foes are in national-title contention.

Odds to Win the Heisman Trophy

Tim Tebow, Florida - 7/2
He won it last year, so it's no surprise he's the favorite to do it again, making him just the second player to go back-to-back. Ohio State's Archie Griffin turned the trick in 1974 and 1975, and Tebow's coach, Urban Meyer, is pretty sure his star quarterback can match the Buckeyes legend.

"There has never been anyone quite like him," Meyer told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "I am very lucky to be his coach."

Chris Wells, Ohio State - 5/1

The man they call "Beanie" was a star recruit out of high school, so it's not like nobody knew who the star tailback was before he rushed for 576 yards as a freshman in 2006 and 1,609 as a sophomore. But perhaps his finest moment came last year versus Michigan when he rumbled for 222 yards and two touchdowns in the Buckeyes' 14-3 victory over the hated Wolverines.

Knowshon Moreno, Georgia - 8/1

If the Bulldogs are to live up to expectations, they'll need a huge effort from their sophomore running back. This might be the last year of college ball for Moreno, who rushed for 1,334 yards and for 14 touchdowns as a freshman, while adding 253 receiving yards on 20 receptions, so expect big things for the man from Belford, N.J.

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