Cook leads Rockies into finale at Reds

Baseball Betting Lines

07/18/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Suburban Cincinnati native Aaron Cook returns home to face a team that's never beaten him today, when the Colorado Rockies head to Great American Ball Park to meet the Reds in the finale of a three-game series.

The hosts have won the initial two games, including Saturday, when Edinson Volquez made a triumphant return to the mound and was backed by four home runs in an 8-1 Reds win.

Volquez (1-0), who last appeared in a major league game on June 1, 2009, struck out nine over six innings, walked two and yielded just three hits.

Two of those came in the first inning when Dexter Fowler doubled and Carlos Gonzalez brought in the only Colorado run with a single.

The 27-year-old Volquez had been out after ligament replacement surgery in his right elbow. It was his first win since May 5, 2009 against the Marlins.

Drew Stubbs smacked two homers and drove in three runs, while Brandon Phillips cracked a three-run shot. Jonny Gomes had two RBI and added a solo home run as Cincinnati won its second straight in this three-game set.

Jorge De La Rosa (3-2) was rocked for a second straight outing coming off a finger injury that shelved him for more than two months.

In 3 1/3 innings, he gave up seven runs - six earned - on four hits and five walks as the Rockies fell for a third consecutive game.

Cook, who was born 31 years ago in nearby Fort Campbell, Ky., is 2-0 with a 5.12 earned run average in eight lifetime meetings with the Reds, including eight starts.

He was drafted by the Rockies out of high school in 1997 - second round - and debuted in the majors five years later with nine appearances at the end of the 2002 season.

He won a career-best 16 games in 2008 and returned to win 11 more a season later, but has struggled through 17 starts this season with just three wins and an ERA that's hovered around 5.00.

Cook was a 7-3 winner over San Francisco in a July 1 game, then was tagged for 10 hits and five runs in a no-decision against Louis on July 7 - a game Colorado won, 8-7.

The Rockies are 8-9 in his 17 starts, though the 6-foot-3, 215-pounder is winless - 0-5, 6.70 ERA - in nine road starts.

Cincinnati counters with lefty Travis Wood, a former second-round draft pick in 2005. He seeks his first big-league win in his fourth start.

The 23-year-old was on the verge of a gem in his most recent outing, carrying a perfect game into the ninth inning against Philadelphia before the Reds eventually lost, 1-0, in extra innings as part of a four-game sweep.

Wood struck out eight Phillies and lowered his opponents' batting average to .127 in his three starts.

Previously, he'd allowed eight hits and five earned runs in 11 2/3 innings against the Chicago Cubs and New York Mets - games both won by the Reds.

This will be Wood's first appearance in Cincinnati.

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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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