Cust and Watson power Athletics past Red Sox

Baseball Betting Lines

07/21/2010 - Oakland, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jack Cust finished 2-for-3 with a two-run homer and scored twice as Oakland took down Boston, 6-4, in the rubber match of a three-game set.

Rajai Davis added two RBI and Matt Watson slugged his first career home run for the Athletics, who have won seven of their last eight.

Gio Gonzalez (9-6) worked six innings for the win, allowing seven hits and four runs with three strikeouts and a pair of walks. Michael Wuertz turned in a scoreless ninth for his second save.

"It's really encouraging. That's still a good team over there although they've had some injuries," Cust said of the still-contending Sox. "We've faced some good pitching and that lineup has quality at-bats. We're just going to try and build off this and face the next series."

Adrian Beltre went 3-for-4 with a two-run homer and drove in three for the Red Sox, who stumbled to their fifth loss in seven contests.

Activated from the 15-day disabled list prior to the game after recovering from a strained left hamstring, Clay Buchholz (10-5) was shelled in defeat for six hits and five runs, fanning two with three walks over four-plus frames.

Jed Lowrie's one-out run-scoring hit in the fifth got the Sox within a run, but the A's chased Buchholz in the home half, scoring three times to take a 6-2 advantage.

Kurt Suzuki and Cust stroked back-to-back hits before Scott Atchison took the hill. He allowed a one-out RBI single from Mark Ellis, then after a passed ball moved both runners into scoring position, Davis stroked a two-run hit to center before being caught in a rundown between first and second.

Beltre's two-run homer to right-center in the sixth made it 6-4, but Boston couldn't score with two on in the seventh. Neither could the A's extend their advantage, as Davis flied out with the bases loaded in the home half.

Oakland's Coco Crisp hit a one-out triple in the eighth but was erased at home trying to score on a fly to left from Cliff Pennington.

The failed attempt at an insurance run wasn't costly, though, as Wuertz set down the side in order in the ninth to lock up the victory.

"It was just four runs. It wasn't enough," mused Red Sox manager Terry Francona. "We battled back, but the extra two was huge. That hurt us because they spread it out and it was just too much. When you spread it out (score runs in different innings) that's how you win."

Boston picked up a run in the first after a Beltre RBI single, then Watson knotted the score in the second with a one-out solo shot.

In the home third, Daric Barton reached on a leadoff infield single and scored on Cust's two-run blast two batters later.

Game Notes

Watson had played in 36 previous MLB games with the Mets (2003) and A's (2005; 2010) and went 75 career at-bats before going deep...The Sox head to Seattle for four games starting Thursday, continuing their 10-day, 10-game western road swing...Oakland improved to 22-10 this season in day games...The A's host the White Sox for three starting Friday...Boston also activated Lowrie off the 60-day disabled list, designated infielder Ryan Shealy for assignment, while optioning pitchers Dustin Richardson and Fernando Cabrera to Triple-A Pawtucket.

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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

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