A-Rod reaches Reggie, Yankees outslug Braves

Baseball Betting Lines

06/25/2009 - Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Alex Rodriguez moved into a tie for 11th place on the all-time home run list and finished with four runs batted in to lead the New York Yankees to an 11-7 win over the Atlanta Braves in the rubber match of a three-game interleague series at Turner Field.

Rodriguez belted the 563rd homer of his illustrious career and in the process moved into a tie with former Yankee great Reggie Jackson.

Johnny Damon also drove in four runs while Derek Jeter posted four hits and four runs scored for the Yankees, who have won two straight following a three- game skid and will return to New York for a weekend "Subway" series at Citi Field against the Mets. Cody Ransom added two RBI in the win.

Andy Pettitte started on the mound for the Yankees but did not factor in the decision. He lasted just 3 2/3 innings, allowing six runs -- three earned -- on seven hits with four strikeouts and three walks.

Derek Lowe (7-6) toed the rubber for the Braves and was charged in defeat with eight runs, six of which were earned, on 11 hits in three-plus innings of work.

Yunel Escobar knocked in three runs for the Braves, who have dropped four of their last six games overall. Casey Kotchman notched two RBI in the loss.

In the bottom of the ninth, the Yankees held an 11-6 lead and David Robertson was on the hill. He was greeted by Brian McCann's leadoff homer over the wall in right field. With one out, Garret Anderson singled before Robertson fanned Jeff Francoeur. Pinch-hitter Gregor Blanco posted an infield single to put runners on the corners.

Mariano Rivera entered from the bullpen and induced a game-ending fly out off the bat of Diory Hernandez for his 17th save of the season and the 499th of his career.

The Yankees opened the scoring early with a pair of runs in the top of the first inning. Consecutive singles Jeter and Damon preceded a double-play grounder off the bat of Mark Teixeira. On the play, Jeter scored. The next batter was Rodriguez, whose milestone solo homer gave the visitors a two-run lead.

Escobar's RBI double in the home first cut the Braves' deficit in half.

An RBI single by Rodriguez in the second inning made it 3-1.

In the top of the third, the Yankees loaded the bases. One-out base hits by Brett Gardner and Ransom preceded a two-out walk to Jeter and Damon then cleared the bases with a triple for a 6-1 advantage.

Ransom's two-run double in the fourth, which brought home Rodriguez and Jorge Posada, increased the Bombers' lead to seven.

Pettitte found trouble in the bottom of the fourth, though not all of it was his fault. He surrendered a single to Anderson and a double to Francoeur that put runners on second and third. The next batter was Kotchman, who roped a double to right field and drew the Braves within 8-3.

Pettitte then plunked pinch-hitter Matt Diaz and with one out, Martin Prado's fly ball to shallow center was mishandled by Gardner and fell to the grass, allowing Kotchman to score. Chipper Jones drew a walk to load the bases but Pettitte worked hard to strike out McCann. Escobar, though, singled to right scoring both Diaz and Prado.

Alfredo Aceves (5-1) entered from the New York bullpen and struck out Anderson to avoid further damage. Aceves ended with 2 1/3 scoreless frames of relief.

A two-run single by Rodriguez in the seventh padded the New York lead to 10-6.

In between Phil Coke's scoreless relief innings in the seventh and eighth for the Yanks, Damon's RBI single capped the New York offensive output.

Game Notes

This marked the first trip to Atlanta by the Yankees since 2000...The Yankees outhit the Braves, 16-13...Jeter stole his 17th base of the season and raised his batting average to .308...The contest took 3 hours, 49 minutes to complete...The Yankees improved to 12-10 all-time against the Braves in interleague play.