Johnson powers Cubs over D'Backs

Baseball Betting Lines

07/24/2008 - Phoenix, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Reed Johnson hit a grand slam and Ted Lilly was solid on the mound, as the Chicago Cubs avoided being swept with a 10-6 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Lilly (10-6) tossed six frames and was allowed just three runs on six hits while fanning six and walking three batters. Lilly also added an RBI single and stole a base in the win.

Derrek Lee went 2-for-5 with a solo homer for the Cubs, who, despite the win, are still 2-5 over their last seven matchups. Alfonso Soriano, who was activated from the disabled list prior to the game, went 1-for-5 with an RBI.

Doug Davis (3-5) took the loss as he gave up four runs on five hits in seven innings of work. Davis also struck out six and walked two batters in defeat.

"Couldn't stay away from the big inning tonight," said Davis. "No outs, second and third, and Lilly comes up with the good hit. Not only that, when he gets on second he steals third; that was a huge turning point. You've got to give props to him for catching me sleeping and when he stole third that was pretty much the winning run."

Chris Snyder hit a three-run homer and Tony Clark added a two-run shot for the D'Backs, who are 3-2 over their last five games. Stephen Drew had a double, which extended his hit streak to 10 games.

Chicago scored six runs in the eighth inning. Ryan Theriot opened the frame with a walk from Micah Owings before Lee flied out. Aramis Ramirez then snapped an 0-for-26 slump with a single to left. Both runners advanced into scoring position on Conor Jackson's throwing error before Geovany Soto followed suit by snapping an 0-for-21 slide with an RBI single.

After a Kosuke Fukudome walk loaded the bases, Mark DeRosa worked a four- pitch, RBI walk to chase Owings from the game. Johnson greeted Leo Rosales to the contest by taking his second pitch over the wall in right-center for a grand slam that gave the Cubs a 10-3 cushion.

"We've been struggling late to score runs," Johnson said. "So anytime that we can get some runs on the board is good. Ted (Lilly) ends up getting a big hit for us...and obviously the six run inning was big for us too."

The D'Backs rallied in the home eighth off Bob Howry. Jackson opened the frame with a single before Mark Reynolds went down swinging. Chris Young then finagled a double before Clark lined to Lee for the second out. Snyder cleared the table with homer to left, and Arizona was within 10-6.

Lee hit a homer in the first inning, his 16th of the year and first since June 20, to give the Cubs an early 1-0 lead.

Arizona took the lead, 2-1, in the fourth stanza. Young led the inning off with a double over the head of Soriano in left and Clark followed with a homer beyond the fence in right.

The Cubs answered right back in the fifth. It was second and third as DeRosa singled and Johnson followed with a ground-rule double. Lilly then clubbed an RBI single and Soriano followed with an RBI groundout, before Lilly stole third base. Theriot closed out the scoring with an RBI grounder as Chicago took the lead back, 4-2.

Arizona got a run back in the home fifth, as Augie Ojeda walked and Jackson followed with a triple.

Game Notes

Prior to the game, the Cubs activated pitcher Scott Eyre from the 15-day disabled list and optioned infielder Micah Hoffpauir and pitcher Kevin Hart to Triple-A Iowa...The Cubs won the season series 4-2...Chicago improved to 24-10 against NL West...The D'Backs dropped to 28-40 vs teams outside NL West.

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Pacific-10 Conference odds

Teams that should be in: Stanford

Oregon and USC get their tickets punched after taking care of business this weekend. Yes, the Trojans' computer numbers aren't great, but there's no way the third-place team in this league is getting nixed. Grudgingly, I added Arizona after consultation with our Bracketologist. I don't know that Arizona will lose its last three (including a Pac-10 quarterfinal game), and even if the Cats do, I still can't see how they'd be left out, given the overall profile. That said, it bears watching, as three more L's would leave them at 18-12 (9-9) and on a 6-11 skid entering the Dance. It would be nice to see the Wildcats get at least one W in the Bay Area next week, as Cincinnati (albeit without Armein Kirkland and with a worse profile) was axed after a similar slide last season. I just couldn't rationalize having some of the other teams as locks and not having Arizona in that category -- there just aren't enough good teams behind the Cats to threaten their spot, it seems. Stanford has its fate in its own hands with the Arizona schools coming to the Farm to close out the regular season next weekend.

Should be in:

Stanford [17-10 (9-7), RPI: 40, SOS: 21] No shame in not getting a win in L.A., but that makes the home game against Arizona State a must-win ahead of what could be an intriguing meeting with Arizona should the Cats lose at Cal. Getting to 11 Pac-10 wins would make Selection Sunday much more comfortable, but 10's probably more than enough this season. The Cardinal have nonconference wins over Texas Tech and at Virginia to lean on, although they also lost badly to Air Force and Santa Clara at home.

Southeastern Conference odds
Work left to do: Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, Mississippi State

It looks more and more possible that no one from the SEC West will make the NCAAs. How weird is that? Tennessee and Vandy move into the locks category after more good work this weekend. Kentucky stays there, although it would be smart for the Cats to handle Georgia at home Wednesday ahead of a trip to the Swamp. Could a disaster scenario (two more L's and a first-round SEC tourney exit) somehow dislodge the Cats despite their incredible computer numbers? Still unlikely, but not worth chancing it.

Work left to do:

Alabama [19-9 (6-8), RPI: 43, SOS: 47] The tough L at Tennessee was understandable, and even created some hope. Unfortunately, that hope was dashed by a home loss to Auburn, which leaves the Tide in some real trouble. There's still no signature win on the profile (no, Kentucky doesn't count), and the computer profile is weakening rapidly. The Tide conceivably could beat Ole Miss and win at Miss. State to get to 8-8 and clinch at least a share of the West crown, but that's probably not enough right now. The Tide will need to do some work in the SEC tourney.

Georgia [16-10 (8-6), RPI: 52, SOS: 23] This is the team with the best chance to make it from this section right now. The Bulldogs rebounded from a terrible performance at Ole Miss to beat down Miss. State. Now they are at Kentucky (king of the RPI 51-100 win) and home to Tennessee. That would be worth a lot of computer points to get both (which is doable), as both teams are in the top 11 in RPI. Finishing at least 9-7 is an absolute must, and I would feel much better about the Dawgs' chances if they got both to get to 10 SEC wins. They also beat Gonzaga, but lost to ACC bubblers Georgia Tech and Clemson.

Mississippi [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 63, SOS: 79] Like everyone else in this division, Ole Miss gacked up a chance to stake a claim, losing by double figures at South Carolina. Even 9-7 likely is not nearly enough with a nonconference profile devoid of anything notable.

Mississippi State [16-11 (7-7), RPI: 66, SOS: 37] With a chance to get in the mix, these Bulldogs were leashed by their Georgia counterparts. Could they get to 9-7? I guess -- although winning at Arkansas, then beating Alabama is no lock -- but would that mean all that much for a team with this overall profile? Probably not. There's nothing of note (on the good side) in the nonconference profile.

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