Astros' error sends San Diego to victory

Baseball Betting Lines

07/03/2010 - San Diego, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Aaron Cunningham scored on Gustavo Chacin's throwing error in the bottom of the eighth inning in San Diego's 1-0 win over the Houston Astros.

Kevin Correia threw seven innings for the Padres, who won for the third time in four games. It was also their major league-best 12th shutout of the season.

Bud Norris also went seven strong innings for Houston, giving up three hits, walking three and fanning five, but the Astros were blanked for a second straight night. Chris Johnson had three hits, including a pair of doubles, in defeat.

Cunningham, recalled from Triple-A Portland earlier in the day when outfielder Will Venable went on the 15-day disabled list, stroked a pinch-hit double leading off the eighth against Chacin (1-1). Tony Gwynn Jr. then bunted to the left of the mound. Chacin ranged over, but his throw to first base bounced past a covering Jeff Keppinger, allowing the only run of the game.

Mike Adams (2-1) retired the side in order in the eighth to get the win and Heath Bell notched his 23rd save in the third installment of this four-game series.

Bell struck out Lance Berkman on a borderline 3-2 pitch at the knees for the first out of the ninth inning. Berkman briefly questioned the call by home plate umpire Ed Rapuano. Carlos Lee struck out before Jason Michaels singled up the middle, but Jason Castro popped up to shortstop to end the game.

Houston had runners on first and second in the fourth, but Lee grounded into a double play and then Hunter Pence grounded out, leaving Keppinger stranded at third.

Game Notes

Venable is out with lower back stiffness...Pence was ejected from the game by Rapuano in the seventh inning for arguing a called third strike...The last Padres team to have 12 shutouts was the 1990 club...The Padres (48-33) tied the 1984 club for the second best 81-game record in franchise history...The Padres have clinched a winning series against Houston, the first time that's happened since 2004...Astros starters have now posted a 0.67 ERA over their last four games...Padres first baseman Adrian Gonzalez didn't play due to a sore neck.

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Big East Conference odds

Work left to do: Villanova, Syracuse, DePaul, West Virginia, Providence

Notre Dame and Louisville appear to have done enough to make the move, so we'll make them locks. The Cardinals, despite a modest RPI, are trending way up and have clinched at least a tie for third in the Big East, which should be more than enough with their pair of big road wins. Villanova got back to .500 and gets back to more solid footing. Syracuse got a very important road win and crippled a fellow contender in the process. West Virginia's fate could be in its hands Tuesday at Pitt.

Work left to do:

Villanova [18-9 (7-7), RPI: 21, SOS: 5] Pounded Rutgers to get back to .500. If Cats can get their last two (at UConn, vs. Syracuse), that should be enough with strong computer numbers and a host of wins away from The Pavilion. The Cats have beaten Texas and swept the Big 5 (never easy in Philly), but have a couple of losses to bubble teams (Xavier, Drexel), too. I still think they'll be OK, possibly even at 8-8.

Syracuse [20-8 (9-5), RPI: 53, SOS: 62] History says 10 wins will be plenty, but it might be hard for the Orange to get that last one with a final two vs. G'town, which is trying to win the league title, and at Villanova, which will be desperate for a W. The relative lack of nonconference heft and the weak computer numbers are still concerns, but the Orange have won four in a row and got a very, very big win at Providence on Saturday.

DePaul [16-12 (8-7), RPI: 54, SOS: 18] Beat Cincy and should get past South Florida to get to 9-7, but then what? They have beaten Kansas and Cal (right after the DeVon Hardin injury) earlier this season, but also have lost to Bradley and Purdue, among others. They'll likely need a couple of BE tourney wins, too, but we'll see ...

West Virginia [19-7 (8-6), RPI: 58, SOS: 125] The game at Pitt on Tuesday night could decide the Mountaineers' fate (barring a deep tournament run). They can still get to 9-7 in the Big East without it by beating Cincinnati, but the nine wins would be against UConn, Villanova, St. John's, South Florida, DePaul, Rutgers, Seton Hall twice and the Bearcats. Beating bubble foes is fine, but where's the beef? Outside of beating PG-less UCLA in nonconference play (still a top quality win), there's not a lot to fall back on (besides maybe NC State). WVU vs. Syracuse would be an interesting debate, as the teams don't play in the Big East regular season. WVU has the best win, but Cuse has played the much better schedule.

Providence [17-10 (7-7), RPI: 70, SOS: 33] The Friars likely saw their at-large hopes die at home in the four-point loss to Syracuse, barring an unexpected run to the Big East semis or more. The RPI, bad already, won't be helped by playing St. John's and South Florida in the final two league games.

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