Zito finally posts interleague win as Giants top Tribe
Baseball Betting Lines
06/26/2008 -
Cleveland, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Barry Zito put together his best and
longest outing of the season, lifting the San Francisco Giants to a 4-1
victory over the Cleveland Indians in the middle contest of a three-game
interleague set.
The much- maligned Zito (3-11) hurled 6 2/3 innings of one-run ball on four
hits without issuing a walk. The former Cy Young Award winner struck out four
in the win. Zito continues to lead the majors in losses with 11 in 16 starts.
This also marked his first interleague victory since June 16, 2006, a span of
nine such decisions.
Jose Castillo had three hits, including a homer, double and scored twice for
the Giants. Aaron Rowand had a two-run single. John Bowker added a solo
insurance home run for San Francisco, which has taken the first two games of
this series.
Jeremy Sowers (0-3) kept the Indians in the game through seven innings, but
was victimized by a lack of run support, giving up three runs on nine hits and
five walks. The southpaw struck out three in the loss.
"I thought Jeremy (Sowers) threw well," Indians manager Eric Wedge said. "He
showed me something that last inning, going seven. He mixed his fastball and
changeup well and mixed in the breaking ball."
Jamey Carroll had two of Cleveland's six hits while Kelly Shoppach doubled and
scored the lone run on a Shin-Soo Choo pinch-hit RBI single for the Tribe, who
have dropped three straight.
"We need to do a better job of making adjustments," Wedge said of his lineup.
"Zito had good command today but each hitter needs to make adjustments
individually based on what they're seeing. I always feel we can do more. We
have to do more. We can do more."
San Francisco jumped out to a lead in the first. Castillo and Randy Winn hit
back-to-back one-out singles and Bengie Molina drew a walk to load the bases.
Rowand followed with a two-run single to left. Rich Aurilia grounded into an
inning-ending double play.
Castillo made it 3-0 with a one-out homer to center in the third.
Cleveland moved a runner to second base for the first time in the sixth when
Carroll singled up the middle with one out and moved to second on a wild
pitch. Zito managed two fly balls from Ben Francisco and Jhonny Peralta to
escape unscathed.
The Indians got a two-out double from Shoppach in the seventh, ending Zito's
night. Keiichi Yabu entered to face pinch-hitter Choo, who managed an infield
single that ricocheted off first base, scoring Shoppach.
The Giants added an insurance run in the eighth. Bowker went down and golfed a
2-2 slider from Rafael Betancourt over the right field wall.
Brian Wilson came on in the ninth and worked around a leadoff single from
Peralta to record his National League-best 21st save of the season.
Game Notes
Cleveland's Grady Sizemore had a eight-game hitting streak snapped...Sowers is
winless in his last 10 starts dating back to May 24, 2007...Cleveland's Casey
Blake made his first ever appearance at shortstop...Giants shortstop and
former Indian Omar Vizquel snapped an 0-for-23 slump with a single in the
seventh inning...Thursday's series finale will feature San Francisco's Matt
Cain (4-5) and Cleveland's Cliff Lee (10-1)...Cleveland swept a three-game
series in San Francisco during the 2005 season.
<< Cinderella in cleats: Fresno State wins College World Series
Omaha, NE (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Steve Detwiler went 4-for-4, including a pair of
homers, and drove in all the runs for Fresno State, which won its first
College World Series championship with a 6-1 victory over Georgia.
Georgia used an
<< Rays batter Fish for 15 runs in romp
Miami, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Carl Crawford homered twice and drove in five
runs, and the Tampa Bay Rays scored 10 runs in the fifth inning en route to a
15-3 decimation of the Florida Marlins in the middle contest of their three-
game se
<< Soto carries Cubs past O's
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Geovany Soto was 2-for-3 with three runs batted
in, as the Chicago Cubs took advantage of a patchwork Baltimore pitching
performance with a 7-4 victory at Wrigley Field.
Jim Edmonds homered and drove in
<< Royals sweep Rockies to continue interleague success
Kansas City, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ross Gload had two doubles, two runs batted
in and scored as the streaking Kansas City Royals completed a three-game sweep
of the Colorado Rockies with a 4-2 victory.
David DeJesus and Alex Gordon each h
<< Wright clubs 2 HRs in return to lineup as Mets pound Mariners
Flushing, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - After a much-needed day off, David Wright
homered in his first two at-bats and the New York Mets avoided a three-game
sweep with 8-2 win over the Seattle Mariners at Shea Stadium.
Wright had played e
Ramirez homer lifts Rangers over Astros; Chacon attacks GM >>
Houston, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Max Ramirez collected the first two hits of
his major league career -- including a go-ahead two-run home run -- as the
Texas Rangers edged the Houston Astros, 3-2, in the second of a three-game
series
Confrontation with GM leads to suspension for Astros' Chacon >>
Houston, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Houston Astros have suspended pitcher
Shawn Chacon indefinitely for insubordination to the team, general manager Ed
Wade announced on Wednesday.
