Beltran, Mets hold off Dodgers

Baseball Betting Lines

07/21/2007 - Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Carlos Beltran homered for the second straight game and the New York Mets scored the go-ahead run in the eighth inning on a throwing error in a 4-1 triumph over the Los Angeles Dodgers.

David Wright also drove in a run and Oliver Perez threw 7 1/3 strong innings, as the Mets took the second contest of the four-game series after winning 13-9 on Thursday.

Perez (9-6) allowed six hits and a run, walked three and struck out eight, as the NL East-leading Mets won for the fifth time in seven games. Billy Wagner threw the final inning for his 21st save.

"I felt real good," Perez said. "I changed speeds and made my pitches. They have a good hitting lineup and I was just trying to keep my team in the game."

Mets second baseman Jose Valentin suffered a fractured right tibia when he fouled a ball off his leg in the fourth inning. This is the second time Valentin has hurt his right leg this season. He suffered a partial tear of the ACL in his right knee and was on the disabled list from April 29 until June 7.

"It's not a complete fracture, but it's enough to keep me out for six weeks," Valentin said. "I have to live with it and take it a day at a time."

Nomar Garciaparra homered for the Dodgers, who have dropped three of four.

Brett Tomko gave up five hits and an unearned run over six innings in the start for Los Angeles. Roberto Hernandez (0-1) allowed two hits and three runs -- two earned -- in the eighth inning.

With the game tied 1-1, Jose Reyes doubled to start the eighth and Marlon Anderson then put down a bunt. Hernandez raced to field the ball, which trickled toward third base, but his throw to first was low and the ball got by James Loney, as Reyes scored. Beltran clubbed the next pitch over the wall in right-center field.

Garciaparra flied out to center field, leaving runners at the corners to end the eighth before Wagner retired the side in order in the ninth.

Wright singled in Anderson in the first, but Garciaparra led off the second with a homer to center.

Game Notes

Garciaparra has only three homers this year...Juan Pierre extended his hitting streak to 13 games with a single in the first inning for the Dodgers. He then stole second and third base to bring him to 40 for the season...Jeff Kent had two of LA's seven hits.

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Big Ten Conference odds

Teams that should be in: Michigan State, Indiana
Work left to do: Illinois, Purdue, Michigan, Iowa

Behind the big two, the pecking order might be in a bit of flux. Has Michigan State passed Indiana after handling the Hoosiers in East Lansing? Where is Illinois in that mix? What looked like a four-big league last week could be morphing into five -- and even six is not unthinkable at this point if everything breaks right.

Should be in:

Michigan State [21-8 (8-6), RPI: 20, SOS: 15] The Spartans made it four-for-four on the homestand, a gigantic accomplishment that leaves them in extremely good shape. MSU is only 1-6 on the road and is at Michigan and at Wisconsin to close things out, meaning the date with the Wolverines on Tuesday looms very, very large. Beating Texas early will hold up well, as will the rout of Bradley and the win over BYU, but will 8-8 be enough? It very well could be, as the computer numbers are good, but why chance it?

Indiana [18-9 (8-6), RPI: 24, SOS: 32] Hmm ... good thing the last two are at Northwestern and home to Penn State, because IU might want to get both to feel completely safe after dropping its third in the last four, fading after halftime at Michigan State. Who knew the best nonconference win would be over Southern Illinois, which is a gift that keeps on giving for the Hoosiers. The win over Wisconsin also looks good on the mantel.

Work left to do:

Illinois [21-9 (9-6), RPI: 31, SOS: 25] A good performance at Penn State leaves the Illini in pretty good shape. Can they go to Iowa and take care of business to really look on their way? That's a huge game, as there is a possible cluster of teams that will end at 9-7. Illinois beat Bradley, but has lost to Xavier. A 9-7 mark and a semifinals trip in Chicago could be enough with the computer profile hanging in there, but it would be better not to mess around, clinching at least a tie for third.

Purdue [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 47, SOS: 28] Couldn't get it done at Iowa, but did win at Northwestern to put 9-7 squarely in sight. Where does that leave the Boilermakers, though? Even if they beat Minnesota and Northwestern at home, that won't help the computer numbers. Nonconference wins over Virginia, DePaul and Oklahoma are solid, but not spectacular. The Boilers very well might need an upset in the B10 quarters to have a legit claim.

Michigan [19-10 (7-7), RPI: 55, SOS: 53] Well, Michigan did what it needed to do, winning at Minnesota to take control of its fate. The Wolverines have Michigan State and an already-wrapped-up-the-league Ohio State at home to close, so the chances are there. Win both and we can talk. There is no marquee win yet in the profile, and the Wolverines were splattered in several games against name opponents. A mediocre computer profile fueled by a lack of road wins isn't helping, either.

Iowa [16-12 (8-6), RPI: 80, SOS: 64] For the sake of being complete, we'll add Iowa, this season's Stanford. It's plausible that the Hawkeyes could get to 10-6 (at Penn State, vs. Illinois left), but where does that leave them after a gruesome nonconference performance where the best win was over ... Toledo? Iowa State? Cornell?? If they get to 10-6, we can start to look at what they need to do in the B10 tourney, although my gut sense is that they would need to make the final and have knocked off Ohio State or Wisconsin on the way to have any real claim.

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