Sabathia goes for 20th win vs. O's in the Bronx

Baseball Betting Lines

09/07/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - CC Sabathia tries to win 20 games for the first time in his career this evening when the New York Yankees continue their three-game series with the Baltimore Orioles at Yankee Stadium.

Sabathia won his sixth straight start and for the 15th time in his last 17 decisions with a sensational effort against Oakland on Thursday, as he allowed just one hit in eight scoreless innings to run his record to 19-5, while lowering his earned run average to 3.02. He also won 19 games in 2007 as well as last season.

The left-hander, who leads the majors in wins. also improved to 11-0 in 14 home starts this season and has now won his last 16 decisions in the Bronx dating back to 2009 and has tied Whitey Ford's franchise record by making 21 straight home starts without a loss.

"It makes it easier not to think about because we're trying to win a division. Every game's important," said Sabathia. "I think it'd be cool, but it's still the middle of the season. It's tough to think about personal accomplishments when we're trying to win a division. I'll go out and do my part to try to help the team win."

Sabathia should have no problem getting that milestone win tonight, as he is victorious in his last eight starts against the Orioles and is an incredible 13-1 lifetime against them with a 2.59 ERA in 18 starts.

Sabathia will be trying to get the Yankees back in the win column after they lost the opener of this set on Monday, as Brian Roberts' seventh inning single drove in the winning run and lifted Baltimore to a 4-3 win. Roberts finished 3-for-5 with two RBI while Matt Wieters knocked in a run and walked twice for the Orioles, who won their third straight.

Brian Matusz (8-12) picked up the win after allowing three runs on five hits with a pair of walks and four strikeouts over six innings, and Koji Uehara sewed up the victory by retiring the side in order in the ninth to earn his seventh save for the Birds, who have won three straight against the top two teams in the division.

"I felt good. I was throwing a lot of strikes," said Matusz. "I got behind in a couple of counts but I was able to make good pitches when I needed to. We got the clutch hits when we needed to and the bullpen was tremendous again. So it was a great overall team win."

A.J. Burnett (10-13) was tagged with the loss after yielding all four runs on seven hits and four walks while fanning five over seven innings for New York, which remained 2 1/2 games ahead of Tampa Bay in the AL East. The Rays lost in Boston later Monday.

Alex Rodriguez hit a solo home run in defeat for New York, his first since coming off the disabled list Sunday and the 605th of his career. He also set a major league record with his 14th season of driving in 100 or more runs.

Getting the call for the Orioles tonight will be right-handed rookie Jake Arrieta, who is 4-6 with a 5.11 ERA. Arrieta did not get a decision last Wednesday against Boston, as he allowed three runs and six hits in five innings of a 9-6 loss.

Arrieta beat the Yankees in his only other start against them.

New York has won 10 of its 13 matchups with the O's this season and is 17-3 against them in the last 20 meetings in the Bronx.

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Big 12 Conference betting odds

Work left to do: Texas Tech, Oklahoma State, Kansas State

Texas joins Texas A&M and Kansas as locks after getting league win No. 11. Texas Tech greatly helped its own hopes and crippled OK State's with the two-point win Saturday. Is K-State the last reasonable hopeful? Could be an elimination match in Stillwater on Tuesday, at least for the Cowboys.

Work left to do:

Texas Tech [18-11 (7-7), RPI: 44, SOS: 12] A critical two-point win over OK State leaves the Red Raiders with Baylor and at Iowa State left. Get both and the Red Raiders likely are good to go. Get one and there could be some interesting comparisons with a K-State team that could finish two or three games "ahead" of them in the standings but doesn't have any of the quality wins Texas Tech has. Not a lot in nonconference play (against Arkansas in Little Rock being the best win, by far) to lean on.

Oklahoma State [18-9 (5-8), RPI: 50, SOS: 35] Still without a road win, the Cowboys now need to win two on the road just to get to .500 in conference play. It's hard to recall a team (OK, other than Clemson) falling so precipitously from lock status to almost certainly out of the NCAAs at this point. There are wins to be had in the last three, including a very big home game against K-State on Tuesday, but this team is reeling. Can you tell the pressure to win is getting to them with the way the final possession played out at Texas Tech? There are some good nonconference performances to lean on, specifically beating Missouri State and Syracuse on neutral floors and Pitt in OK City, but if the Pokes don't right this very, very soon, that won't be enough.

Kansas State [20-9 (9-5), RPI: 56, SOS: 96] It pays to be in the Big 12 North. The nine league wins are Colorado (twice), Missouri (twice), Iowa State (twice), Baylor, Nebraska and (a good one against) Texas. That helps explain the middling computer profile. The win over USC is nice, but the nonconference leaves a lot to be desired. The game at OK State in Stillwater on Tuesday is huge, as it could KO the Cowboys and leave K-State with a home date against Oklahoma with which to work.