Uggla sets club HR mark in Marlins' win over Padres

Baseball Betting Lines

07/31/2010 - San Diego, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Dan Uggla became the Marlins all-time home run leader and Ricky Nolasco was solid in 8 1/3 innings on the mound, as Florida held off San Diego, 6-3, in the second test of a three-game set at Petco Park.

Nolasco (12-7), who took a no-hitter into the sixth, gave up three runs on five hits to win his third straight start. The right-hander also struck out seven and walked one to improve to 8-2 over 12 road starts this year.

Uggla hit a solo homer in the sixth for his 144th career homer, passing Mike Lowell on the club's all-time list. Mike Stanton hit a two-run homer for the Marlins, who have won three in a row. Gaby Sanchez had two RBI.

Adrian Gonzalez drove in two runs for the Padres, who lost, 4-2, in the opener of this series. Scott Hairston belted a solo homer in defeat.

Kevin Correia (7-7) went six frames in the start, allowing three runs on four hits to take the loss.

Stanton's two-run homer in the second put Florida on the board early. Uggla walked and crossed the plate two batters later on Stanton's blast to left- center field.

Uggla's record-setting homer in the top of the sixth gave the Marlins a 3-0 lead. Nolasco's bid for a no-hitter came to an end in the home sixth when Hairston led off the inning with a blast over the wall in left.

Florida added another run in the seventh to make it a 4-1 game. Tim Stauffer started the inning on the mound for the Padres and gave up a one-out single to Hanley Ramirez. Logan Morrison then lined the ball to left field, but Hairston dropped the ball. He committed another error when he failed to pick up the ball cleanly. Ramirez crossed the plate on the play.

San Diego's second hit of the game came in the eighth, as Nick Hundley reached base on an infield single. Nolasco, though, retired the next three batters.

Sanchez's two-run single off Ryan Webb in the top of the ninth made it a 6-1 game.

The Padres made things a bit interesting in the home ninth. With runners on second and third and one out, Gonzalez hit a two-run single to make it 6-3. Leo Nunez was called in from the bullpen to get out of the jam. He did just that to record his 26th save of the season.

Game Notes

The Padres have lost six in a row at home to the Marlins...Florida acquired pitcher Will Ohman from the Baltimore Orioles in exchange for pitcher Rick VandenHurk...The St. Louis Cardinals acquired pitcher Jake Westbrook from the Cleveland Indians in a three-team trade that also involved San Diego. Along with Westbrook, St. Louis acquired cash from the Indians and minor league pitcher Nick Greenwood from the Padres. San Diego got outfielder Ryan Ludwick from the Cardinals, while the Indians received minor league pitcher Corey Kluber from the Padres...Florida has won five of seven and 11 of its last 15 overall...Nolasco improved to 3-2 lifetime against the Padres.

Wwwtangierscasino Baseball Betting News

<< RSL thumps United
Sandy, UT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Second-half goals from Robbie Findley and Nelson Gonzalez propelled Real Salt Lake to a 3-0 win over D.C. United at Rio Tinto Stadium on Saturday. Alvaro Saborio put Salt Lake in front after 13 minutes, while

<< Ten-man Houston ties N.Y. to spoil Henry's debut
Houston, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Brian Mullan scored in the 90th minute as 10- man Houston tied Red Bull New York on Saturday, 2-2, to spoil Thierry Henry's two-assist debut in Major League Soccer. Henry assisted on two goals for Juan Pablo

<< Gonzo's cycle, HR in ninth lifts Rockies over Cubs
Denver, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Carlos Gonzalez's lead-off home run in the ninth inning gave him the cycle and the Colorado Rockies a 6-5 win over the Chicago Cubs in the second of a three-game set. Gonzalez led off the bottom of

<< Bunbury leads Wizards past TFC
Kansas City, KS (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Teal Bunbury's header in the 62nd minute was enough for the Kansas City Wizards to claim a 1-0 win over Toronto FC at CommunityAmerica Ballpark on Saturday. Neither side created a ton of chances ove

