Zimmerman, Nats beat up Pirates
Baseball Betting Lines
09/05/2010 - Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ryan Zimmerman went 2-for-5 and drove in four runs, as the Washington Nationals handled the Pittsburgh Pirates, 8-1, in the rubber match of a three-game set at PNC Park.
Adam Dunn added a solo homer and knocked in two for Washington, which has won five of its last eight.
Jason Marquis (2-7) earned the win for tossing six solid innings. The veteran right-hander allowed one run on six hits, struck out two and did not issue a walk.
Pedro Alvarez accounted for the only offense with a homer for the Pirates, who have dropped seven of nine.
Charlie Morton (1-11) lasted only 3 2/3 innings after yielding six runs -- two earned -- on eight hits with a pair of walks.
Zimmerman's RBI groundout in the first put the Nationals in front.
The Pirates stranded two runners in the second and third inning, before Dunn hammered a homer to right leading off the fourth. The next two batters singled and Adam Kennedy reached on a fielding error by first baseman Garrett Jones that brought in another.
Later in the inning with the bases loaded, Ian Desmond added an infield run- scoring single and Zimmerman followed with a two-run base hit to center to make it 6-0 and end Morton's outing. Daniel McCutchen entered and retired Dunn to end the inning.
Alvarez's solo homer in the home fourth got the Pirates on the board.
Run-scoring singles by Zimmerman and Dunn in the sixth put Washington ahead 8-1.
Pittsburgh loaded the bases with two outs in the bottom of the ninth, but Neil Walker bounced into a fielder's choice to end the game.
Game Notes
Washington swept a three-game set from the Pirates back in June ...The Nationals recalled right-hander Collin Balester from Triple-A Syracuse prior to the game...Marquis improved to 11-6 in 26 career appearances against Pittsburgh.
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Big 12 Conference betting odds
Work left to do: Texas Tech, Oklahoma State, Kansas State
Texas joins Texas A&M and Kansas as locks after getting league win No. 11. Texas Tech greatly helped its own hopes and crippled OK State's with the two-point win Saturday. Is K-State the last reasonable hopeful? Could be an elimination match in Stillwater on Tuesday, at least for the Cowboys.
Work left to do:
Texas Tech [18-11 (7-7), RPI: 44, SOS: 12] A critical two-point win over OK State leaves the Red Raiders with Baylor and at Iowa State left. Get both and the Red Raiders likely are good to go. Get one and there could be some interesting comparisons with a K-State team that could finish two or three games "ahead" of them in the standings but doesn't have any of the quality wins Texas Tech has. Not a lot in nonconference play (against Arkansas in Little Rock being the best win, by far) to lean on.
Oklahoma State [18-9 (5-8), RPI: 50, SOS: 35] Still without a road win, the Cowboys now need to win two on the road just to get to .500 in conference play. It's hard to recall a team (OK, other than Clemson) falling so precipitously from lock status to almost certainly out of the NCAAs at this point. There are wins to be had in the last three, including a very big home game against K-State on Tuesday, but this team is reeling. Can you tell the pressure to win is getting to them with the way the final possession played out at Texas Tech? There are some good nonconference performances to lean on, specifically beating Missouri State and Syracuse on neutral floors and Pitt in OK City, but if the Pokes don't right this very, very soon, that won't be enough.
Kansas State [20-9 (9-5), RPI: 56, SOS: 96] It pays to be in the Big 12 North. The nine league wins are Colorado (twice), Missouri (twice), Iowa State (twice), Baylor, Nebraska and (a good one against) Texas. That helps explain the middling computer profile. The win over USC is nice, but the nonconference leaves a lot to be desired. The game at OK State in Stillwater on Tuesday is huge, as it could KO the Cowboys and leave K-State with a home date against Oklahoma with which to work.