Mientkiewicz, Pirates edge Astros

Baseball Betting Lines

07/23/2008 - Houston, TX (Baseball Betting) - Doug Mientkiewicz went 4-for-4 with a pair of runs batted in, and the Pittsburgh Pirates won a wild, 8-7, decision over the Houston Astros in the finale of a three-game series at Minute Maid Park.

Jason Bay belted a two-run home run for the Pirates, who pulled off a sweep of Houston on the heels of a five-game losing streak. Xavier Nady and Freddy Sanchez each went 2-for-5, while Nate McLouth reached base three times and scored twice.

Franquelis Osoria (4-3) tossed two perfect innings to earn the win in relief of Ian Snell, who was battered for five runs on six hits in three innings. Damaso Marte worked a scoreless ninth to notch his fifth save.

Mark Loretta went 3-for-5 with two RBI for the Astros, losers of four straight after a four-game win streak. Kaz Matsui homered, drew three walks and scored three times, while Brad Ausmus added an RBI double.

Geoff Geary (2-2) was tagged for two runs in two innings and dropped the decision behind Brian Moehler, who was rocked for six runs -- five earned -- on nine hits in just 2 1/3 frames.

With the game knotted at 6-6, the Pirates forged ahead by two against Geary in the seventh. Singles by Ryan Doumit and Nady and a walk to Adam LaRoche loaded the bases with one out, and Mientkiewicz's single pushed the go-ahead run across. Pinch-hitter Jason Michaels then grounded into a force out that extended the gap to 8-6.

Houston pulled a run back in the bottom half on Geoff Blum's run-scoring single, but John Grabow came on in relief of Tyler Yates and retired pinch- hitter Darin Erstad to preserve the lead.

Grabow followed with a scoreless eighth, and Marte worked around a two-out walk to Ty Wigginton for the save, fanning pinch-hitter Miguel Tejada to complete the sweep.

The offenses started early, with each team rocking the opposing pitcher in the first. Pittsburgh ripped into Moehler, batting around and plating four runs. After a pair of singles to start the game, Doumit brought home a run with a sac fly. Bay followed with a long homer to left, and three batters later, Snell helped his own cause with an RBI single.

Houston responded with three runs against Snell, as the Astros loaded the bases with nobody out before Loretta's two-run single and Hunter Pence's run- scoring fielder's choice.

Pittsburgh tacked on another in the second when McLouth reached on a two-base error and scored on Freddy Sanchez's double, but Matsui's two-out solo blast in the home half pulled the Astros within 5-4.

Each team scored on back-to-back doubles in the third, with LaRoche and Mientkiewicz connecting for the Pirates and Wigginton and Ausmus picking up the hits for Houston.

However, Houston finally managed to keep the Pirates off the board in the fourth, then tied the game in their at-bat when Matsui walked, stole second and scored on Lance Berkman's single.

Game Notes

It was the sixth four-hit game of Mientkiewicz's career...Each team went 4- for-14 with runners in scoring position...Nady extended his hit streak to 12 games...Bay's homer was the 138th of his career, tying Hall of Famer Bill Mazeroski for eighth on the Pirates all-time list...The teams combined to use 11 pitcher, six for Pittsburgh, five for Houston...The Pirates batted Snell in the eighth spot of the lineup, and between pitchers and pinch-hitters, eight different players occupied that spot in the batting order during the game.

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Pacific-10 Conference odds

Teams that should be in: Stanford

Oregon and USC get their tickets punched after taking care of business this weekend. Yes, the Trojans' computer numbers aren't great, but there's no way the third-place team in this league is getting nixed. Grudgingly, I added Arizona after consultation with our Bracketologist. I don't know that Arizona will lose its last three (including a Pac-10 quarterfinal game), and even if the Cats do, I still can't see how they'd be left out, given the overall profile. That said, it bears watching, as three more L's would leave them at 18-12 (9-9) and on a 6-11 skid entering the Dance. It would be nice to see the Wildcats get at least one W in the Bay Area next week, as Cincinnati (albeit without Armein Kirkland and with a worse profile) was axed after a similar slide last season. I just couldn't rationalize having some of the other teams as locks and not having Arizona in that category -- there just aren't enough good teams behind the Cats to threaten their spot, it seems. Stanford has its fate in its own hands with the Arizona schools coming to the Farm to close out the regular season next weekend.

