Baseball Betting

Suzuki propels Mariners past Padres

Baseball Betting Lines

06/25/2009 - Seattle, WA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ichiro Suzuki finished a triple shy of the cycle, going 4-for-5 with a pair of runs scored as Seattle downed San Diego, 9-3, in the rubber match of a three-game interleague set from Safeco Field.

Mike Sweeney added a 4-for-4 day at the plate with two RBI for the Mariners, who took two of three in the series and seven of 10 overall. Rob Johnson knocked in three runs, Adrian Beltre contributed three hits and scored twice, while Wladimir Balentien also homered for Seattle.

Jarrod Washburn (4-5) earned his first win since April 21, a span of 10 starts, by allowing just six hits and two runs over six full frames. He fanned six with just one walk and lowered his ERA to 3.22 in the effort.

Chase Headley's two-run homer and a solo shot from Edgar Gonzalez accounted for the offense for the Padres, losers in seven of their last 10 games.

In his second career start, Wade LeBlanc (0-1) lasted only 1 1/3 innings in the loss, charged with five hits and four runs.

The Mariners struck for four runs in the first inning, starting with Suzuki's leadoff blast, his sixth home run of the season. Beltre singled two batters later, and Sweeney followed with a double. Franklin Gutierrez drew an intentional walk with two down, then Johnson laced a double down the line in left which cleared the bases.

Suzuki led off the second with a double but was picked off trying to steal third. Russell Branyan walked and LeBlanc's game was done in favor of Josh Banks, who held the M's at bay.

In the fifth, Seattle picked up two more runs on Ronny Cedeno's successful squeeze bunt which plated Gutierrez, then Balentien's solo shot.

Headley's two-run homer in the sixth put the Padres on the board, and Gonzalez added a solo shot in the seventh to make it 6-3.

Seattle responded in the eighth to put its opponent away for good, tacking on three runs courtesy of a two-run single from Sweeney and a run-scoring double-play from Jose Lopez.

Game Notes

Suzuki's leadoff homer was his second of the year and 29th in his career...LeBlanc's ERA swelled to 14.54, as he allowed three hits and three runs in three innings in his first start, on June 19 against Oakland...Prior to the game, the Mariners placed infielder Yuniesky Betancourt on the 15-day disabled list with a strained right hamstring and reinstated Lopez from the bereavement list.


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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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