Cubs slam Braves to avoid sweep

Baseball Betting Lines

06/03/2007 - Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mark DeRosa belted a grand slam and finished with five runs batted in to power Chicago past Atlanta, 10-1, as the Cubs avoided a three-game sweep at Wrigley Field.

Derrek Lee went 3-for-5 with a home run and three runs scored for the Cubs, who ended a six-game slide and won for just the third time in their last 13 games.

Chicago starter Sean Marshall (1-2) pitched 6 2/3 solid innings and gave up just one run on six hits while striking out eight and walking just one.

Alfonso Soriano fell a double short of the cycle, going 3-for-5 with a home run, triple and two runs scored for the Cubs, who were without manager Lou Piniella, who was suspended for an indefinite period of time and fined by Major League Baseball for initiating contact with an umpire after arguing a call during Saturday's loss to Atlanta. Bench coach Alan Trammell managed in Piniella's place.

Lance Cormier started for Atlanta in place of John Smoltz and struggled in his first outing of the season. Cormier (0-1) went four-plus innings and was tagged for eight runs on nine hits. The veteran Smoltz was scratched from his scheduled start due to a right shoulder problem and injured finger on his throwing hand.

Kelly Johnson had two hits and Matt Diaz knocked in the lone run for the Braves, who had a three-game win streak end stopped and were looking to sweep their first three-game series since the start of the season.

DeRosa's two-out, grand slam in the first inning put the Cubs in control early. Felix Pie, Lee and Aramis Ramirez hit three straight singles with one out. After Jacque Jones' grounder hit Ramirez for an out, DeRosa cranked Cormier's first offering into the seats in left-center field to give Chicago a 4-0 lead.

Soriano's two-out homer in the second made it 5-0 in favor of the Cubs while Lee's solo blast in the third made it a six-run contest.

Chicago tacked on three runs in the fifth to increase its lead to 9-0. Soriano started things with a triple and scored on Pie's double as Cormier was replaced by Oscar Villarreal. Lee greeted him with a base hit and with one out, Jones singled home Pie for an eight-run lead. DeRosa's sac-fly made it 9-0 as Lee crossed the plate.

A run-scoring single by Diaz in the seventh finally got the Braves on the board and made it 9-1.

Chicago's lead reached nine runs in the eighth after Ryan Theriot scored on pinch-hitter Angel Pagan's fielder's choice and Jarrod Saltalamacchia's throwing error.

Game Notes

The length of Piniella's suspension will be determined after a meeting with John McHale Jr., the MLB executive vice president for administration on Monday...DeRosa, Soriano and Lee each have six home runs on the season...Before the game, the Cubs placed infielder/outfielder Daryle Ward on the 15-day disabled list with a left hip strain and recalled Pie from Triple-A Iowa. Pie went 2-for-5 with a double and scored two runs while knocking in a run...Also before the game, the Braves optioned infielder Martin Prado to Triple-A Richmond.

Wwebmillion Baseball Betting News

<< Victorino lifts Phils over Giants
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Shane Victorino belted a game-winning home run with one out in the bottom of the ninth inning as the Philadelphia Phillies edged the San Francisco Giants, 9-8, at Citizens Bank Park. With the sco

<< Sheffield, Bonderman lead Tigers over Tribe
Cleveland, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Gary Sheffield set the tone with a two-run homer in the first inning, and Jeremy Bonderman hurled six-plus solid innings as Detroit downed Cleveland, 9-2, in the finale of a four-game set at Jacobs

<< Sheets, Brewers blank Marlins
Milwaukee, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ben Sheets struck out seven batters over six scoreless innings, as the National League Central-leading Milwaukee Brewers got back in the win column when they wrapped up a four-game series against the Florida

<< Dodgers rally late to top Pirates
Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Andre Ethier belted a two-run homer in the eighth inning, lifting the Los Angeles Dodgers to a come-from-behind 5-4 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates in the third of a four-game series at PNC Park.

