Heavy-hitting Yanks continue series with A's
Baseball Betting Lines
09/01/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Six homers in two games and four consecutive victories have helped the New York Yankees regain sole possession of first place in the American League East. If they want to stay there, A.J. Burnett better figure things out in a hurry.
Burnett will try to avoid a fifth straight losing decision when New York continues a four-game series versus the Oakland Athletics this evening at Yankee Stadium.
The Yankees smashed three homers in Monday's series-opening 11-5 victory, then added three more in last night's 9-3 rout to win four contests in a row for the first time since a seven-game run from July 3-9.
Mark Teixeira homered for a second game in a row, notching his 30th of the season, while Nick Swisher added a two-run shot -- his third homer in five games. Curtis Granderson finished with a solo homer of his own to help the Yankees move a game ahead of the Rays for the top spot in the AL East after Tampa Bay lost to Toronto on Tuesday.
"What a great game tonight was -- great pitching, clutch hitting," Swisher said afterward. "(Teixeira) is on fire...it's just been a lot of fun to watch."
The power game helped Phil Hughes post his 16th win of the season despite lasting just five innings. He allowed two runs on four hits and matched a season high with five walks.
Still, New York picked up its fifth win in a row over Oakland and is 7-1 in the season series so far this year. The Yankees have also won 18 of the past 21 games of this series.
After Trevor Cahill was blasted for a season-high eight runs over four innings in Monday's opener, A's starter Van Mazzaro was charged with nine runs -- seven earned -- over just 3 2/3 frames last night.
"I battled. I fell behind a lot," Mazzaro said. "If you fall behind these guys, they're going to punish you. I just tried too hard and left the ball up in the zone."
Daric Barton hit a solo homer in the seventh inning for Oakland, which fell to 4-4 on a 10-game road trip and is still 8 1/2 games back of first-place Texas in the AL West.
The Athletics should have a good chance of moving back above .500 on the swing if Burnett pitches the way he has in his last five starts, all Yankee losses.
Burnett is 0-4 with a 7.80 earned run average over that span and was blasted by the White Sox in Chicago on Friday to the tune of nine runs -- eight earned -- over 3 1/3 innings. The right-hander has allowed at least six runs in three of his last five starts and nine times total this year.
"It's like Groundhog Day again," Burnett said after that game. "I take the team out of it in the first three innings. It wears on these guys and it has to be frustrating."
The 33-year-old is 9-12 with a 5.17 ERA this year, but evened his career mark against Oakland to 3-3 with a 3.81 ERA after besting them in Oakland with seven frames of two-run ball on July 7.
Despite leaving his last start after just two innings due to a hyperextended right knee, Brett Anderson is slated to take the hill for the A's. The lefty is 0-3 with a 3.68 ERA over his last four starts and was charged with four runs on six hits Friday versus Texas before his exit.
Anderson, though, threw a bullpen session on Monday with no issues.
"It went really well," manager Bob Geren told Oakland's website. "He should be good to go, no problems."
Anderson, who has also missed time this year with left elbow issues, is 3-5 with a 3.32 ERA in 12 starts this year. The 22-year-old is winless in three all-time meetings with the Yankees, having gone 0-2 with a 5.68 ERA.
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Police report: Terrell Owens hospitalized after attempt
Terrell Owens will address the media at a 3:15 p.m. ET news conference outside the Cowboys' practice facility after an internal police report indicated he tried to kill himself by overdosing on prescription pain medication, even putting two more pills into his mouth after a friend intervened.
The Dallas police report said Owens was asked by rescue workers "if he was attempting to harm himself, at which time [he] stated, 'Yes.'"
Owens left the hospital late Wednesday morning, giving reporters a "thumbs up" but making no comment as he was driven away in an SUV.
Michael Irvin said that Owens denied he attempted suicide and said he was rushed to the hospital as a result of an adverse reaction to medication. And a source close to Owens told Michael A. Smith that Owens wasn't attempting suicide.
NFL Network analyst Deion Sanders said he spoke with Owens shortly before his release from the hospital and that Owens was in good spirits.
"The fact that it has been reported a suicide attempt, he's laughed at that notion. It was a case that medication that was taken wasn't accepted well in his system with the other vitamins he's on," Sanders said.
The series of events began a little before 8 p.m. Tuesday.
Owens' publicist, Kim Etheredge, said she was at Owens' home when he took pain medicine for his broken right hand. Concerned by how he began acting, Etheredge said in various interviews Wednesday with Dallas-area media that she called 911. Owens was taken to a hospital, with Etheredge saying it was an allergic reaction to the medicine.
But early Wednesday, several media outlets received a police report -- that had yet to be released by the authorities -- saying Owens had attempted suicide by overdosing on the painkillers, even putting two more pills into his mouth after an unidentified friend intervened.
The police document, first reported by WFAA-TV, said Owens was asked by rescue workers "if he was attempting to harm himself, at which time [he] stated, 'Yes.'"
When officially released by police, about half the document was blacked out, including the phrases "attempting suicide by prescription pain medication" and "a drug overdose," as well as the details of Owens having two pills pried from his mouth and Owens saying "Yes" when asked if he intended to harm himself.
