Cubs, Mets conclude series at Wrigley
Baseball Betting Lines
09/05/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago Cubs try to continue their resurgence under interim manager Mike Quade this afternoon when they go for a sweep in their three-game series with the New York Mets at Wrigley Field.
The Cubs improved to 8-3 under Quade on Saturday, as rookie Starlin Castro notched his sixth consecutive multi-hit game and Carlos Zambrano allowed two runs in seven strong innings, helping Chicago to a 5-3 victory.
"They deserve a lot of credit," Quade said of the Cubs' players. "They seem to have committed to getting after it this last month. I don't think they'll quit -- I know they won't quit. Whether it will result in a fine record, I don't know. But the kind of effort that people want to see and hopefully improvement, that I expect."
Zambrano (7-6) struck out eight and walked two while allowing four hits for the Cubs, who made Quade the first Chicago manager with eight wins in his first 11 games since Jim Essian in 1991.
"We know he's emotionally driven, but that can go too far and get him in trouble," Quade said of Big Z. "He has to pitch with passion and emotion. But in his last several starts, he's calmly gone about his business and made pitches.
In six starts since coming off the restricted list due to anger management issues, Zambrano is 4-0 with a 1.98 earned run average.
Castro, whose 76 hits since July 10 lead the majors, is 13-for-26 with three doubles, two RBI and eight runs during his impressive streak, which is the longest for a Cubs' rookie since Don Johnson did it from May 21-28, 1944.
Jenrry Mejia (0-3) made his first career start for the Mets and yielded four runs, eight hits and two walks while fanning two in five frames. The 20-year- old became the youngest starter in team history since Dwight Gooden debuted as a 19-year-old in 1984.
"I thought he did OK, but there are some things he needs to take command of to become what you'd consider to be a solid, solid player," Mets manager Jerry Manuel said.
Ike Davis hit his 16th homer for New York, which fell to a dreadful 1-15-4 in NL road series this season.
Hoping to deliver the Cubs their fourth straight win will be righty Ryan Dempster, who is coming off a dreadful outing his last time out. Dempster absorbed the loss on Tuesday against Pittsburgh, as he lasted just three innings and was hammered for seven runs and seven hits to fall to 12-9 on the year, while raising his earned run average to 3.71.
Dempster, who is one win shy of 100 for his career and 50 with the Cubs, is 9-4 lifetime against the Mets with a 5.57 ERA in 24 games, 13 of which have been starts.
New York, meanwhile, will counter with Jonathon Niese, who is 8-7 with a 3.70. Niese lost his second straight start on Tuesday in Atlanta, as he allowed eight runs - just three earned - and 10 hits in 4 3/4 innings.
Niese did not get a decision the last time he faced the Cubs, despite giving up just an unearned run in 5 1/3 innings, and is 0-1 in two starts against them with a 6.23 ERA.
With a win today the Cubs would claim their first series sweep over the Mets since turning the trick from April 23-25, 2004 at Wrigley.
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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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