Giants, Lincecum go for sweep in Arizona

Baseball Betting Lines

07/25/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tim Lincecum tries to bounce back from a shaky effort his last time out when the San Francisco Giants close out a four-game series with the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field.

Lincecum escaped without getting a decision on Tuesday against the Los Angeles Dodgers, but was hit for five runs and seven hits in 4 2/3 innings of his team's 7-5 win. The National League's reigning two-time Cy Young Award winner is 10-4 on the year with a 3.18 earned run average.

"I didn't bring my game to the table. I found myself battling every inning," Lincecum said after his last outing.

Lincecum did not get a decision in his last start against the Diamondbacks, but is 5-1 lifetime against them with a 2.36 ERA in 10 starts. His .833 winning percentage against them is his highest against any NL West opponent.

San Francisco won its third straight game on Saturday, as Juan Uribe hit his fourth career grand slam and Aubrey Huff stayed hot, helping the Giants to a 10-4 rout.

Rookie Buster Posey also extended his hitting streak to 17 games.

In Friday's contest, Huff went 3-for-5 with two home runs, and he followed that with another 3-for-5 performance Saturday. Huff drove in two runs for the Giants, who have won 10 of their last 12.

Another win today would five the Giants their second four-game sweep of the month on the road, but their first in Arizona since turning the trick from July 26-29, 2003. San Francisco swept the Milwaukee Brewers in a four-gamer from July 5-8 at Miller Park.

Madison Bumgarner (4-2) took the win after limiting Arizona to two runs on five hits and three walks in seven innings. He also struck out seven as he won his fourth consecutive start.

While the Giants won, outfielder Eugenio Velez was injured in the fourth inning while in the dugout, as he was struck in the head by a foul ball off Pat Burrell's bat. Velez fell to the ground and, after being attended to by trainers, was carried off on a stretcher and taken to a hospital, where he will remain overnight.

"CT scan was negative," said Giants manager Bruce Bochy. "He took a pretty good shot on the left side of the head. Don't know exactly where, but it hit him pretty good. But he never lost consciousness, and he's doing fine now."

Ian Kennedy (5-8) gave up four runs in 6 2/3 innings to take the loss for Arizona, which has lost six in a row to the Giants.

Arizona will pin its hopes on rookie right-hander Barry Enright, who is 2-2 with a 2.66 ERA. Enright was impressive in beating the New York Mets on Tuesday, as he held them to a run and five hits in eight innings. He also struck out eight, while walking a batter.

"I was attacking hitters from the beginning," Enright said. "The first two guys got on, but I never lost that aggressiveness."

This will be his first-ever start against the Giants.

San Francisco leads the 2010 season series with Arizona by a 6-2 margin, and is 19-7 over the past 26 meetings between the two ball clubs.

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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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