Mets take second test of twin-bill behind Delgado

Baseball Betting Lines

09/07/2008 - Flushing, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Carlos Delgado stroked a pair of solo home runs and finished with four RBI as the New York Mets took a 6-3 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies to split a doubleheader at Shea Stadium.

Ryan Church and Damion Easley each went 2-for-4 with a run scored while Brian Schneider and Carlos Beltran each drove in a run for the Mets, who avoided the sweep and won for the fifth time in their last seven games.

Johan Santana (13-7), who hasn't lost a game since June 28, got the win for giving up just two runs on five hits in 7 1/3 innings of work. He hasn't lost the past 13 games he's started, but is just 6-0 during that run.

The Mets hold a two-game lead over Philadelphia for first place in the NL East. This was the last meeting between these teams for the regular season and New York won 11 of the 18 contests.

Ryan Howard finished 2-for-4 with a solo home run and two RBI while Andy Tracy drove in the other run for the Phillies, who have won five of their last eight games. Cole Hamels (12-9) was tagged with the loss for giving up five runs -- four earned -- on nine hits in five innings of work.

In addition to trailing New York for the division, the Phillies trail Milwaukee by four games for the NL Wild Card spot.

In the earlier game on Sunday, which was a makeup of Saturday's rainout due to Tropical Storm Hanna, Greg Dobbs clubbed a three-run homer and Jamie Moyer tossed seven shutout innings to help Philadelphia to a 6-2 win.

The Phillies took the early lead in the game with a run in the first inning. With one out, Chase Utley singled and Jayson Werth followed with a free pass. Howard then hit an opposite field single to bring home Utley. Philly missed the chance to plate more runners, though, as Pat Burrell struck out and Shane Victorino flied out to end the frame.

The Mets, though, answered with three runs in the bottom of the first. Church hit a one-out single and David Wright was then awarded first base on a catcher interference call that saw Phillies manager Charlie Manuel ejected by home plate umpire Jerry Meals after arguing the call.

Beltran then got the Mets on the board with a single to left that saw Wright beating the tag at third and Beltran taking second. Delgado then hit a two-run single to center to give the Mets a 3-1 lead.

In the second, New York loaded the bases with one out, but Hamels blew a fastball past Wright for the strikeout and then induced a foul out from Beltran to silence the threat.

Howard made it a one-run game in the third inning as he smoked the first pitch he saw over the left field fence.

Delgado, though, stroked his first home run of the game to lead off the third as he knocked a 0-2 curveball over the right-center wall.

In the fifth with one out, Delgado blasted the first pitch he saw out of the stadium in right-center for a 5-2 advantage.

In the seventh, Pedro Feliz led off the frame with a single, but the Phillies were unable to string together any more hits and Santana got out of the inning with the three-run lead intact. The Mets then added some insurance in the eighth as Easley led off with a triple and came home when Schneider lofted a sacrifice fly to right for a 6-2 lead.

The Phillies got a run in the ninth on a sacrifice fly from Tracy to make it a 6-3 game, but that was the second out and Luis Ayala struck out Rollins to seal the win.

Game Notes

It was the fourth time this season that Manuel was ejected...New York hosts Washington for a two-game set starting on Tuesday...Philadelphia returns home to face Florida for three games starting on Monday...Howard leads the majors with 40 home runs. It is the third straight year the slugger has reached the 40 HR plateau, the first Phillie to ever accomplish that feat...Each team left seven men on base.

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Pacific-10 Conference odds

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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