Gonzalez homers twice as Rockies take series from Dodgers

Baseball Betting Lines

08/29/2010 - Denver, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Carlos Gonzalez went 3-for-4 with two homers and four RBI, as the Colorado Rockies defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers, 10-5, in the rubber match of a three-game series at Coors Field.

Dexter Fowler chipped in with two triples and three RBI, while Ryan Spilborghs added a solo homer for Colorado, which have won six of its last seven.

Jason Hammel (9-7), 1-4 with a 4.82 earned run average in his previous eight starts coming in, worked 5 1/3 innings and yielded two runs on seven hits, walked three and struck out seven in taking the victory. He also added an RBI single among two hits.

Ryan Theriot had two hits and a pair of RBI for the Dodgers, who had won four in a row before dropping the last two games of the series.

Ted Lilly (8-9), who had won his five previous starts with the Dodgers since being acquired from the Chicago Cubs, was roughed up for seven runs on nine hits in four frames. The veteran lefty struck out eight and walked one.

The Rockies plated a run in the second and third innings to grab the early advantage. Todd Helton led off the second with a double and crossed the plate two batters later on Chris Ianetta's two-bagger to center. Gonzalez then hit a two-out solo homer to right in the third.

In the fourth, Colorado broke it open by pushing across five two-out runs. Jonathan Herrera started things with a triple and scored on Hammel's base hit to center. After Eric Young Jr. drew a walk, Fowler brought in a pair with a three-bagger to right. Gonzalez capped the inning with a two-run homer to right field to put the hosts ahead 7-0.

Jay Gibbons' RBI single in the fifth got the Dodgers on the board, but Spilborghs' solo homer in the bottom portion got the run back. A run-scoring double by James Loney in the sixth made it 8-2. During the sixth inning, Dodgers' pinch-hitter Manny Ramirez took a called strike at the knees on the first pitch of the at-bat and was ejected for arguing with home plate umpire Gary Cederstrom.

LA got to the Rockies bullpen for three in the top of the eighth on a pinch- hit RBI single from Ronnie Belliard and two-run single by Theriot. It could have been more, but Loney grounded out to shortstop with the bases loaded to end the inning.

Fowler's RBI triple and sac fly from Gonzalez in the home half put Colorado up 10-5.

Huston Street worked a 1-2-3 ninth to close out the win.

Game Notes

Despite the loss, Los Angeles has still won seven of 12 meetings with Colorado this season and 21 of the last 30 contests in this series...Lilly, who pitched to a 1.83 ERA in 34 1/3 innings with the Dodgers coming into the contest, fell to 4-2 in seven lifetime starts against Colorado.

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(September 14) – Week one of NFL action saw three teams go scoreless for the first time since 1977.  Another four were unable to get a touchdown and almost half of the underdogs covered the spread. Those three teams saved bettors at MySportsbook.com from losing out completely, thanks to the company’s unique NFL Shutout Rule -- which ensures that if the team you backed goes scoreless, your wager is refunded.

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Seattle, last year’s highest scoring team, showed the power of their defense with their gritty 9-6 win in Motown over the ravenous Lions.  They take their act back home to the comforts of Qwest Field where they will face the resurgent Arizona Cardinals.  The Seahawks are favored by a touchdown. 

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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.

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