Choo and Tribe pound A's

Baseball Betting Lines

07/03/2009 - Cleveland, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Shin-Soo Choo went 4-for-5 with two homers, a career-high seven runs batted in and scored four times, as the Cleveland Indians crushed the Oakland Athletics, 15-3, in the opener of a three-game series at Progressive Field.

Travis Hafner belted a solo shot and walked twice, while Asdrubal Cabrera had a pair of doubles and three RBI for Cleveland, which snapped a five-game slide, but have only three wins in its last 16 games.

David Huff (4-3) picked up the win after working six innings. The rookie left- hander allowed eight hits and three runs, struck out four and walked one, and has won four of his last five starts.

Nomar Garciaparra had two hits, including a double and an RBI for the Athletics, who have dropped seven of nine.

Trevor Cahill (5-7) was pinned with the loss after getting raked for eight runs -- five earned -- on six hits in 3 2/3 innings. The right-hander walked four and struck out two.

Holliday's ground out to shortstop in the first chased home Adam Kennedy, who led off the ball game with a ground-rule double and took third on a grounder to second to give the Athletics the early edge. Garciaparra's RBI two-bagger in the top of the second made it a 2-0 game, before Hafner's solo blast got the Indians on the board in the home half.

Choo's RBI single in the third pulled the Tribe even and left runners on the corners with two outs. Hafner drew a walk to load the bases and Jhonny Peralta chopped a ground ball to third, but Bobby Crosby's throwing error allowed two more to come home to put Cleveland in front 4-2.

Jack Cust got one back for the A's with a run-scoring base hit in the top of the fourth. Then in the bottom half, an RBI double by Cabrera and a two-run double from Choo stretched the Indians lead to 7-3 and signaled the end for Cahill. Santiago Casilla took over and walked Hafner and served up an RBI single to Peralta.

Cleveland continued to pour it on in the fifth, putting five more on the board. Luis Valbuena and Ben Francisco each singled to get the inning started and both scored when Cabrera lined a two base hit to center. Later in the inning, Choo's three-run homer upped the hosts lead to 13-3.

Grady Sizemore's run-scoring double in the sixth and solo homer by Choo in the seventh put the Tribe ahead by 12.

Mike Gosling came on for mop up duty in the top of the ninth and got the final three outs despite giving up a pair of hits.

Game Notes

The Tribe took five of nine meetings with Oakland last season, including a 4-2 mark as the host. Cleveland has won 10 of the last 14 matchups versus the Athletics at home...The Indians improved to 2-5 on their nine-game homestand...Choo also stole a base and is now 13-for-13 in steal attempts...Oakland's Orlando Cabrera had his 14-game hitting streak snapped due to an 0-for-5 performance.

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El Duque expected to throw Tuesday

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. -- New York Mets pitcher Orlando Hernandez, sidelined at spring training because of arthritis in his neck, is expected to resume throwing on Tuesday.

Hernandez received a cortisone shot Thursday after leaving camp and returning to New York to have his neck examined. The 41-year-old right-hander is penciled in as the team's No. 2 starter behind Tom Glavine.

El Duque's health is a major issue for the Mets, who won the NL East in 2007 and came within one victory of the World Series. Their aging and unsettled rotation is a big question mark this year.

MySportsbook.com has the Mets as -110 favorites to repeat as NL East champions odds. 

Hernandez went 11-11 with a 4.66 ERA last season, including 9-7 with a 4.09 ERA in 20 starts after the Mets acquired him from Arizona in late May. But he missed the playoffs because of a torn calf muscle.

New York already is without Pedro Martinez, out until at least midseason following rotator cuff surgery. Among those competing for starting jobs are prospects Mike Pelfrey, Philip Humber and Jason Vargas, plus veterans Chan Ho Park, Jorge Sosa and Aaron Sele.

Notes: Mets manager Willie Randolph is excited about two new utility players he could have on his bench: Damion Easley and David Newhan. ''Their value is really all over the place,'' Randolph said. Easley can play anywhere in the infield and could be used as an emergency outfielder, though Randolph said he would prefer to keep the veteran in the infield. Newhan, meanwhile, can play second base, third or any outfield position for the Mets. ''I love versatility,'' Randolph said. ''I love guys that can give me options when I need them to step in.''

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