Cahill shuts down Angels

Baseball Betting Lines

09/04/2010 - Oakland, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Trevor Cahill tossed six scoreless innings to help the Oakland Athletics defeat the Angels, 3-1, in the second test of this three-game series.

Cahill (15-6) allowed four hits to go with a career-high six walks and four strikeouts for the Athletics, who have won the first two games of this set following a four-game skid.

Mark Ellis, Cliff Pennington, and Jack Cust each had an RBI for Oakland.

Torii Hunter hit a solo homer for Los Angeles, which has lost nine of its last 12 games. Jered Weaver (11-11) gave up three runs on six hits over seven innings. He also struck out five and walked three in his fourth straight loss.

The A's got on the board in the first. Daric Barton singled, moved to second on a Kurt Suzuki groundout, and scored on Cust's base hit to right.

Oakland added another run in the second to build a 2-0 lead. Rajai Davis hit a two-out double and crossed the plate on Pennington's single. Pennington was thrown out trying to go to second on the play.

The Angels loaded the bases with two outs in the third, but Hideki Matsui flied out to end the threat.

The Athletics scored a run in the sixth to make it a 3-0 game. With a man on second and two outs, Ellis hit an RBI base hit up the middle.

Hunter's homer to center off Craig Breslow in the eighth cut the gap to 3-1.

Andrew Bailey tossed a perfect ninth for Oakland to record his 21st save of the year.

Game Notes

The A's lead the season series with the Angels, 8-7...Weaver fell to 3-6 lifetime against Oakland...Cahill improved to 4-1 in his career versus the Angels, who went 0-for-4 with runners in scoring position and stranded eight.

Sportbettinggamble Baseball Betting News

<< Siavii, Octavien among Cowboys' 20 cuts
Irving, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Defensive lineman Junior Siavii and linebacker Steve Octavien were among the most recognizable names released by the Dallas Cowboys on Saturday, as the team pared its roster to the 53-player maximum. Siavii, a f

<< Eagles send Andrews to Seattle
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Philadelphia Eagles reportedly sent offensive lineman Stacy Andrews to Seattle on Saturday for an undisclosed draft pick in 2011. The move was reported on the team's website, although there

<< Wood, Reds handle Cardinals
St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Travis Wood turned in seven solid innings and hit his first career home run to lead Cincinnati in a 6-1 victory over rival St. Louis in the middle test of a crucial three-game set at Busch Stadium. Jonny Go

<< Longhorns begin post-McCoy era with win over Rice
Houston, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Sophomore running back Tre' Newton rushed for a career-high three touchdowns, as the fifth-ranked Texas Longhorns bounced back from a slow start to defeat the Rice Owls, 34-17, in the season opener for both sc

<< Vikings Release WR Walker, 19 others
Eden Prairie, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Veteran wide receiver Javon Walker was among the players released by the Minnesota Vikings on Saturday, as the team reduced its roster to the 53-player NFL maximum. Walker, who was signed in August after a

Trade-happy Eagles also list Demps, Harris among cuts >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Defensive backs Quintin Demps and Macho Harris, both of whom were contributing members of the Philadelphia Eagles last season, were among the players released as the team pared its roster to the 53- player ma

England's Dawson ruled out of Swiss match >>
London, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - England defender Michael Dawson was injured against Bulgaria on Friday in Euro 2012 qualifying and will be sidelined six to eight weeks. Dawson sprained the medial ligament in his left knee and one of his

Notre Dame tops Purdue in Kelly's debut with Irish >>
South Bend, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Dayne Crist passed for 205 yards and a touchdown, as Notre Dame topped the Purdue Boilermakers, 23-12, in Brian Kelly's Fighting Irish debut. Kelly, a proven winner that resurrected both th

Titans include Simms, Gado, Rolle in roster cuts >>
Nashville, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Tennessee Titans narrowed their roster to the NFL maximum of 53 players on Saturday, releasing 20 as part of their "cut- down day" maneuvers. Released were defensive end Eric Bakhtiari, defensive end Rahe

Dolphins release QB White, TE Martin on cut day >>
Davie, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Quarterback Pat White and tight end David Martin were among the prominent players released by the Miami Dolphins on Saturday, as the team pared its roster to the 53-player minimum. White was selected in the secon

COLLEGE FOOTBALL BETTING

NCAA Football Betting : USC's reward: Top spot in Top 25

NEW YORK (AP) -By staying away from the cupcakes, Southern California earned itself a slim new ranking.

No. 1 always seems to fit USC.

