Giambi lifts Yankees over Devil Rays
Baseball Betting Lines
04/02/2007 - Bronx, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jason Giambi's third RBI of the game scored Alex Rodriguez with the go-ahead run in the seventh inning, as the New York Yankees went on to a 9-5 victory over the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.
Giambi finished 2-for-5 and Rodriguez added a two-run homer in the victory. Jorge Posada also homered and Derek Jeter contributed a two-run single for New York, which has won 10 straight openers at Yankee Stadium.
Carl Crawford had two hits, a run scored and an RBI for the Devil Rays, while Elijah Dukes belted his first major league homer.
The Yankees trailed 5-3 before a two-run single by Jeter in the sixth tied it. Rodriguez then led off the seventh against Brian Stokes (0-1) with a hot shot that skipped past shortstop Ben Zobrist for a single. He then stole second and scored the go-ahead run on a single to right by Giambi.
Luis Vizcaino (1-0), who pitched a perfect seventh inning, notched the victory and Kyle Farnsworth tossed a scoreless eighth.
The Yankees tacked on three in the home eighth to break it open. Doug Mientkiewicz singled, advanced to second on a bunt and scored on a two-out base hit by Bobby Abreu. Rodriguez then connected for his first homer to account for the final margin.
Carl Pavano, the surprise Opening Day starter for New York after a hamstring injury to Chien-Ming Wang, went the first 4 1/3 innings and allowed five runs -- four earned -- on six hits with two walks and two strikeouts. Pavano missed the entire 2006 season and had not pitched in the majors since June of 2005 because of an assortment of injuries.
Mariano Rivera struck out the side for the Yankees in the ninth.
Scott Kazmir pitched five-plus innings for Tampa Bay and was charged with five runs on six hits and four walks with five strikeouts.
The Yankees jumped on Kazmir for a pair of runs in the bottom of the first. Johnny Damon led off with a base hit and Abreu singled with one out. The runners pulled off a double steal as Rodriguez fanned for the second out and both scored on Giambi's clutch single to center.
Tampa Bay got one run back in the second thanks to one of three Yankee errors in the contest. Akinori Iwamura hit a one-out grounder to short but reached second when Jeter bounced a throw past first base, then scored on a two-out base hit by B.J. Upton.
Posada led off the bottom of the fourth with a homer to increase the Yankee lead to 3-1, but Tampa Bay knocked Pavano out of the game in the fifth.
Dukes led off the inning with a blast over the center field wall and Upton followed with a single. Upton then stole second and scored the tying run on a base hit by Crawford, who took second when first baseman Josh Phelps cut the throw toward home and threw the ball into center field. Rocco Baldelli then singled home Crawford with the go-ahead run, chasing Pavano from the contest.
Brian Bruney took over for New York and struck out Ty Wigginton, but Baldelli stole second and scored on a base hit by Delmon Young to give the Devil Rays a 5-3 edge.
Posada and Robinson Cano started the home sixth with singles, ending Kazmir's day and Mientkiewicz advanced the runners with a sacrifice against Shawn Camp. Melky Cabrera, who took over for an injured Damon, was then hit by a pitch to load the bases and Jeter followed with a base hit up the middle to score two runs.
Game Notes
Damon left the contest after five innings because of cramping in his hamstring...Rodriguez committed New York's first error when he overran a foul pop up along the third base line...The widow and son of former Yankee pitcher Cory Lidle threw out the ceremonial first pitches. Lidle was killed in a plane crash last October.
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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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