Cubs edge Reds after bizarre play in eighth

Baseball Betting Lines

09/20/2007 - Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Alfonso Soriano homered and threw a runner out at the plate, and the Cubs scored the go-ahead run on an odd play in the eighth inning in a 3-2 win over Cincinnati.

The Cubs, who entered the night in a virtual tie with Milwaukee for first place in the NL Central, caught a break on the way to their seventh win in nine games.

Geovany Soto also homered for Chicago, which got seven strong innings and eight strikeouts on the mound from Ted Lilly. Bob Howry (6-7) allowed one hit over the final two innings for the win.

Adam Dunn clubbed his 40th homer of the season for the Reds, who got a scare as Ken Griffey Jr. fell to the ground with an apparent groin injury in the eighth inning. Edwin Encarnacion also homered for Cincinnati, losers of the finale of the three-game series and in four of their last five games.

Tom Shearn surrendered six hits and two runs over six frames in the start for the Reds, while Gary Majewski (0-3) suffered the tough-luck loss.

With the game tied 2-2, Norris Hopper reached first on an error by second baseman Mark DeRosa to begin the Cincinnati eighth. Hopper moved to second on a bunt, but Griffey struck out. Brandon Phillips then singled to left, but Soriano threw a perfect strike to home plate and Hopper never even attempted to slide as he was tagged out by Soto at the plate.

Theriot singled with one out in the bottom of the inning and went to second when Griffey bobbled the ball in right field. Derrek Lee then singled sharply to right, and Griffey started to make a throw before grabbing his groin area and underhanded the ball toward the infield. Despite this, Theriot stayed at third, while Griffey tumbled to the ground in pain. Griffey remained on his back for several minutes before finally walking off the field.

Mike Stanton replaced Majewski on the mound, but pinch-hitter Matt Murton then hit a ball toward left field. Dunn slid to make the grab, but it was ruled he trapped the ball, although replays showed otherwise. Dunn threw to second base for a force out, and Aramis Ramirez grounded out, but the Cubs held the lead.

Howry retired the side in order in the ninth.

Soriano hit Shearn's first pitch of the game over the wall in left field for his 28th homer of the year. It was also his ninth leading off a game for the Cubs this year, eclipsing the record held by Rick Monday (1976).

Encarnacion tied the game with one out in the second with his 15th homer of the season, also a drive to left.

The Cubs stranded runners at second and third in the bottom half, and the Reds left a runner at third in the next inning.

Dunn then gave the Reds a 2-1 lead with one out in the fourth on his mammoth blast just inside the right field pole, marking his fourth straight year with at least 40 homers.

Soto knotted the contest with a leadoff homer to left-center in the fifth, but the Cubs wasted opportunities, hitting into inning-ending double plays in the fourth, fifth and sixth frames.

The Reds put runners on first and third with one out in the seventh, helped by an error from Lee at first, but Lilly rebounded to strike out David Ross and pinch-hitter Alex Gonzalez.

Game Notes

Soriano has 41 career leadoff homers, fourth most in major league history...Cubs manager Lou Piniella tied Tommy Lasorda (1,599) for 16th on the all-time managerial wins list. Fred Clarke is 15th with 1,602.

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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.


NFL Football Betting : Odds on NFL Division to Win the Super Bowl

NFL Super Bowl Betting

The AFC South and the NFC East are the favorite divisions to have the next Super Bowl champ among them in the NFL betting odds. But more down to the point, these football odds are in favor of the Indianapolis Colts, by far the strongest team in the AFC South, and the Dallas Cowboys of the NFC East.

Most sports fans would agree that these two teams top the list to win it all before the season even begins. In the BetUS Sportsbook football futures, the Colts are +800 in the odds to win the Super Bowl, while the Cowboys are sitting at +1000 and the Super Bowl XLIV champions New Orleans Saints at +900. In the AFC South, the Colts won the division for five straight years after the 2002 realignment, before the Tennessee Titans won it in 2008. But the Colts came back strong in 2009 to win the division again en route to the Super Bowl. The Cowboys are the favorite to win the NFC East, as well as to advance far into the post season. The Cowboys won the division last season before their horrendous loss in the NFC Divisional playoff to Brett Favre and the Minnesota Vikings. But the ‘Boys will take that loss humbly and be ready for the playoffs this time around.

The NFC South is also very strong, at +600 in the NFL futures, considering that it is home to the defending Super Bowl champions. However, some predictions have the Atlanta Falcons with possibilities of claiming the divisional title this season in place of the Saints, as no team has won back-to-back division championships since the division realignment took place. Let’s not overlook the AFC North at +500. As TO goes to Cincinnati to join Chad OchoCinco and Adam “Pac-Man” Jones, this team looks to claim the division title again. And it is likely they will do so. The Bengals lost in the AFC Wild Card spot in a hard-fought battle against the New York Jets last season. Lest not forget the Pittsburgh Steelers, the XLII Super Bowl Champions… All these teams present interesting odds and matchups for the upcoming season, but the safest and surest bet seems to be with the Colts in the AFC South and the Cowboys in the NFC East. Play this weekly NFL Football Contestto see if you can win.

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