Hellickson Sparks Ball Over Starts

Baseball Betting Lines

Tampa, meanwhile, will hand the ball to rookie Jeremy Hellickson, who has lost his last four starts. Hellickson's latest defeat came on Monday against Cincinnati, which reached him four runs (three earned) and eight hits in six innings, dropping him to 7-7 to go along with a 3.18 ERA.

 

"It's nice to get runs early, obviously," Hellickson said. "But when you don't, it's not really something you can control. It's not really something I think about."

 

Jeff Niemann (3-4) tossed six-plus innings, allowing one run on nine hits and a walk while fanning five, as the Rays posted their sixth win in nine games.

 

Kyle McClellan (6-5) was tagged for five runs, all in the sixth, on eight hits and two walks in 5 2/3 frames.

 

Lance Berkman homered for the Cardinals' lone run as they saw their four-game win streak stopped.

 

Jeter's replacement, Eduardo Nunez finished 3-for-4 with two doubles and a solo homer, while Curtis Granderson added a solo shot for the Yankees, who improved to 14-3 since their captain went on the disabled list with a calf injury.

 

"Nunie has played well, but Derek is our shortstop," said Yankees manager Joe Girardi when asked if Nunez, who has gone 7-for-8 in the series, might threaten Jeter's job. "He's been here for a long, long time and he's still a great player."

 

"He's played well," Jeter said of Nunez. "I texted him and told him to keep working. It seems like he is very confident. He's done a great job. He's gotten an opportunity to play and he's doing well."

 

Jason Bay and Lucas Duda drove in a run each for the Mets, losers of three straight. Dillon Gee (8-2) was tagged in defeat for seven hits and four runs over seven full frames, striking out seven with three walks.

 

To make matters worse, shortstop Jose Reyes left the game with a hamstring injury. He is slated to have an MRI on Sunday and is doubtful for today's finale.

Vagass Baseball Betting Blog

<< Lohse In Lyles Red

<< Home Gets Davies Into Brewers

<< Dodgers Acquires Time Down Starter

<< Hits Into Young Ball

<< Ball Leaves Giants For Base

Talbot Milwaukee Claim Crush With Inning >>

Cardinals Leads Lee From Starts >>

Hit Helps Bautista At Thames >>

Fashion Leaves Catch For Konerko >>

Run Into San Beavan >>

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.

For more March Madness odds go to MySportsbook.com

For more College Basketball betting lines go to BettingExpress.com

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.