Brewers down Pirates to complete sweep

Baseball Betting Lines

08/29/2010 - Milwaukee, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ryan Braun went 4-for-4 with a two-run homer and scored three runs, as the Milwaukee Brewers completed a three-game sweep of the Pittsburgh Pirates with an 8-4 win at Miller Park.

Chris Dickerson chipped in with a two-run single and drove in three for the Brewers, who had dropped four in a row entering the series and finished 13-5 against the Pirates this season.

Dave Bush (7-11) allowed four runs -- three earned -- on seven hits with two walks and four strikeouts over seven innings to pick up the win. Trevor Hoffman retired the final two batters to record his eighth save of the season and up his save totals to an all-time major league-best 599.

Neil Walker hit a two-run homer while Ryan Doumit and Delwyn Young added solo shots for Pittsburgh, which has dropped nine of their last 12.

Charlie Morton (1-10), making his first start since May 27th, lasted only 3 1/3 innings in his return from the minors. The right-hander was raked for eight runs -- seven earned -- on nine hits, walked one and struck out two.

Walker's two-run homer just inside the right-field foul pole in the first gave the Pirates a brief early lead.

However, Milwaukee answered with three in the home portion. Consecutive singles and a walk loaded the bases with two outs before Dickerson chased in a pair with a single to right. With runners still on the corners, Morton's errant pickoff throw to first allowed another to score that put the Brewers up, 3-2.

In the Milwaukee third with runners on first and third and one out, Dickerson's groundout brought in a run, and Alcides Escobar and George Kottaras each added an RBI single to give the hosts a 6-2 edge.

Doumit got the Bucs a run closer with homer to right leading off the fourth, but Braun clubbed a two-run shot in the home half to make it 8-3.

Young's homer in the seventh made it an 8-4 game, accounting for the final margin.

Game Notes

Bush improved to 6-5 in 16 career games against the Pirates, while Morton fell to 0-4 in four all-time meetings against Milwaukee...Kottaras finished 3-for-4 with an RBI for the Brewers...Pirates reliever Evan Meek was hit by a line drive in his right wright in the eighth and had to leave the game.

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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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