Molina's slam sends St.Louis past Brewers

Baseball Betting Lines

09/06/2010 - Milwaukee, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Yadier Molina's second career grand slam capped a six-run eighth inning to lead the St. Louis Cardinals to an 8-6 win over the Milwaukee Brewers in the opener of a three-game set.

Albert Pujols drove in a run and scored twice while Matt Holliday and Pedro Feliz each had an RBI and a run scored for the Cardinals, who have won three of their last four.

Jake Westbrook went six innings in the start and was charged with two runs on five hits with a pair of walks and strikeouts. Mitchell Boggs (2-2) got the win for tossing 1 1/3 innings while giving up a run.

"It was a great win," said St. Louis manager Tony La Russa. "They are a tough club to play here because of all that power. We got touched up at the end, but everybody got the outs that they needed."

Corey Hart hit a two-run homer and a solo shot while Rickie Weeks added a solo home run for the Brewers, who have lost six of their last seven. Yovani Gallardo threw seven innings and was charged with two runs on four hits with two walks and four strikeouts. Zach Braddock (1-2) was tagged with the loss.

"Gallardo threw the ball very well and gave us the innings that we needed," said Milwaukee manager Ken Macha. "It was a big night for Corey with the two home runs. We just didn't get the bullpen help we needed."

With the score tied in the eighth, the Cardinals surged ahead with a six-run frame.

Braddock started the frame on the mound and got the first out, but then hit Jon Jay with a pitch. Jeremy Jeffress then took over on the hill and Pujols reached base on a Casey McGehee error. Holliday then put his team on top with a single that scored Jay.

After Colby Rasmus was issued an intentional walk to load the bases, Todd Coffey took the mound and promptly gave up an RBI single to Feliz. Molina followed with a blast over the left field wall for an 8-2 lead.

The Brewers cut into the deficit in the eighth. With men on first and third and one out, McGehee singled up the middle to score Hart. After Lorenzo Cain struck out, Alcides Escobar doubled to left to score Prince Fielder and make it an 8-4 game. On the play, Holliday gunned the ball to Brendan Ryan, who took the relay and threw home to nail McGehee for the final out of the inning.

Ryan Franklin gave up a leadoff double to Jonathan Lucroy in the ninth, but then retired the next two batters. Hart, though, cut the deficit in half when he crushed a pitch well over the center-field wall. Ryan Braun then worked a walk to bring the tying run to the plate in the form of Fielder. Franklin, though, got Fielder to groundout to first base to end the game.

The Cardinals posted a 1-0 lead in the first inning as Skip Schumaker led off with a double, moved to third on a sacrifice bunt from Jay and crossed the plate on a sac fly by Pujols.

The Brewers tied the game in the third on Weeks' solo shot over the right- field wall.

Milwaukee then went ahead in the fifth on a two-out, solo shot from Hart, but the Cardinals answered in the sixth on a wild pitch from Gallardo that scored Pujols.

Game Notes

St. Louis now leads the season-series with Milwaukee, 7-6...Hart now has 27 home runs on the season...Milwaukee stranded seven men on base...Pujols has 97 RBI on the season...Kyle Lohse takes the mound for St. Louis on Tuesday and will be opposed by Chris Narveson for Milwaukee...Molina's other grand slam came this season on April 5 against Cincinnati.

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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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