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07/21/2007 - (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 consecutive starts on July 1 and July 6, allowing a combined seven hits over 16 scoreless innings in defeating Colorado and the New York Mets.
The string ended on July 15, however, when he was racked for nine hits and seven runs -- including three home runs -- in just 3 1/3 innings of a 7-6 loss to the Chicago Cubs.
He is 2-2 in five lifetime starts against the Pirates with a 4.20 earned run average in 30 innings.
Former first-round draft pick Paul Maholm will be looking for consistency upon taking the mound for Pittsburgh.
The Mississippi State alumnus has followed a win with a loss three times since June 15, when he defeated the Chicago White Sox, 4-2, with seven strong innings. He lost to Seattle five days later, then beat Florida, lost to Washington, beat the Cubs and lost to Atlanta.
Maholm faced Houston in his fourth start of the season in April 24, tossing nine innings of scoreless three-hit ball in Pittsburgh's 3-0 victory. The win was his first of the season overall and leveled his record against the Astros to 2-2 in five starts with a 4.55 ERA in 29 2/3 innings.
On Friday, Carlos Lee's first-inning, two-run homer proved enough for Houston to edge Pittsburgh, 2-1, and prevent the struggling Pirates from getting their seventh straight win versus the Astros this year.
Chris Burke finished 2-for-4 and scored a run for the Astros, who have won two of three. Mark Loretta and Morgan Ensberg both added a pair of hits in the win.
Astros starting pitcher Roy Oswalt (9-6) left in the seventh inning with a chest injury. After he gave up a leadoff double to Ronny Paulino, Oswalt complained of chest discomfort to manager Phil Garner and a trainer. Oswalt had been performing well from the mound prior to the exit, and allowed one run on seven hits with four strikeouts.
Adam LaRoche and Paulino both had a pair of hits for the Pirates, who lost their seventh straight after coming into this series having been swept in three games at Atlanta and then in three games at home against Colorado.
Tom Gorzelanny (9-5), shooting for his fourth straight winning decision, allowed two runs on six hits with two walks and four strikeouts over seven innings for the Bucs.
The Pirates got their season off to a promising start when they swept the Astros in Houston from April 2-4 to open the season. The club then hosted Houston from April 24-26 and took all three games of that set as well.
It was a quick turnaround for a Pirates team that lost 13 of the 16 games they played against the Astros last season. That included seven losses in 10 home games in 2006.
<< 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
<< 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
<< Beltran, Mets hold off Dodgers
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 Wr
<< 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
Pujols, Cards resume set with Braves >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Albert Pujols is getting hot and will try to lead the St.
Louis Cardinals to a victory tonight when the club plays the third game of its
four-game set with the Atlanta Braves at Turner Field.
Pujols homered for the fifth t
Reds aim to rebound against Marlins >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Young left-hander Bobby Livingston goes for his third win
of the season, and of his brief big-league career, tonight when the Cincinnati
Reds visit Dolphin Stadium for game three of a four-game series with the host
Florida Ma
Cubs hope to prove they are kings of the Hill versus Arizona >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Lefty Rich Hill can put a little more distance between
himself and a recent tailspin today when the Chicago Cubs host the Arizona
Diamondbacks in game two of a three-game weekend set at Wrigley Field.
Hill, a 27-year-old
Haren, Athletics set to tangle with Orioles >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A couple of teams fighting for respectability within their
own divisions battle it out tonight in the second of a three-game set from
McAfee Coliseum, as the Oakland Athletics take on the Baltimore Orioles.
Baltimore, whic
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.
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