Bautista continues grand season, lifts Jays over Tribe
Baseball Betting Lines
07/30/2010 -
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jose Bautista's grand slam and league-leading
31st home run highlighted a six-run fourth, as the Toronto Blue Jays won their
fourth straight with an 8-1 rout of the struggling Cleveland Indians at Rogers
Centre.
Bautista tied the club record with his 11th home run of July and finished with
three hits, as the Blue Jays snapped a four-game losing streak to Cleveland.
Fred Lewis also homered as part of the 14-hit attack, while Yunel Escobar and
Lyle Overbay both had multi-hit efforts.
Shaun Marcum (10-4) was dominant in the start, allowing just one run and three
hits while fanning a season-high 10 over seven frames.
Matt LaPorta's sacrifice fly was the only offense for the Indians, who have
lost three straight and six of seven. Justin Masterson (3-10) was pounded for
eight runs on a career-high 13 hits and two walks over only 5 1/3 innings to
take the loss.
The Blue Jays got the scoring started with Lewis' leadoff shot in the third,
then scored six times in the fourth to take control.
Aaron Hill and Lyle Overbay both singled to begin the big inning, and Edwin
Encarnacion's base hit with one away brought in Hill for a 2-0 edge. Lewis
singled to load the bases, and Escobar pushed a Masterson offering through the
infield's left side to plate another run and keep the bases loaded.
Bautista followed by launching a pitch into the seats in center for his third
career grand slam and a commanding seven-run advantage for Toronto.
The Indians could manage only LaPorta's sacrifice fly in the fifth, but were
answered when Escobar scampered home on a wild pitch in the sixth for an 8-1
margin, which held for the final score.
Game Notes
Bautista tied Shawn Green's Toronto record. Green hit 11 home runs in July,
1999...The Indians went 0-for-4 with runners in scoring position and are now
5-for-61 in such situations during the last nine games...Cleveland outfielder
Austin Kearns hit a double for the Indians' only extra-base hit of the game.
The club now has an extra-base hit in 52 straight games, the longest active
streak in the majors...The season series is tied, 4-4...The Blue Jays have
homered in 11 straight games...Bautista's last grand slam came on September
19, 2006 as a member of the Pittsburgh Pirates.
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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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