Ramirez powers Cubs past Reds

Baseball Betting Lines

04/21/2009 - Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Aramis Ramirez had three hits and three runs batted in, as the Chicago Cubs dealt the Cincinnati Reds a 7-2 final in the opener of a three-game series from Wrigley Field.

Micah Hoffpauir hit a solo home run, collecting a pair of RBI, and Ryan Theriot had two hits and an RBI for the Cubs, who most recently took two of three from bitter division rival St. Louis in a rain-shortened set from Wrigley.

Rich Harden (1-1) picked up his first win of the season in three chances, hurling six strong innings and fanning eight while giving up two runs on just three hits and two walks.

Jay Bruce drove in both Cincinnati runs with a solo shot and RBI single for the Reds, who were coming off taking three of four from Houston in a series staged at Minute Maid Park.

Micah Owings (0-2) fell for the second time in as many outings this season, yielding five runs -- two earned -- on five hits and four walks in 4 2/3 frames.

Chicago got three in the fifth to chase Owings form the game and take a 5-2 lead. Alfonso Soriano and Kosuke Fukudome drew one-out walks and Derrek Lee hit a deep fly to left where Chris Dickerson dropped the ball against the wall. Soriano was hung up between the bags and was held at third, loading the bases for Hoffpauir, who plated the frame's first run with a sac fly.

Ramirez singled to score Fukudome, signaling Owings' exit, and Mike Lincoln came on to reload the bases after hitting Mike Fontenot with a pitch and walking Geovany Soto to force in a run.

The Cubs tacked on two more to take control in the sixth. Lincoln stayed on and loaded them up before exiting with one down. Daniel Ray Herrera entered and yielded a two-run single to Ramirez.

Cincinnati was able to move a pair of runners into scoring position in the eighth, but Carlos Marmol retired Bruce on strikes to end the inning.

Bruce got Cincy on the board with a solo shot to right in the second, but Hoffpauir led off the home portion by lofting a home run to right-center, winning the battle of the Micah's between Owings.

Ramirez followed with a single and came around to score on a one-out base- knock by Theriot. The Cubs went on to load the bases after Harden's bunt- single, but Owings was able to escape without further damage, getting Soriano swinging and Fukudome on a fly out.

The Reds tied the game in the fourth on a two-out RBI single by Bruce after Joey Votto walked and stole second.

Game Notes

Chicago won eight of its 15 games against the Reds last season, including six of the nine encounters contested in the Windy City between these Central Division rivals...Cincinnati had won six of eight overall...The Reds went 1- for-7 with runners in scoring position and left seven on base...The Cubs were 4-for-14 with RISP and stranded 11...It was Hoffpauir's first home run of the season and Bruce's second.

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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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