"We have suspended Shawn Chacon, pending final resol
Stults, Dodgers blank White Sox >>
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Eric Stults tossed his first career
shutout, as the Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the Chicago White Sox, 5-0, in
the middle installment of a three-game interleague set at Chavez Ravine.
Stults (2
Twins keep on rolling with drubbing of Pads >>
San Diego, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Brendan Harris and Craig Monroe clubbed two-
run homers, and the Minnesota Twins got to Greg Maddux to post their eighth
straight victory, 9-3, over the San Diego Padres.
Carlos Gomez had three hits, incl
Kendrick dazzles A's; Phils snap six-game losing streak >>
Oakland, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kyle Kendrick tossed eight shutout innings,
as Philadelphia snapped its longest losing streak of the season with a 4-0 win
over Oakland, in the middle installment of a three-game interleague series.
Kendric
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Numerous College Basketball teams take final big step to March Madness betting
So, what turned on the lock spigot? Well, after what felt like weeks of teams treading water and slipping back into the bubble muck, a bunch of them finally decided to say "to heck with parity" and won games that should put them into the Big Dance.
Disagree with some of these? Then here's the challenge. Take all of the "should be ins" and make a legit case that each should be ahead of the team that's a lock. Then find 10 more teams that also should be placed in the bracket ahead of that lock team. Not so easy, is it?
If you want more evidence that these locks should be good to go, check out what our research department dug up. Since the NCAA Tournament went to 64 teams in 1985, only six teams from a "big six" conference have had a record of 10-6 or better in conference play and not been selected: Colorado (2004) and Nebraska (1999) from the Big 12, Boston College and Seton Hall (both 2003) from the Big East, Indiana (2005) from the Big Ten and UCLA, which somehow went 12-6 in the Pac-10 in 1988 and still missed out. (Note: Five teams went 11-7 and didn't get in, the latest being last season's Stanford team, which had a brutal nonconference run.)
Yes, 10 conference wins doesn't always mean what it used to because of unbalanced schedules, but this season, it should be plenty good in all but the extreme cases (see: Iowa).
In a way, this is a welcome development, because this is a bubble watch, not a lock watch. We can finally be done with teams like Maryland and Virginia Tech and start really bearing down on at-large battles such as Syracuse-West Virginia and Appalachian State-Georgia Tech.
Interestingly, all the shifting of teams into lock status appears to be more administrative than impactful. The number of remaining available at-larges didn't change one iota. The only difference is that teams on the bubble now have a clearer idea of which team(s) they are competing with for those precious bids.
As always, I've tried to be as inclusive as possible while only including teams that would have a reasonable chance of at least being discussed if this were Selection Sunday. If your team's not on here, there's probably a good reason (or three) -- start with the RPI and SOS numbers and work your way down.
(Please remember, per selection committee criteria, that records displayed are Division I only. Next update: Feb. 28)
If you have a legitimate grievance, or just like talking bubble, send an e-mail. Polite ones with fact-based arguments have a much better chance of receiving a response. I apologize in advance if I can't get back to all of you.
Atlantic Coast Conference
Work left to do: Clemson, Florida State, Georgia Tech
The ACC moves to six locks as BC, Va Tech and Virginia all got their 10th ACC wins, which should be more than enough this season, and Maryland rallied past North Carolina to get the final piece the Terps needed. After that? It could end there unless FSU, Ga Tech or Clemson picks things up in a hurry.
Work left to do:
Clemson [19-9 (5-9), RPI: 41, SOS: 42] The Tigers are closer to locking up the collapse of the year award (in a good battle with OK State) than they are to grabbing an at-large. Clemson's been very competitive, but there's no really positive way you can spin nine losses in 11 games. They now cannot get to .500 in ACC play and still must head to Virginia Tech in the season finale (after hosting Miami). Unless the Tigers win both and/or do some serious work in the ACC tourney, they very well could be left out. There are no great nonconference wins, but ODU, App State, Miss. State, South Carolina and Georgia are all respectable W's.
Florida State [18-11 (6-9), RPI: 48, SOS: 14] The Noles got thrashed at Maryland to run their losing streak to five, but then pounded NC State at home to set the table for what likely is an elimination game at Miami. You can at least make a case for the Seminoles at 7-9 in ACC play (and some work in the ACC tourney), but 6-10 is not going to cut it. Wins at Duke and over Florida will resonate, but the computer numbers remain questionable. Beyond Florida, FSU thrashed bubble buddy Providence, but there's not a ton beyond those two games that will help. They didn't show well in big-time opportunities against Pitt and Wisconsin (before the Florida win).
Georgia Tech [18-10 (6-8), RPI: 51, SOS: 46] The Jackets beat Wake on Wednesday but couldn't get it done at UVa on Saturday, which could be a crucial loss with UNC and BC (both at home) remaining and 8-8 almost a certain need for at-large consideration. A nonconference win over Memphis helps, but the RPI and SOS are not at-large quality right now; if you combine those with a sub-.500 ACC mark, that could spell NIT for GT.
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