Should be in:

Stanford [17-10 (9-7), RPI: 40, SOS: 21] No shame in not getting a win in L.A., but that makes the home game against Arizona State a must-win ahead of what could be an intriguing meeting with Arizona should the Cats lose at Cal. Getting to 11 Pac-10 wins would make Selection Sunday much more comfortable, but 10's probably more than enough this season. The Cardinal have nonconference wins over Texas Tech and at Virginia to lean on, although they also lost badly to Air Force and Santa Clara at home.

Southeastern Conference odds
Work left to do: Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, Mississippi State

It looks more and more possible that no one from the SEC West will make the NCAAs. How weird is that? Tennessee and Vandy move into the locks category after more good work this weekend. Kentucky stays there, although it would be smart for the Cats to handle Georgia at home Wednesday ahead of a trip to the Swamp. Could a disaster scenario (two more L's and a first-round SEC tourney exit) somehow dislodge the Cats despite their incredible computer numbers? Still unlikely, but not worth chancing it.

Work left to do:

Alabama [19-9 (6-8), RPI: 43, SOS: 47] The tough L at Tennessee was understandable, and even created some hope. Unfortunately, that hope was dashed by a home loss to Auburn, which leaves the Tide in some real trouble. There's still no signature win on the profile (no, Kentucky doesn't count), and the computer profile is weakening rapidly. The Tide conceivably could beat Ole Miss and win at Miss. State to get to 8-8 and clinch at least a share of the West crown, but that's probably not enough right now. The Tide will need to do some work in the SEC tourney.

Georgia [16-10 (8-6), RPI: 52, SOS: 23] This is the team with the best chance to make it from this section right now. The Bulldogs rebounded from a terrible performance at Ole Miss to beat down Miss. State. Now they are at Kentucky (king of the RPI 51-100 win) and home to Tennessee. That would be worth a lot of computer points to get both (which is doable), as both teams are in the top 11 in RPI. Finishing at least 9-7 is an absolute must, and I would feel much better about the Dawgs' chances if they got both to get to 10 SEC wins. They also beat Gonzaga, but lost to ACC bubblers Georgia Tech and Clemson.

Mississippi [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 63, SOS: 79] Like everyone else in this division, Ole Miss gacked up a chance to stake a claim, losing by double figures at South Carolina. Even 9-7 likely is not nearly enough with a nonconference profile devoid of anything notable.

Mississippi State [16-11 (7-7), RPI: 66, SOS: 37] With a chance to get in the mix, these Bulldogs were leashed by their Georgia counterparts. Could they get to 9-7? I guess -- although winning at Arkansas, then beating Alabama is no lock -- but would that mean all that much for a team with this overall profile? Probably not. There's nothing of note (on the good side) in the nonconference profile.

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Marlins could start season without No. 2 starter Johnson

JUPITER, Fla. -- The Foorida Marlins are preparing for the likelihood that right-hander
Josh Johnson won't be ready when the season starts April 2.

Grapefruit League action starts Wednesday, but Johnson, penciled in as the No. 2 starter, hasn't even thrown off a mound at full speed since September. He's experienced some soreness in his right forearm.

MySportsbook.com have the Marlins listed with baseball betting lines at +800 to win the NL East this season .

''You guys know the math. If he's not on the hill then he becomes an opening day roster issue,'' manager Fredi Gonzalez said Saturday. ''We're borderline now.''

Johnson, who finished 12-7 with a 3.10 ERA in 2007, was supposed to throw on flat ground Saturday. That was canceled when he woke up with pain.

He played catch on Wednesday with no pain but felt discomfort in a throwing session on Thursday. He's expected to try again Sunday.

''Like we always said from the very beginning, we're going to take it easy on him,'' Gonzalez said. ''He didn't feel right, so we shut him down. We're going to take it back to step one and see where we're at.''

Among the candidates to take Johnson's spot in the rotation are left-hander Chris George and right-handers Yusmeiro Petit and Jose Garcia.

Right-hander Sergio Mitre, who missed most of last season with arm and shoulder problems, also is behind.

With Johnson's status doubtful, Gonzalez said right-hander Ricky Nolasco will stay in the rotation and no longer will be considered a candidate for closer.

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