Rangers use long ball to pound Pirates

Baseball Betting Lines

06/15/2007 - Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jerry Hairston, Travis Metcalf and Gerald Laird all hit homers -- Laird's a breathing-room three-run shot in the seventh -- as Texas downed Pittsburgh, 6-0, to wrap up an interleague series at PNC Park.

The Rangers thwarted Pittsburgh's attempt for a rare sweep. The Pirates hadn't swept a series since April 24-26 and have never swept the Rangers. In the meantime, Texas snapped a three-game skid.

Kameron Loe (2-6) was the stopper, recalled from Triple-A Oklahoma after being sent to the minor league club following a disastrous outing on Saturday against Detroit. Thursday was much better, as the big right-hander, starting in place of Brandon McCarthy, blanked Pittsburgh on five hits with three walks and seven strikeouts over eight innings.

Loe won his first start since April 21 against Oakland and lowered his earned run average from 7.40 to 6.56.

Tom Gorzelanny (6-4) was saddled with the defeat, giving up five runs on three long balls and seven hits with one walk and four strikeouts in seven frames.

Chris Duffy and Ryan Doumit each had two hits for the Pirates, who have dropped four of six.

Hairston led off the game with a solo homer to left then Metcalf went deep out to left in the sixth for a 2-0 lead.

Laird broke it open an inning later, following singles by Michael Young and Marlon Byrd with a three-run homer to left.

Young singled home the game's final run in the top of the eighth.

Game Notes

McCarthy was placed on the 15-day disabled list Thursday with a blister on his right middle finger...Pittsburgh grounded into a pair of double plays, while Texas grounded into three of its own...Duffy stole his 13th base in the loss...Loe recorded 14 of his 24 outs via ground out...The game took just two hours, 18 minutes.

Hitboz Baseball Betting News

<< 107th U.S. Open Final Round News and Notes
Oakmont, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Phil Mickelson wore a black brace on his injured left wrist Thursday during the first round of the U.S. Open. He took it off to putt, revealing a bandage underneath. Mickelson opened with a four-over 74 at Oakm

<< 107th U.S. Open First Round News and Notes
Oakmont, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Phil Mickelson wore a black brace on his injured left wrist Thursday during the first round of the U.S. Open. He took it off to putt, revealing a bandage underneath. Mickelson opened with a four-over

<< Datsyuk takes home second straight Lady Byng Trophy
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Pavel Datsyuk of the Detroit Red Wings won the 2007 Lady Byng Trophy, awarded annually to the player who combines sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct with excellence on the ice. Datsyuk, who led

<< SPL schedule announced
Edinburgh, Scotland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 2007-08 Scottish Premier League schedule was released on Thursday, but football fans will have to wait until late October to see Celtic and Rangers collide for the first time. Defending Champ

<< Vancouver coach Vigneault wins Jack Adams Award
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Vancouver Canucks head coach Alain Vigneault won the 2007 Jack Adams Award for the top coach in the league as voted by the NHL Broadcasters' Association on Thursday. Vigneault, who is the first Vancouver

O's waste opportunities, go down to Nationals >>
Baltimore, MD (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ryan Zimmerman knocked in the go-ahead run in the eighth inning as the Washington Nationals edged the Baltimore Orioles, 3-1, to sweep a three-game interleague set with their Beltway rival. Jason Simontac

Sid the Kid has big night at 2007 NHL awards >>
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Sidney Crosby finished his fantastic season with another two awards to go with his Art Ross trophy, as he garnered the Hart Memorial Trophy as the NHL's most valuable player and was also awarded the Le

Spurs hold slim lead over Cavs at halftime >>
Cleveland, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tim Duncan hasn't made a field goal while Tony Parker has missed just one, all adding up to San Antonio's 39-34 edge over Cleveland in an attempt to sweep the NBA Finals and hoist its fourth champio

Eddie Pope to retire after season >>
Salt Lake City, UT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Shortly before Real Salt Lake's match at Rice-Eccles Stadium against FC Dallas on Thursday night, defender Eddie Pope announced that he will retire from Major League Soccer at the end of the 2007 se

Atkins slams Colorado past BoSox >>
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Garrett Atkins went 3-for-5 with a double and a grand slam, as Colorado turned aside Boston once again, 7-1, in the rubber match of a three-game interleague series at Fenway Park. Jeff Francis (6-5) scatt

Albert Pujols to be This Year's Home Run Champ Says Online Sportsbook

Barry Bonds is a 50-1 long shot to be this year's home run champ odds.  The favorite to be this year's home run champ is none other than Albert Pujols, however.

Now that Barry Bonds is signed and in Giants camp, it is on to his pursuit of all of sports most prestigious records: the all-time home run mark. Bonds sits just 21 homers shy of tying Hank Aaron for the career mark at 755. Word out of Giants’ camp is that Bonds is the healthiest he has been in a few years. Bonds is just two seasons removed from his injury riddled 2005 campaign where he played in only 14 games and hit only 5 home runs. He did come back last year and had a solid season hitting .270 with 26 bombs. All eyes will be on Bonds this spring and summer not only because of his home run chase but his highly publicized steroid abuse allegations. If and when Bonds breaks the record, he surely will not get the positive attention one should for breaking a record that was once thought of as “unbreakable”. Despite Bonds decent season last year, he is just 50-1 at MySportsbook.com to lead the MLB in long balls this season.

Not surprisingly, the favorites to go deep the most times this season are Albert Pujols 5-1, Ryan Howard 6-1, David Ortiz 8-1 and Alex Rodriguez 12-1. With 49 homers, Pujols finished second in the National League behind Howard (58). Pujols is considered the favorite due to the consistent power numbers that he has posted since breaking into the league in 2001. Also one must consider the fact that he played in 16 fewer games then Howard did due to an injury. Howard smashed 58 homers in his first complete season of big league play en route to the National League MVP odds award. He silenced his critics by successfully hitting left-handed pitching. Howard also displayed the ability to use his power to the opposite field. Two attributes which should keep Howard amongst the league leaders in long balls for years to come. From the American League representatives, David Ortiz leads the field. Ortiz was second in the majors last year with 54 home runs. Except for 1999 when he only played in 10 games, Ortiz has improved on his home run numbers each year he has been in the majors (1997).

Be sure to log onto online sports betting site MySportsbook.com to check out the odds for who will lead the MLB in home runs this season. Below is just a sample of the players listed. With the highest credit card rates in the industry, MySportsbook.com is the place to bet on baseball this summer.

World Series odds

Adam Dunn 15-1

Albert Pujols 5-1

Alex Rodriguez 12-1

Alfonso Soriano 15-1

Andruw Jones 25-1

Barry Bonds 50-1

Carlos Delgado 40-1

David Ortiz 8-1

Jermaine Dye 40-1

Ken Griffey Jr. 100-1

Lance Berkman 40-1

Manny Ramirez 20-1

Richie Sexson 40-1

Ryan Howard 6-1

Travis Hafner 20-1

Vladimir Guerrero 40-1

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.