Pirates, red-hot Alvarez close out set vs. Brewers

Baseball Betting Lines

07/22/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Led by Pedro Alvarez, Pittsburgh's offense has exploded since the All-Star break. Seems that Milwaukee ace Yovani Gallardo is coming back at just the right time.

Gallardo is set to make his first start in nearly three weeks as the Brewers try to earn a split of their four-game series with the Pirates at PNC Park.

Pittsburgh has scored nine or more runs in four of six games since the Mid- Summer classic, winning four of those contests. After plating nine runs in the first inning of yesterday's 11-9 triumph, the Pirates pounded out 18 hits in a 15-3 victory last night. It marked the first time the Buccos have plated 15 runs since Sept. 17, 2008 and they have notched at least 17 hits in three of their last five games.

"They've been swinging the bats pretty well," Brewers manager Ken Macha said of the Pirates. "We came in here and held them to one run [Monday] night. In the last two nights, you make mistakes or your pitch selection is bad ... that's what happens."

Alvarez has been a big part of that. The third baseman notched a pair of homers for the second straight game and is batting .389 (14-for-36) over his last nine games with five homers and 11 RBI. He also became the first Pirates rookie to notch back-to-back multi-homer games.

Delwyn Young highlighted a six-run fourth inning with a three-run homer and drove in a career-high five runs in all on three hits, while starter Zach Duke picked up his first victory since May 18 by pitching six-plus innings and allowing three runs, two of those earned.

Pittsburgh didn't come out of last night's game unscathed though as catcher Ryan Doumit left after three innings due to nausea and lightheadedness stemming from a first-inning collision at the plate with Milwaukee's Rickie Weeks.

Andrew McCutchen also did not start for a third game in a row due to a right shoulder injury and it is unknown if he will get to take his swings tonight against Gallardo, who will come off the disabled list to make his first start since July 4.

Gallardo has been out with a right oblique strain suffered that day in a loss to the Cardinals. He gave up six runs, only one earned, on five hits and two walks over 2 2/3 innings before his exit, falling to 8-4 on the season with a 2.58 earned run average.

"I was lucky enough that it was a minor thing," Gallardo told MLB.com "The way that I felt that Sunday when I came out of the game, I felt like it was going to be a lot worse. But it got better every day."

The right-hander, who was forced to miss the All-Star Game due to the injury, has dominated the Pirates in two starts this year, yielding just two unearned runs over 11 innings while striking out 14 in a pair of victories. Gallardo, 24, is 5-2 with a 2.38 ERA in 10 career outings versus the Pirates, nine of those starts, and 4-1 with a 2.31 ERA in nine road starts this year.

He'll try to fare better than last night's starter, Randy Wolf, who allowed 12 runs on 13 hits -- both career highs -- over 5 2/3 innings. Milwaukee starters have now allowed at least 10 runs in three of their last four games. The Brewers have lost three of those games and are 3-4 on an eight-game road trip to begin the second half.

The post All-Star schedule hasn't been kind to Pirates starter Ross Ohlendorf, who lasted a career-low 1 1/3 innings on Saturday versus the Astros and gave up four runs on five hits and two walks. The 27-year-old did not get a decision after his offense bailed him out in a 12-6 victory.

"He just struggled," Pirates manager John Russell told his club's website. "Bad temp. Bad location. Ball was up. Everything that could go wrong, [went] wrong."

The right-handed Ohlendorf is just 1-7 with a 4.62 ERA on the season and 2-1 with a 3.50 ERA in three career starts versus the Brewers.

The Pirates have still lost nine of 14 versus the Brewers this year, including five of eight at home.

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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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