<< Lind leads Blue Jays over White Sox
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Adam Lind hit a three-run double in the sixth inning as the Toronto Blue Jays rallied to edge the Chicago White Sox, 4-3, in the finale of a four-game set at the at Rogers Centre. Lind finished 2-for-3 whil

Riegger earns first win at LaSalle Bank Open >>
Glenview, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - John Riegger birdied the final hole Sunday to close a round of four-under 68 and win the LaSalle Bank Open by a single stroke. Riegger completed his first tour title at 17-under-par 271. He also collec

Pujols, Cardinals down Astros in 10 innings >>
Houston, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Albert Pujols hit two homers -- including a two-run shot in the 10th -- as the St. Louis Cardinals edged the Houston Astros, 8-6, in the finale of a three-game series at Minute Maid Park. So Taguchi

Choi's 65 gives him Memorial title >>
Dublin, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - K.J. Choi converted a five-foot par save at the 72nd hole on Sunday to ward off Ryan Moore and win the Memorial. Choi fired a final-round, seven-under 65 to finish at 17-under-par 271. The win was Choi's fi

Mariners slug past Rangers >>
Seattle, WA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jose Lopez went 4-for-5 with a bases-clearing double in the fourth inning as Seattle outslugged Texas, 11-6, in the finale of a four-game set at Safeco Field. Jose Guillen went 3-for-4 and also knocked in t

Atkins lifts Rockies past Reds >>
Denver, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Garrett Atkins singled in the game-winning run in the 10th inning, as the Colorado Rockies stormed back to down the Cincinnati Reds, 10-9, in the finale of a three-game series at Coors Field. Brad H

Big Ten Conference odds

Teams that should be in: Michigan State, Indiana
Work left to do: Illinois, Purdue, Michigan, Iowa

Behind the big two, the pecking order might be in a bit of flux. Has Michigan State passed Indiana after handling the Hoosiers in East Lansing? Where is Illinois in that mix? What looked like a four-big league last week could be morphing into five -- and even six is not unthinkable at this point if everything breaks right.

Should be in:

Michigan State [21-8 (8-6), RPI: 20, SOS: 15] The Spartans made it four-for-four on the homestand, a gigantic accomplishment that leaves them in extremely good shape. MSU is only 1-6 on the road and is at Michigan and at Wisconsin to close things out, meaning the date with the Wolverines on Tuesday looms very, very large. Beating Texas early will hold up well, as will the rout of Bradley and the win over BYU, but will 8-8 be enough? It very well could be, as the computer numbers are good, but why chance it?

Indiana [18-9 (8-6), RPI: 24, SOS: 32] Hmm ... good thing the last two are at Northwestern and home to Penn State, because IU might want to get both to feel completely safe after dropping its third in the last four, fading after halftime at Michigan State. Who knew the best nonconference win would be over Southern Illinois, which is a gift that keeps on giving for the Hoosiers. The win over Wisconsin also looks good on the mantel.

Work left to do:

Illinois [21-9 (9-6), RPI: 31, SOS: 25] A good performance at Penn State leaves the Illini in pretty good shape. Can they go to Iowa and take care of business to really look on their way? That's a huge game, as there is a possible cluster of teams that will end at 9-7. Illinois beat Bradley, but has lost to Xavier. A 9-7 mark and a semifinals trip in Chicago could be enough with the computer profile hanging in there, but it would be better not to mess around, clinching at least a tie for third.

Purdue [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 47, SOS: 28] Couldn't get it done at Iowa, but did win at Northwestern to put 9-7 squarely in sight. Where does that leave the Boilermakers, though? Even if they beat Minnesota and Northwestern at home, that won't help the computer numbers. Nonconference wins over Virginia, DePaul and Oklahoma are solid, but not spectacular. The Boilers very well might need an upset in the B10 quarters to have a legit claim.

Michigan [19-10 (7-7), RPI: 55, SOS: 53] Well, Michigan did what it needed to do, winning at Minnesota to take control of its fate. The Wolverines have Michigan State and an already-wrapped-up-the-league Ohio State at home to close, so the chances are there. Win both and we can talk. There is no marquee win yet in the profile, and the Wolverines were splattered in several games against name opponents. A mediocre computer profile fueled by a lack of road wins isn't helping, either.

Iowa [16-12 (8-6), RPI: 80, SOS: 64] For the sake of being complete, we'll add Iowa, this season's Stanford. It's plausible that the Hawkeyes could get to 10-6 (at Penn State, vs. Illinois left), but where does that leave them after a gruesome nonconference performance where the best win was over ... Toledo? Iowa State? Cornell?? If they get to 10-6, we can start to look at what they need to do in the B10 tourney, although my gut sense is that they would need to make the final and have knocked off Ohio State or Wisconsin on the way to have any real claim.

For more College Basketball betting lines go to MySportsbook.com

Additional sports lines can be found at: www.Sportsbooks.com

To bet on March Madness games this online sportsbook accepts credit cards.