Huff's HRs lift Giants; D'Backs lose despite Johnson cycle
Baseball Betting Lines
07/24/2010 - Phoenix, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Aubrey Huff hit two home runs and drove in three, as the San Francisco Giants spoiled Kelly Johnson's cycle and beat the Diamondbacks, 7-4, in the continuation of a four-game series.
Andres Torres added the tie-breaking two-run triple in the seventh inning for the Giants, who took advantage of several Arizona errors to improve to 4-1 on their road trip. San Francisco beat Arizona by a 3-0 score in Thursday's series opener.
Giants starter Jonathan Sanchez got out of several jams to allow only one run. However, the left-hander lasted just five innings, as he threw 109 pitches, gave up four hits, walked five and struck out 10.
Santiago Casilla allowed three runs in the sixth while recording two outs, and Chris Ray (1-0) got the final one to get the win. Brian Wilson recorded the final four outs to earn his 28th save.
Johnson finished 4-for-4 and became the fourth player in team history to hit for the cycle, but it was not enough to keep the Diamondbacks from losing their fifth consecutive game to the Giants.
Edwin Jackson (6-9) took the loss after allowing six runs (four earned) on eight hits and two walks in six-plus innings.
Huff and Johnson traded solo home runs in the first inning, and after Edgar Renteria hit an RBI single in the fourth, Huff's second homer gave the Giants a 3-1 lead in the sixth.
San Francisco held that lead because Sanchez avoided big trouble. Arizona had runners on second and third with one out in the first after Johnson homered, but Sanchez fanned Mark Reynolds before Rusty Ryal grounded out.
In the fourth, Arizona had runners on first and second with one out, but Sanchez got Chris Snyder to pop out, then struck out Jackson. The Diamondbacks loaded the bases with one away in the fifth before Sanchez again escaped trouble by fanning Reynolds and Ryal.
Arizona broke through against Casilla in the sixth. With runners on second and third and two down, Johnson tripled to center field to plate two and even the game. After Casilla walked Justin Upton, he was replaced by Ray, who gave up an RBI single to Adam LaRoche before getting out of the inning.
But the Giants re-took the lead in the seventh. Nate Schierholtz led off with a single before Eli Whiteside attempted a sacrifice bunt. However, Jackson couldn't make the throw in time in a close play, leaving runners on first and second.
Pinch-hitter Eugenio Velez followed with another bunt, and this time Jackson's throw sailed past first base, allowing Schierholtz to score. Torres then tripled to center to plate the remaining runners, putting San Francisco in front, 6-4.
Johnson came to bat to begin the eighth needing just a single to complete the cycle, and got just that, as he flared a base hit to right. However, Upton followed by grounding into a double play.
Huff's RBI single in the ninth provided the Giants a three-run lead before Wilson worked around a leadoff single by Ryal in the bottom half to close the game.
Game Notes
Huff recorded his 12th career multi-homer game...Prior to Johnson, Stephen Drew (2008), Greg Colbrunn (2002) and Luis Gonzalez (2000) also hit for the cycle for the Diamondbacks.
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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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