Beltre's extra-inning heroics lifts M's over Twins

Baseball Betting Lines

08/26/2008 - Seattle, WA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Adrian Beltre hit a two-run home run in the 11th inning as the Seattle Mariners defeated the Minnesota Twins, 4-2, in the opener of a three-game set at Safeco Field.

With Jesse Crain on the mound, Raul Ibanez worked a one-out walk and Beltre then slammed the first pitch he saw over the wall in left for the win.

Miguel Cairo drove in a run, while Beltre had two hits and two runs scored for the Mariners, who have won three of four. R.A. Dickey (4-8) got the win for pitching the 11th inning. Miguel Batista started on the mound and gave up just one run on five hits with three walks and three strikeouts in six innings of work.

Delmon Young went 2-for-4 with an RBI, and Alexi Casilla drove in the other run for the Twins, who have dropped three straight.

Crain (5-4) got the loss while Francisco Liriano pitched a good game as he gave up one run on five hits with a walk and three strikeouts in six innings of work for Minnesota, which is now one game back of Chicago for first place in the AL Central.

Before the game, the Twins strengthened their bullpen as the team acquired pitcher Eddie Guardado from the Texas Rangers in exchange for pitcher Mark Hamburger.

The Twins took the lead in the third inning. With two outs, Denard Span drew a walk and then stole second. Casilla punched a single to right that brought home Span for a 1-0 lead.

Seattle tied the game in the fifth. Jamie Burke led off with a single and Cairo followed with an RBI double to left.

Minnesota grabbed the lead in the eighth. With one out, Joe Mauer drew a walk and, after Justin Morneau flied out, moved to third on a single to right from Jason Kubel. Young then smacked a single to bring home Mauer for a 2-1 lead.

After the very recently acquired Guardado retired the Mariners in order in the eighth inning, Joe Nathan took the mound in the ninth to close the game but was unable to nail it down. Beltre led off with a double to the gap in right- center and made it to third on a grounder from Jose Lopez that Nick Punto was unable to field cleanly. Jeff Clement then hit into a double play as Beltre crossed the plate.

Game Notes

To create room on the roster for Guardado, Minnesota designated infielder Mike Lamb for assignment...It was the sixth-career walk-off hit for Beltre...Mauer, who finished 0-for-4, had a career-high 16-game hitting streak stopped while Punto, who went 0-for-5, had a 12-game streak end...It was the fourth blown save of the season for Nathan...Attendance was 23,277.

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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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