Beltre's blast helps Mariners past Toronto

Baseball Betting Lines

07/21/2007 - Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Adrian Beltre's two-run homer in the fourth inning gave Seattle the lead for good and the Mariners went on to defeat the Toronto Blue Jays, 4-2, in the opener of a three-game set at Rogers Centre.

Jose Guillen and Raul Ibanez drove in a run each for the Mariners, who have won eight of their last 11 games. J.J. Putz recorded the final three outs to register his 31st consecutive save (29th of the season) and extend his scoreless innings streak to 22, as Seattle began its seven-game road trip with its fourth straight win away from home.

Seattle's starting pitcher Miguel Batista (10-7) got the win against one of his former teams. The right-hander, who played for the Jays in 2004 and 2005, allowed two runs on five hits, striking out six and walking three, in 5 2/3 innings. He has now won two straight and three of four starts.

Alex Rios went 3-for-4 and Troy Glaus had two hits and drove in a run for Toronto, which opened its six-game homestand by losing for the fourth time in six outings.

Toronto starter Jesse Litsch (2-4) suffered the loss, allowing four runs on five hits in 4 1/3 innings. He also walked four and struck out two, losing for the fourth time in five decisions.

Toronto started the scoring in the second inning. Frank Thomas, Lyle Overbay and Aaron Hill all worked walks to begin the inning. Gregg Zaun then hit into a 4-6-3 double play to score Thomas.

Beltre put Seattle ahead 2-1 in the fourth with his homer. Then, in the fifth, Ibanez singled home Yuniesky Betancourt and Guillen's base hit plated Ichiro Suzuki.

The Blue Jays got a run back in the sixth. Rios doubled to start the frame and scored on Glaus' one-out single to make it a 4-2 game.

However, that was it for the Jays. The Seattle bullpen worked the final 3 1/3 innings, allowing just three hits.

Game Notes

Toronto manager John Gibbons was ejected in the sixth inning by first base umpire Tim Timmons after Timmons said Aaron Hill went too far on a check swing. Hill ended up striking out later in the at-bat...Beltre's HR was his 15th of the season...Toronto's John McDonald went 0-for-2 and is now in an 0- for-20 slump...Howie Clark, who pinch-hit for McDonald in the seventh, grounded out in his only plate appearance to see his hitless slump extend to 13 at-bats...Richie Sexson had two of the six hits for the Mariners...Putz has not allowed a run in 16 road games.

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Big East Conference odds

Work left to do: Villanova, Syracuse, DePaul, West Virginia, Providence

Notre Dame and Louisville appear to have done enough to make the move, so we'll make them locks. The Cardinals, despite a modest RPI, are trending way up and have clinched at least a tie for third in the Big East, which should be more than enough with their pair of big road wins. Villanova got back to .500 and gets back to more solid footing. Syracuse got a very important road win and crippled a fellow contender in the process. West Virginia's fate could be in its hands Tuesday at Pitt.

Work left to do:

Villanova [18-9 (7-7), RPI: 21, SOS: 5] Pounded Rutgers to get back to .500. If Cats can get their last two (at UConn, vs. Syracuse), that should be enough with strong computer numbers and a host of wins away from The Pavilion. The Cats have beaten Texas and swept the Big 5 (never easy in Philly), but have a couple of losses to bubble teams (Xavier, Drexel), too. I still think they'll be OK, possibly even at 8-8.

Syracuse [20-8 (9-5), RPI: 53, SOS: 62] History says 10 wins will be plenty, but it might be hard for the Orange to get that last one with a final two vs. G'town, which is trying to win the league title, and at Villanova, which will be desperate for a W. The relative lack of nonconference heft and the weak computer numbers are still concerns, but the Orange have won four in a row and got a very, very big win at Providence on Saturday.

DePaul [16-12 (8-7), RPI: 54, SOS: 18] Beat Cincy and should get past South Florida to get to 9-7, but then what? They have beaten Kansas and Cal (right after the DeVon Hardin injury) earlier this season, but also have lost to Bradley and Purdue, among others. They'll likely need a couple of BE tourney wins, too, but we'll see ...

West Virginia [19-7 (8-6), RPI: 58, SOS: 125] The game at Pitt on Tuesday night could decide the Mountaineers' fate (barring a deep tournament run). They can still get to 9-7 in the Big East without it by beating Cincinnati, but the nine wins would be against UConn, Villanova, St. John's, South Florida, DePaul, Rutgers, Seton Hall twice and the Bearcats. Beating bubble foes is fine, but where's the beef? Outside of beating PG-less UCLA in nonconference play (still a top quality win), there's not a lot to fall back on (besides maybe NC State). WVU vs. Syracuse would be an interesting debate, as the teams don't play in the Big East regular season. WVU has the best win, but Cuse has played the much better schedule.

Providence [17-10 (7-7), RPI: 70, SOS: 33] The Friars likely saw their at-large hopes die at home in the four-point loss to Syracuse, barring an unexpected run to the Big East semis or more. The RPI, bad already, won't be helped by playing St. John's and South Florida in the final two league games.

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