<< Suppan picks up first win as Cardinals rout Pirates
St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jeff Suppan finally got his coveted first win of the season, pitching 5 1/3 shutout innings to lead the Cardinals to an 11-1 win over the Pirates. Suppan (1-6) earned his first victory since September 19,

Titans agree to terms with top pick Morgan >>
Nashville, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Tennessee Titans have reportedly agreed to terms with defensive end Derrick Morgan, their first-round draft pick. WVLT television in Nashville is reporting that it is a five-year deal for the 16th overal

Guerrero's bat, Harden's arm helps Rangers down Angels >>
Anaheim, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Vladimir Guerrero's two-run homer in the fourth inning was enough against his former team as the AL West-leading Rangers edged the Angels, 2-1, in the middle installment of a three-game series. Nelson Cruz ex

Montero stays hot as Sounders down Earthquakes >>
Santa Clara, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Fredy Montero headed home the lone goal of the game in the 26th minute as Seattle Sounders FC handed the San Jose Earthquakes a 1-0 defeat at Buck Shaw Stadium on Saturday. Montero continued his

Braun helps Chivas tame Crew >>
Carson, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chivas USA rolled to a surprising 3-1 win over the Columbus Crew at The Home Depot Center on Saturday behind a pair of late first-half goals. Justin Braun tallied his seventh goal of the season in the 37th

Murray to face Querrey for Los Angeles title >>
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Defending champion Sam Querrey battled back from a set down to defeat sixth-seeded Janko Tipsarevic, while top seed Andy Murray outlasted Feliciano Lopez in the semifinals Saturday at the $700,00

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.

The Bubble Breakdown
CONFERENCE LOCKS SHOULD BE INS AT-LARGES TAKEN
(assuming no auto bid outlier)
ACC Betting Odds 6 0 5
Big East Betting Odds 5 0 4
Big Ten Betting Odds 2 2 3
Big 12 Betting Odds 3 0 2
Pac-10 Betting Odds 5 1 5
SEC Betting Odds 4 0 3
MVC Betting Odds 1 1 1
MWC Betting Odds 2 1 2
TOTAL 28 5 25

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.

For more College Basketball betting lines go to MySportsbook.com

Additional basketball lines can be found at: www.MySportsbook.com

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.


Big 12 Conference betting odds

Work left to do: Texas Tech, Oklahoma State, Kansas State

Texas joins Texas A&M and Kansas as locks after getting league win No. 11. Texas Tech greatly helped its own hopes and crippled OK State's with the two-point win Saturday. Is K-State the last reasonable hopeful? Could be an elimination match in Stillwater on Tuesday, at least for the Cowboys.

Work left to do:

Texas Tech [18-11 (7-7), RPI: 44, SOS: 12] A critical two-point win over OK State leaves the Red Raiders with Baylor and at Iowa State left. Get both and the Red Raiders likely are good to go. Get one and there could be some interesting comparisons with a K-State team that could finish two or three games "ahead" of them in the standings but doesn't have any of the quality wins Texas Tech has. Not a lot in nonconference play (against Arkansas in Little Rock being the best win, by far) to lean on.

Oklahoma State [18-9 (5-8), RPI: 50, SOS: 35] Still without a road win, the Cowboys now need to win two on the road just to get to .500 in conference play. It's hard to recall a team (OK, other than Clemson) falling so precipitously from lock status to almost certainly out of the NCAAs at this point. There are wins to be had in the last three, including a very big home game against K-State on Tuesday, but this team is reeling. Can you tell the pressure to win is getting to them with the way the final possession played out at Texas Tech? There are some good nonconference performances to lean on, specifically beating Missouri State and Syracuse on neutral floors and Pitt in OK City, but if the Pokes don't right this very, very soon, that won't be enough.

Kansas State [20-9 (9-5), RPI: 56, SOS: 96] It pays to be in the Big 12 North. The nine league wins are Colorado (twice), Missouri (twice), Iowa State (twice), Baylor, Nebraska and (a good one against) Texas. That helps explain the middling computer profile. The win over USC is nice, but the nonconference leaves a lot to be desired. The game at OK State in Stillwater on Tuesday is huge, as it could KO the Cowboys and leave K-State with a home date against Oklahoma with which to work.