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O's end Cubbies' 14-game home winning streak

Baseball Betting Lines

06/25/2008 - Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Nick Markakis and Luke Scott drove in two runs each for Baltimore, as the Orioles bested the Chicago Cubs, 7-5, in the opener of a three-game interleague set at Wrigley Field.

Markakis was 2-for-5 with a run scored and Scott added a triple, single and a run scored. Brian Roberts was 3-for-5 with two runs scored and a run batted in for Baltimore, which halted a two-game slide. George Sherrill got out of a bases-loaded jam with nobody out in the ninth with three straight strikeouts to earn his 26th save.

Jeremy Guthrie (4-7) tossed six effective innings, surrendering four runs on seven hits and a walk. Guthrie was mainly hurt by a three-run homer in the seventh and pitched well otherwise to earn the win. The hard-luck righthander has surrendered two earned runs or fewer in seven of his last 11 starts with only four wins to show for it.

Jim Edmonds connected for a three-run homer and Kosuke Fukudome was 2-for-5 with a home run and two runs scored. Aramis Ramirez added two hits, an RBI and a scored a run for Chicago, which ended both a three-game winning streak and the Cubs' 14-game winning streak at Wrigley Field, their longest such streak since June 4-July 10, 1936.

"These guys basically are ready to go," Cubs manager Lou Pinella said while addressing a letdown following the Cubs sweep of the White Sox. "The White Sox had nothing to do with this. Absolutely nothing. Baltimore came in here and played a good ballgame. Give them credit."

Sean Marshall (0-1) lasted only 4 2/3 innings, allowing four runs on seven hits and a walk. The righthander recorded seven strikeouts in the loss.

Baltimore got to Marshall in the fourth for the game's first runs. Kevin Millar worked a one-out walk and Ramon Hernandez singled to left before Scott laced a triple to right, scoring both baserunners. Marshall recovered to get Adam Jones and Alex Cintron on strikeouts, stranding Scott.

Fukudome got one back in the home half, with a leadoff home run over the center-field wall.

The O's came back with two in the fifth. Roberts lined a single to center and Markakis doubled to left plating one. Markakis tagged, moving to third on a fly out, and scored on a Millar single back up the middle ending Marshall's day. Michael Wuertz came on for the final out.

Baltimore added three more runs in the sixth. Scott reached on an error and scored when Cintron lined a one-out double to left. Wuertz got Guthrie swinging but Roberts laced a triple to the gap in right-center, scoring Cintron. Neal Cotts entered for Wuertz and allowed an RBI single to Markakis.

"(Sean) Marshall was OK," Cubs manager Lou Pinella said. "Middle relief wasn't very good. They've been struggling. They've got to get better."

Edmonds erased Baltimore's three-run sixth with a three-run blast to the stands in left in the seventh. Derrek Lee and Ramirez both singled to start the inning in front of Edmonds. Edmonds' homer ended Guthrie's day as Jim Johnson came on to record all three outs in the inning.

Chicago inched closer with a run in the eighth. Pinch-hitter Daryle Ward worked a leadoff walk and Fukudome grounded into a force out at second. Eric Patterson followed with a single and Johnson was pulled in favor of Chad Bradford. Lee hit into a force out at second moving Fukudome to third and Ramirez followed with an RBI single to right.

The Cubs loaded the bases off Sherrill in the ninth. Geovany Soto led off with a single and Mark DeRosa drew a walk. Ryan Theriot managed an infield single to load the bases with nobody out but Sherrill bore down and retired Ronny Cedeno, Fukudome and pinch-hitter Henry Blanco on three consecutive strikeouts to end the game.

"I made the first few hitters look pretty good," Sherrill said. "But somehow I was able to get out of it. That's what a closer does. They battled and battled us. But we were able to hold on and come out on top. I don't get nervous when I'm out there. I get nervous when it's somebody else, not me."

Game Notes

This is the Orioles first-ever visit to Wrigley Field. The Cubs took two of three from the O's in a 2003 meeting at Camden Yards...Roberts extended his hitting streak to 11-games and has hit safely in 18 of his last 19 contests...The Cubs recalled Marshall from Triple-A Iowa prior to Tuesday's contest and activated Ward from the 15-day disabled list. Chicago also placed outfielder Reed Johnson on the 15-day disabled list and optioned infielder Micah Hoffpauir to Iowa...Roberts recorded his 1,000th career hit in the win.

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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