Etheredge, who said she was the friend cited in the police document, told Dallas-area media Wednesday that the police got the story wrong.
The tape of the 911 call could help clear things up. The Associated Press filed a request under the Freedom of Information Act to get its contents, but fire department officials said it would not be available before late Wednesday.
The police report said the 32-year-old Owens told his friend "that he was depressed." Details of the police report were first reported by WFAA-TV.
The friend, who is not identified in the report, "noticed that [his] prescription pain medication was empty and observed [Owens] putting two pills in his mouth," the police report said.
Using her fingers, the friend attempted to pry them out of Owens' mouth. Owens told police he had taken only five of the 40 pain pills in the bottle he'd emptied before the incident.
Etheredge told the Star-Telegram that Owens was "fine."
Etheredge said she called 911 because Owens was groggy and lethargic. After taking some supplements "it kicked in a reaction" with the painkillers, she told the Star-Telegram.
"Here's a person whose body is so clean, it really had a negative reaction to the medication and supplements he was taking," Etheridge told The Morning News. "Thank goodness someone was there to call an ambulance."
Police Lt. Rick Watson said he could only confirm that paramedics called police to say they were taking Owens to the hospital. He said no more details would come from the police because no laws were broken.
It is not a crime in Texas for a person to attempt suicide.
"This is a high-profile person. We looked into it and we determined it is not a criminal offense," Watson said. "This a medical type of situation that occurred."
Watson and fire department spokesman Joel Lavender cited privacy laws for the lack of information they could provide. Lavender said more details could come from the 911 call. The Associated Press filed a request under the Freedom of Information Act to get the contents of the call.
"Let's just look at the tape, review the tape," Lavender said. "I'll give you an honest answer once I know something."
At the police news conference, Watson released a version of the police narrative with certain sections blacked out. The full report was obtained by several news outlets and reported first by WFAA. The AP received the full version from WFAA.
According to the police report, Dallas Fire and Rescue was called regarding someone "attempting suicide by prescription pain medication." Officers arrived to find Owens being stabilized by ambulance workers, who then took him to Baylor University Medical Center.
Owens was hospitalized late Tuesday because of what his publicist said was an allergic reaction to pain medicine he was taking for a broken hand. Doctors reportedly tried to induce vomiting.
Owens, one of the league's top receivers during his 11-year NFL career, is best known for wild stunts on the field and other publicity-seeking antics off it.
When the Cowboys signed him to a $25 million, three-year deal in March, they said their background checks indicated no red flags. In fact, team consultant Calvin Hill -- who mostly deals with troubled players -- said during training camp that his department was not involved with Owens because he didn't have a history of those kinds of problems.
He missed most of training camp, and three of four preseason games, because of a hamstring injury. He was late for work during his recovery and was fined for it, but Owens laughed it off, saying he overslept. He said it had happened before, though not with Dallas, and would probably happen again.
Owens broke the bone leading to his right ring finger during a game a week ago Sunday. The next day, doctors screwed in a plate so the bone could heal without fear of further damage. Cowboys coach Bill Parcells said last week that the pain medicine made Owens ill.
Owens had not practiced since the injury, but because Dallas had a bye this past weekend he did not miss a game. He was expected to practice Wednesday, and Parcells had said there was a chance Owens could play Sunday against Tennessee.
Owens had been especially looking forward to the Cowboys' game after that -- Oct. 8, in Philadelphia, against the team that dumped him midway through last season only months after he helped them nearly win the Super Bowl.
Owens was seen laughing and joking on the practice field Tuesday morning. He chatted briefly with reporters in the locker room in the afternoon and seemed fine. A 2-inch scar on the top of his hand was puffy but not wrapped, and he said the swelling was doing down.
While in the locker room, he took a pill from a white paper bag and looked at another medicine bottle that was in the bag. He also called a business partner about a towel-wrap venture they're starting and joked to TV cameras that he wasn't talking until Wednesday and it was only Tuesday.
"My little boy knows better than that," he said, laughing, as he plopped onto a sofa in the middle of the locker room.
Also Tuesday, Owens was involved in launching a national campaign for the National Alliance to End Abuse, an organization aimed at helping at-risk youngsters. He appeared at a high school Tuesday morning and was scheduled to visit others but had to cancel because of changes in the team's practice schedule.
Owens has played two games for the Cowboys, catching nine passes for 99 yards and a touchdown. For updated football betting lines and Dallas Cowboy Superbowl odds visit online sportsbook MySportsbook.com
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Kurt Warner to start, Matt Leinart to watch
Despite the debate that's swirling , Kurt Warner will remain the starting quarterback for the Arizona Cardinals, coach Dennis Green said today. The Arizona Cardinals are the +7 point underdog at online sportsbook MySportsbook.com for this Sunday's game.
Green's comment came in a statement released by the team following an ESPN report that Green decided that rookie Matt Leinart would replace Warner as starter for Sunday's game at Atlanta.
"Generally talking about the starting lineup is not something we do," Green told the AP. "However, given the speculation that was out there we want to make it clear. We're disappointed after last week, but we still expect to be a playoff football team and we fully expect Kurt Warner to be the quarterback that leads us. That has not changed."
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