Parra and Lopez push Arizona past Rays

Baseball Betting Lines

06/27/2010 - St. Petersburg, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Gerardo Parra hit the game-deciding two- run homer, and Rodrigo Lopez pitched six innings of two-hit, one-run ball, as Arizona topped the Rays, 2-1, in the finale of a three-game interleague set.

Lopez (4-6) put forth a strong effort despite walking five batters along with three strikeouts and picked up his second straight win.

Rusty Ryal tripled and scored on Parra's second homer of the season during a pivotal fifth frame for the Diamondbacks, who took two of the three games in the series.

Wade Davis (5-9) went a season-high 7 1/3 innings for Tampa Bay, yielding a pair of runs on four hits with three walks and five strikeouts. The loss represented a fifth consecutive defeat for the young right-hander.

Carlos Pena had an RBI double to account for the offense as the Rays dropped their fifth game in seven tries.

Aaron Heilman had to hold his breath for his second save of the season in the ninth. He issued a two-out walk to Joyce, and B.J. Upton drilled a pitch to the warning track in left-center, but Chris Young made the catch against the wall to end the game.

Both starters worked rather fluidly through the first four innings until a controversial play in the fifth and an eventual 2-0 Arizona lead.

After Adam LaRoche struck out to start the frame, Ryal laced a pitch into the right-center gap. Upton, the Rays' centerfielder, took a casual trot back to the wall to retrieve the ball, and Ryal wound up on third.

Parra then belted a two-run homer to straightaway center to break the scoreless tie. Upton and teammate Evan Longoria had a verbal altercation in the dugout following the inning regarding the former's perceived loafing. Upton had to be restrained by Willy Aybar while shouting angrily at Longoria.

Upton was then picked off first in the bottom half of the inning, and the D'Backs wasted a leadoff double by B.J.'s brother Justin in the sixth.

Tampa Bay got one back in their next at-bat. Sean Rodriguez reached on a fielder's choice, tagged up on a deep fly ball and scored from second on Pena's double down the right-field line.

A passed ball and a walk left runners at the corners with two down for Tampa Bay, but Matt Joyce fouled out to end the threat. Blaine Boyer took over for Lopez in the seventh and retired the side in order.

Juan Gutierrez walked the leadoff batter in the eighth but managed to avoid further trouble when Rodriguez lined into a double play and Longoria went down on strikes.

Game Notes

The Diamondbacks head to St. Louis for a three-game series beginning Monday, while Tampa Bay plays two in Boston starting Tuesday...Carl Crawford was out of the lineup for a third straight game for the Rays while dealing with a sore left shoulder. He appeared as a pinch-runner in the eighth...Tampa Bay managed just two hits and left six on base. Arizona only had four total hits.

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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.

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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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