Astros swarm Padres; bees delay game

Baseball Betting Lines

07/02/2009 - San Diego, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Wandy Rodriguez threw seven strong innings to help the Houston Astros take a 7-2 win over the San Diego Padres in an unusual finale of a four-game set.

Rodriguez (7-6) gave up just one run on seven hits with two walks and five strikeouts for the Astros, who have won six of their last eight. Geoff Blum hit a three-run home run and drove in four while Lance Berkman scored three times and drove in one in the win.

Scott Hairston and Everth Cabrera each drove a run while Kevin Correia (5-6) was tagged for all six runs on eight hits with three walks and three strikeouts over five innings of action for the Padres, who have dropped six of the last nine games.

What made this game stand out was a delay in the top of the ninth due to a swarm of bees.

With Miguel Tejada at the plate with two outs in the frame, Padres left fielder Kyle Blanks began walking toward the infield as the bees became thick in the air.

The rest of the players soon left the field as the game went into a delay until a beekeeper arrived at the park.

The swarm eventually centered around a ballgirl's jacket on a chair near the stands and fans were evacuated from several sections near the swarm.

When the beekeeper arrived, he sprayed down the jacket and, after a 52-minute delay, the game resumed.

Houston jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning. Michael Bourn led off with a single and Berkman later drew a walk. A single from Carlos Lee loaded the bases and Blum followed with an RBI single. Hunter Pence then grounded into a fielder's choice that saw Berkman score.

In the third, the Astros made it a 3-0 game as a single from Lee scored Berkman, who had doubled prior to Lee's at-bat.

San Diego had a golden opportunity to score in the third as the team had the bases loaded with no outs. However, Adrian Gonzalez hit into a fielder's choice that saw Correia forced out at home and Kevin Kouzmanoff then hit into a double play.

Houston padded its lead in the fifth as Tejada led off with a single, Berkman later walked and Blum smacked a 2-1 pitch into the left field stands for a 6-0 advantage.

The Padres finally got on the board in the fifth as Cabrera hit a two-out single and Hairston followed with a double to center to score Cabrera.

San Diego had men on first and third with no outs in the eighth, but Kouzmanoff struck out and Blanks hit into a double play to end the inning.

The game then went into a delay due to the bees, but when it resumed Berkman hit an RBI double to left that scored Bourn for a 7-1 lead.

Cabrera hit into a fielder's choice to plate Edgar Gonzalez in the bottom of the ninth.

Game Notes

The Padres welcome the Dodgers to San Diego for a three-game set starting on Friday...Houston begins a three-game series in San Francisco on Friday...The Astros took six of seven against the Padres in the season series...San Diego went 1-for-11 with runners in scoring position and stranded nine men on base.

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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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