Beltran, Mets hold off Dodgers

Baseball Betting Lines

07/21/2007 - Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Carlos Beltran homered for the second straight game and the New York Mets scored the go-ahead run in the eighth inning on a throwing error in a 4-1 triumph over the Los Angeles Dodgers.

David Wright also drove in a run and Oliver Perez threw 7 1/3 strong innings, as the Mets took the second contest of the four-game series after winning 13-9 on Thursday.

Perez (9-6) allowed six hits and a run, walked three and struck out eight, as the NL East-leading Mets won for the fifth time in seven games. Billy Wagner threw the final inning for his 21st save.

"I felt real good," Perez said. "I changed speeds and made my pitches. They have a good hitting lineup and I was just trying to keep my team in the game."

Mets second baseman Jose Valentin suffered a fractured right tibia when he fouled a ball off his leg in the fourth inning. This is the second time Valentin has hurt his right leg this season. He suffered a partial tear of the ACL in his right knee and was on the disabled list from April 29 until June 7.

"It's not a complete fracture, but it's enough to keep me out for six weeks," Valentin said. "I have to live with it and take it a day at a time."

Nomar Garciaparra homered for the Dodgers, who have dropped three of four.

Brett Tomko gave up five hits and an unearned run over six innings in the start for Los Angeles. Roberto Hernandez (0-1) allowed two hits and three runs -- two earned -- in the eighth inning.

With the game tied 1-1, Jose Reyes doubled to start the eighth and Marlon Anderson then put down a bunt. Hernandez raced to field the ball, which trickled toward third base, but his throw to first was low and the ball got by James Loney, as Reyes scored. Beltran clubbed the next pitch over the wall in right-center field.

Garciaparra flied out to center field, leaving runners at the corners to end the eighth before Wagner retired the side in order in the ninth.

Wright singled in Anderson in the first, but Garciaparra led off the second with a homer to center.

Game Notes

Garciaparra has only three homers this year...Juan Pierre extended his hitting streak to 13 games with a single in the first inning for the Dodgers. He then stole second and third base to bring him to 40 for the season...Jeff Kent had two of LA's seven hits.

Wwinfospace Baseball Betting News

<< Eaton beats former team as Phils top Padres
San Diego, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chase Utley went 2-for-4 with a two-run home run as the Philadelphia Phillies downed the San Diego Padres, 7-3, in the second of a four-game series at Petco Park. Ryan Howard went 2-for-4 with an RBI

<< Bedard, Orioles fan A's
Oakland, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Major league strikeout leader Erik Bedard fanned 11 batters over seven one-hit innings, as the Baltimore Orioles routed the Oakland Athletics, 6-1, in the opener of a three-game series at McAfee Coliseu

<< Blake survives to reach Countrywide semifinals
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Second seed James Blake edged fellow published author and countryman Vincent Spadea 7-6 (7-2), 6-4 to advance to the semifinals of the Countrywide Classic on Friday. Blake, whose autobiography "

<< Oakland's Swisher exits early
Oakland, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Oakland center fielder Nick Swisher left Friday's 6-1 loss against Baltimore in the seventh inning with a sprained right shoulder. Swisher, who is hitting .256 with 46 RBI this season, got hurt attempting a

<< Beckett wins No. 13, Lugo slams BoSox over ChiSox
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Josh Beckett struck out 10 over six innings and Boston drilled the Chicago White Sox, 10-3 in a game that saw a home run call blown, leading to the ejection of Red Sox manager Terry Francona in the first inning.

Bonds may sit as Giants resume set with Brewers >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - With the MLB commissioner looking on, Barry Bonds will again try to inch closer to Hank Aaron's all-time home run record this afternoon when the San Francisco Giants play the middle portion of their three-game series with the

Heads up: Penny goes for 12th win as Dodgers take on Mets >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Brad Penny will try for his 12th win of the season this afternoon when the Los Angeles Dodgers continue their four-game series with the New York Mets at Dodger Stadium. Penny has been outstanding so far this year, posting

Padres set to honor Gwynn, battle Phils >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A battle between 44-year-old left-handers is on tap for tonight as Jamie Moyer and the Philadelphia Phillies play the third of four straight games against David Wells and the San Diego Padres at Petco Park. The matchup of

Pirates try to stop skid at seven games against Astros >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Southpaw Wandy Rodriguez will try to get back on a winning track tonight when the Houston Astros visit PNC Park in game two of a three- game series with the Pittsburgh Pirates. A 28-year-old Dominican, Rodriguez had won co

Rockies continue series with Nationals >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mexican veteran Rodrigo Lopez goes for a third straight strong start today when the Colorado Rockies visit RFK Stadium in the third of a four-game series with the Washington Nationals. Lopez, who'll be 32 in December, defe

COLLEGE FOOTBALL BETTING

NCAA Football Betting : USC's reward: Top spot in Top 25

NEW YORK (AP) -By staying away from the cupcakes, Southern California earned itself a slim new ranking.

