Zambrano uses arm and bat to help Cubs down Reds

Baseball Betting Lines

08/21/2008 - Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Carlos Zambrano was brilliant on the hill and helped his own cause with a home run as Chicago edged Cincinnati, 3-2, in the rubber match of a three-game set at Wrigley Field.

Zambrano (13-5) allowed just one run on six hits in seven innings for the NL Central-leading Cubs, who have won three of their last four games and eight of 10.

"(Zambrano) threw well," Cubs manager Lou Piniella said. "His command could have been a little better but he pitched seven innings of one-run ball and hit a home run. That's a pretty good day."

Mark DeRosa added a homer and Ryan Theriot finished 2-for-4 for Chicago.

Jay Bruce and Joey Votto both homered for the Reds, who have dropped four of their past six encounters.

Josh Fogg (2-6) surrendered three runs on four hits in four innings en route to the loss and is now in the midst of a six-outing winless skid.

The Cubs grabbed the early lead with a run in the first. Alfonso Soriano led off with a walk and quickly went to third on Theriot's single before crossing the plate when Derrek Lee grounded into a 6-4-3 double play.

Chicago added a run in the second after DeRosa turned on a Fogg fastball and crushed it over the wall in left for a solo homer, his 15th of the year.

Zambrano made it a 3-0 game in the third by leading off the frame with his fourth homer of the season.

The Reds finally got to Zambrano in the sixth after Bruce belted a one-out solo homer to right-center, his 13th on the year.

Votto tightened things up even further with two outs in the eighth when he crushed a Carlos Marmol offering onto Sheffield Avenue to make it a one-run game, 3-2.

After Marmol managed to get Edwin Encarnacion to line out to end the eighth, Kerry Wood came on to record a 1-2-3 ninth to secure things and pick up his 26th save for the Cubs.

Game Notes

Seven of Votto's 15 home runs this season have come against the Cubs...Marmol was working on a 16-inning scoreless streak when he gave up the homer to Votto...Zambrano set the Cubs franchise record for most home runs in a season by a pitcher with four...Zambrano is 7-1 at Wrigley this year and is 14-9 against the Reds in his career...The Cubs have now won seven consecutive series.

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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.









Marlins could start season without No. 2 starter Johnson

JUPITER, Fla. -- The Foorida Marlins are preparing for the likelihood that right-hander
Josh Johnson won't be ready when the season starts April 2.

Grapefruit League action starts Wednesday, but Johnson, penciled in as the No. 2 starter, hasn't even thrown off a mound at full speed since September. He's experienced some soreness in his right forearm.

MySportsbook.com have the Marlins listed with baseball betting lines at +800 to win the NL East this season .

''You guys know the math. If he's not on the hill then he becomes an opening day roster issue,'' manager Fredi Gonzalez said Saturday. ''We're borderline now.''

Johnson, who finished 12-7 with a 3.10 ERA in 2007, was supposed to throw on flat ground Saturday. That was canceled when he woke up with pain.

He played catch on Wednesday with no pain but felt discomfort in a throwing session on Thursday. He's expected to try again Sunday.

''Like we always said from the very beginning, we're going to take it easy on him,'' Gonzalez said. ''He didn't feel right, so we shut him down. We're going to take it back to step one and see where we're at.''

Among the candidates to take Johnson's spot in the rotation are left-hander Chris George and right-handers Yusmeiro Petit and Jose Garcia.

Right-hander Sergio Mitre, who missed most of last season with arm and shoulder problems, also is behind.

With Johnson's status doubtful, Gonzalez said right-hander Ricky Nolasco will stay in the rotation and no longer will be considered a candidate for closer.

Additional basbeall odds can be found at: www.MySportsbook.com

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