Oswalt strong again as Astros top Reds

Baseball Betting Lines

08/27/2008 - Houston, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Roy Oswalt continued his mastery of the Reds with seven strong innings to lead the Houston Astros to a 4-1 win over Cincinnati at Minute Maid Park.

Oswalt (12-9) allowed one run on five hits with three strikeouts for the Astros, who evened this three-game series and in the process snapped a two- game skid. Oswalt improved to an incredible 22-1 in his career against the Reds, including a 3-0 mark this season.

Hunter Pence and Ty Wigginton both hit a two-run homer and Lance Berkman registered three hits with a run scored in the win.

Jeff Keppinger scored the only run for the Reds, who have dropped three of their last four games.

Josh Fogg (2-7) suffered the loss despite a solid outing in which he allowed two runs on six hits over six innings.

Houston came to bat in the bottom of the fourth trailing 1-0, but Pence's 19th home run gave the Astros the lead. Berkman laced a one-out single and scored when Pence belted a fastball over the wall in left field.

Oswalt tossed a perfect fifth and successfully worked around a leadoff walk in the sixth.

In the top of the seventh, Reds rookie Jay Bruce singled but was quickly erased when Edwin Encarnacion grounded into a 5-4-3 double play. Corey Patterson then stroked a base hit, but Oswalt ended his night strong by inducing a groundout off the bat of Paul Bako.

Wigginton's two-run homer in the bottom of the seventh put the game away. Cincy reliever Gary Majewski got two quick outs, but Darin Erstad singled and Wigginton homered over the left-field wall for a 4-1 margin.

LaTroy Hawkins pitched a scoreless eighth and Jose Valverde struck out the side in the ninth for his 34th save.

Cincinnati's lone run was scored in the first inning. Keppinger legged out an infield single, headed for third on a Brandon Phillips double and scored when Joey Votto grounded out.

Game Notes

The only loss for Oswalt against the Reds in his career occurred on April 28, 2006...Houston has now won 13 of its last 15 overall versus the Reds...The Astros improved 35-29 at home in 2008.

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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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