No. 1 always seems to fit USC.

Southern California jumped two spots to No. 1 in The Associated Press Top 25 on Tuesday, rewarded by voters for opening the season with a dominant performance on the road against a BCS conference opponent.

Georgia and Ohio State, the preseason Nos. 1 and 2, respectively, started their seasons with glorified scrimmages at home against FCS (formerly I-AA) teams. USC, however, traveled across country to face Virginia and could not have been more impressive in a 52-7 victory.

Georgia fell to No. 2 and Ohio State to No 3.

"We realize that rankings so early in a season are certainly fluid. But rankings do help establish a pecking order for things later in the season," USC coach Pete Carroll said in a statement. "As for moving into the No. 1 spot, it's nice to know that people think highly of our team."

Since reaching No. 1 on Dec. 7, 2003, the final-regular season AP poll of that season, USC has been No. 1 in 39 polls, by far the most of any team during that time.

"Some have said the voters are taking our schedule into consideration," Carroll said. "Our philosophy has always been to schedule outstanding opponents. We need to play challenging games like we just did, traveling across the country to open the season at Virginia. Games like that bring out our best and make us stronger as a team."

The latest voting was close. USC received 21 first-place votes and 1,539 points from the 65-member media panel. Georgia had 20 first-place votes and 1,506 points. Ohio State got 15 first-place votes and 1,497 points.

"I'd say we've evolved as pollsters," said Stewart Mandel of SI.com, who moved USC up to No. 1. "In the past, voters just kind of automatically moved teams up and kept teams where they were if they won."

Georgia beat Georgia Southern 45-21 on Saturday and Ohio State opened with a 43-0 win over Youngstown State.

"There's a bit of a growing backlash for the amount of teams that open with I-AA cupcakes," said Mandel, whose book "Bowls, Polls and Tattered Souls" chronicles college football's controversies. "To see a team [USC] go on the road and play a New Year's Day bowl team from last season, and not only play them but destroy them, how could you not reward that team?"

USC also jumped past Georgia to No. 1 in the USA Today coaches' poll, which has the same top five as the AP poll.

"It's definitely a privilege to be No. 1. But it's not heartbreaking to me if we drop," Georgia offensive lineman Josh Davis said. "It doesn't matter right now what we're ranked. What matters is our next game and right now, that's Central Michigan. The only time the polls matter is in December. That's when the polls matter."

While the Bulldogs opened easy, their schedule ultimately should be as difficult as any team's. Georgia's big nonconference test is at No. 15 Arizona State on Sept. 20. The Bulldogs also face six Southeastern Conference rivals that've been ranked in the first two polls.

As for Ohio State, the Buckeyes play at USC on Sept. 13 before getting into the Big Ten schedule.

But of the teams in this week's top 10, USC and Texas are the only ones that don't play an FCS opponent, and the Trojans are the only team that doesn't play a team from a non-BCS conference.

Get the latest 2009 BCS Championship odds at MySportsbook.com.

The last team to drop from No. 1 after a victory was USC last season. LSU jumped from No. 2 to No. 1 when it beat Tulane 34-9, the same week the Trojans edged Washington 27-24 on the road.

The last preseason No. 1 team to lose the top spot after winning its opening game was Florida in 2001. The Gators beat Marshall 49-14, but preseason No. 2 Miami opened with a 33-7 victory over Penn State and the Hurricanes jumped to No. 1 with Florida slipping to second.

The next four teams in the new Top 25 stayed the same: No. 4 Oklahoma (two first-place votes), No. 5 Florida (five first-place votes), No. 6 Missouri (one first-place vote), No. 7 LSU (one first-place vote) and No. 8 West Virginia.

No. 9 Auburn and No. 10 Texas each moved up a spot, taking advantage of Clemson's big drop. Clemson, ninth in the preseason, fell out after losing 34-10 to Alabama on Saturday.

Also falling out after losses were Virginia Tech, Pittsburgh and Tennessee.

Moving into the rankings were No. 21 Fresno State, No. 22 Utah, No. 23 UCLA and No. 24 South Carolina.

Alabama moved up 11 spots after its big victory over Clemson.

The second 10 started with No. 11 Wisconsin, followed by Texas Tech, Alabama and Kansas. BYU and Arizona State were tied for 15th. Rivals BYU and Utah are both ranked for the first time since 1996.

South Florida was No. 17, ahead of Oregon, Penn State and Wake Forest at No. 20.

The final five were all the teams to move into the ranking, except for Illinois, which dropped four spots and tied South Carolina for No. 24.

Get free Sports Betting lines RSS feeds from top rated online sportsbook MySportsbook.com