A-Rod goes deep twice as Yanks come back to rout Bucs

Baseball Betting Lines

06/10/2007 - Bronx, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Alex Rodriguez homered twice and Bobby Abreu finished 4-for-4 with four runs scored and three runs batted in, leading the New York Yankees to a 13-6 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates and a sweep of the three-game interleague series at Yankee Stadium.

Rodriguez, who finished with four runs scored, clubbed a three-run homer in the fourth to erase a one-run deficit and added a two-run shot in the sixth. He has four multi-homer games this season and 48 in his career.

Abreu stroked a double, a triple and two singles to go along with a walk. Hideki Matsui added two runs batted in and Derek Jeter scored twice for New York, which has won a season-high six in a row and nine of its last 11 to claw within one game of the .500 mark (30-31).

Sean Henn (2-0) was credited with the win in two scoreless innings of relief. Yankee starter Tyler Clippard was roughed up for six runs on six hits and three walks in just 3 2/3 innings.

Former Yankee Shawn Chacon (2-1) took the loss in his return to the Bronx. The right-hander, who was an important acquisition for New York during the 2005 season, was shelled for seven runs on eight hits in just 3 1/3 innings.

Jose Bautista, Jose Castillo and Chris Duffy each drove in two runs for the Pirates, who have lost three straight and nine of their last 12.

The Yankees trailed 6-5 after Pittsburgh scored four in the top of the fourth, but New York regained the lead with one swing of the bat. After Jeter and Abreu each singled with one out to chase Chacon, Rodriguez greeted Josh Sharpless with a blast over the wall in left field for his 23rd home run of the season and an 8-6 advantage.

Henn worked in and out of trouble in the fifth, loading the bases with one out before fanning Ryan Doumit and getting Castillo on a grounder.

Rodriguez was at it again in the sixth, extending the Yankee lead to 10-6 with a two-run homer over the wall in right field, and New York tacked on three more in the seventh on an RBI single by Wil Nieves and a two-run double by Abreu.

Luis Vizcaino and Scott Proctor combined for 2 1/3 scoreless innings before Mike Myers got the last three outs. New York's bullpen combined for 5 1/3 innings of three-hit relief.

The Yankees scored three times in the first. Johnny Damon led off with a base hit and took second as Jeter bounced back to the mound. Abreu then laced a run-scoring triple to the gap in left-center field and Rodriguez drew a walk before Matsui doubled to left-center. Abreu scored easily and Rodriguez was safe on a close play at the plate.

Pittsburgh answered with two in the second. Adam LaRoche drew a walk to start the inning and raced to third on a double by Doumit before Castillo singled up the middle to chase home both runners.

New York added two in the third. Abreu led off with a single and stole second before Rodriguez walked and Matsui dropped in a base hit to load the bases. After Robinson Cano lined out, Melky Cabrera bounced an infield single over the pitcher's mound to score one run and Miguel Cairo followed with a fly ball to deep center field to knock in another for a 5-2 edge.

The Pirates responded with four in the fourth. Xavier Nady drew a one-out walk, Doumit singled and Castillo walked to load the bases for Duffy, who drilled a double just inside the bag at first to score two runs. Bautista followed with a base hit to score two more, giving Pittsburgh a 6-5 lead and chasing Clippard from the game.

Game Notes

The Yankees swept a series for just the third time this season, having taken three from Cleveland in April and three at Texas in May...New York continues interleague play Tuesday when the Arizona Diamondbacks visit for the start of a three-game series...Pittsburgh returns home on Tuesday to open a three-game interleague set with Texas.

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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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