Southern California jumped two spots to No. 1 in The Associated Press Top 25 on Tuesday, rewarded by voters for opening the season with a dominant performance on the road against a BCS conference opponent.

Georgia and Ohio State, the preseason Nos. 1 and 2, respectively, started their seasons with glorified scrimmages at home against FCS (formerly I-AA) teams. USC, however, traveled across country to face Virginia and could not have been more impressive in a 52-7 victory.

Georgia fell to No. 2 and Ohio State to No 3.

"We realize that rankings so early in a season are certainly fluid. But rankings do help establish a pecking order for things later in the season," USC coach Pete Carroll said in a statement. "As for moving into the No. 1 spot, it's nice to know that people think highly of our team."

Since reaching No. 1 on Dec. 7, 2003, the final-regular season AP poll of that season, USC has been No. 1 in 39 polls, by far the most of any team during that time.

"Some have said the voters are taking our schedule into consideration," Carroll said. "Our philosophy has always been to schedule outstanding opponents. We need to play challenging games like we just did, traveling across the country to open the season at Virginia. Games like that bring out our best and make us stronger as a team."

The latest voting was close. USC received 21 first-place votes and 1,539 points from the 65-member media panel. Georgia had 20 first-place votes and 1,506 points. Ohio State got 15 first-place votes and 1,497 points.

"I'd say we've evolved as pollsters," said Stewart Mandel of SI.com, who moved USC up to No. 1. "In the past, voters just kind of automatically moved teams up and kept teams where they were if they won."

Georgia beat Georgia Southern 45-21 on Saturday and Ohio State opened with a 43-0 win over Youngstown State.

"There's a bit of a growing backlash for the amount of teams that open with I-AA cupcakes," said Mandel, whose book "Bowls, Polls and Tattered Souls" chronicles college football's controversies. "To see a team [USC] go on the road and play a New Year's Day bowl team from last season, and not only play them but destroy them, how could you not reward that team?"

USC also jumped past Georgia to No. 1 in the USA Today coaches' poll, which has the same top five as the AP poll.

"It's definitely a privilege to be No. 1. But it's not heartbreaking to me if we drop," Georgia offensive lineman Josh Davis said. "It doesn't matter right now what we're ranked. What matters is our next game and right now, that's Central Michigan. The only time the polls matter is in December. That's when the polls matter."

While the Bulldogs opened easy, their schedule ultimately should be as difficult as any team's. Georgia's big nonconference test is at No. 15 Arizona State on Sept. 20. The Bulldogs also face six Southeastern Conference rivals that've been ranked in the first two polls.

As for Ohio State, the Buckeyes play at USC on Sept. 13 before getting into the Big Ten schedule.

But of the teams in this week's top 10, USC and Texas are the only ones that don't play an FCS opponent, and the Trojans are the only team that doesn't play a team from a non-BCS conference.

Get the latest 2009 BCS Championship odds at MySportsbook.com.

The last team to drop from No. 1 after a victory was USC last season. LSU jumped from No. 2 to No. 1 when it beat Tulane 34-9, the same week the Trojans edged Washington 27-24 on the road.

The last preseason No. 1 team to lose the top spot after winning its opening game was Florida in 2001. The Gators beat Marshall 49-14, but preseason No. 2 Miami opened with a 33-7 victory over Penn State and the Hurricanes jumped to No. 1 with Florida slipping to second.

The next four teams in the new Top 25 stayed the same: No. 4 Oklahoma (two first-place votes), No. 5 Florida (five first-place votes), No. 6 Missouri (one first-place vote), No. 7 LSU (one first-place vote) and No. 8 West Virginia.

No. 9 Auburn and No. 10 Texas each moved up a spot, taking advantage of Clemson's big drop. Clemson, ninth in the preseason, fell out after losing 34-10 to Alabama on Saturday.

Also falling out after losses were Virginia Tech, Pittsburgh and Tennessee.

Moving into the rankings were No. 21 Fresno State, No. 22 Utah, No. 23 UCLA and No. 24 South Carolina.

Alabama moved up 11 spots after its big victory over Clemson.

The second 10 started with No. 11 Wisconsin, followed by Texas Tech, Alabama and Kansas. BYU and Arizona State were tied for 15th. Rivals BYU and Utah are both ranked for the first time since 1996.

South Florida was No. 17, ahead of Oregon, Penn State and Wake Forest at No. 20.

The final five were all the teams to move into the ranking, except for Illinois, which dropped four spots and tied South Carolina for No. 24.

Get free Sports Betting lines RSS feeds from top rated online sportsbook MySportsbook.com