Cabrera drives Indians past White Sox in 11 innings
Baseball Betting Lines
04/09/2010 -
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Asdrubal Cabrera drove in the game-winning
run with two outs in the 11th, and the Cleveland Indians notched a 5-3 win
over the Chicago White Sox in the rubber match of a season-opening three-game
set.
Grady Sizemore added three hits and three RBI for the Indians, who are above
.500 (2-1) for the first time since being 81-80 at the tail end of the 2008
season. Jhonny Peralta provided a key two-out RBI double in the eighth, while
Matt LaPorta doubled in a 2-for-4 effort.
Justin Masterson pitched five strong innings, allowing only one run on four
hits and two walks while fanning five. Jensen Lewis (1-0) earned the win for 1
2/3 innings of scoreless relief, and Chris Perez earned his second save.
Carlos Quentin hit a two-run homer and drove in all three runs for the White
Sox, who have lost five straight season-opening series. Juan Pierre added two
hits and a run scored in the loss, while Gavin Floyd yielded two runs, five
hits and three walks in six frames with seven strikeouts.
J.J. Putz (0-1) suffered the loss.
With Putz on the mound for Chicago in the 11th, the Indians forged ahead.
Luis Valbuena put down a perfect bunt down the third base line leading off,
and he just beat Mark Teahen's throw for a single. Valbuena moved to second on
Lou Marson's bunt, and, after Michael Brantley struck out, he scored on
Cabrera's bloop single to shallow right for a 4-3 lead.
Sizemore followed with a double off the wall in deep right-center, driving in
Cabrera for a two-run edge.
Perez set the White Sox down in order to secure the victory.
Cleveland broke the scoreless tie in the third. Brantley ripped a leadoff
single to center and moved to second on a Floyd throwing error. After Cabrera
sacrificed Brantley to third, Sizemore hit an RBI single for the game's first
run.
The Indians extended their lead in the fifth with a two-out Sizemore base hit.
Brantley worked a one-out walk, and two batters later Sizemore perfectly
placed a line drive to the right-centerfield gap, allowing Brantley to score
on the double.
Masterson allowed only two hits in the first four innings but ran into trouble
in the fifth. He walked Teahen with one out, then Alexei Ramirez roped a
single to center. Another single from Pierre loaded the bases, and, with two
outs, Quentin drew a walk to force in a run. Masterson was able to prevent
further damage by striking out Paul Konerko.
The White Sox grabbed their first lead, 3-2, in the seventh on Quentin's two-
run blast, scoring Pierre, who had walked off reliever Tony Sipp to begin the
frame.
Cleveland, though, answered by tying the game in the eighth off Matt Thornton.
With two outs and nobody on base, Travis Hafner laced a single to right and
was able to score on Peralta's double to deep right field.
Both teams put a runner on second with less than two outs in the ninth, but
neither club could plate the winning run.
Game Notes
Every batter except for Pierre struck out at least once...Peralta also stole a
base for the first time since August 4, 2008...Cleveland didn't earn its
second win of the season in 2009 until its ninth game...Chicago managed just
two hits in the final six innings and eight hits in the last two games
combined.
<< Canucks-Sharks Sum
Vancouver 0 0 2-2San Jose 1 3 0-4First Period-1, San Jose, Pavelski 25 (Clowe, Setoguchi), 18:35.Second Period-2, San Jose, Couture 5 (Vlasic, T.Mitchell), 1:57. 3, San Jose, Thornton 20 (Heatley, Marleau), 5:16. 4, San Jose, Malhotra 14 (T.M
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L.A. CLIPPERS (94)Butler 3-10 0-0 6, Gooden 8-13 1-1 17, Kaman 10-16 3-3 23, Davis 4-12 1-2 11, Gordon 7-14 3-4 21, Collins 2-5 0-0 4, Jordan 3-4 0-0 6, Blake 1-5 0-0 3, Skinner 0-1 0-0 0, Brown 1-2 1-1 3, Novak 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 39-82 9-11 94.SA
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from Ford Field.
Joe Whitney added a goal and two helpers for the Eagles (28-10-3)
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Modano scored the tying goal with 1:47 left in regulation and netted the
winner in the shootout as Dallas o
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Logan
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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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