08/27/2008 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Hard-throwing but inconsistent righty Justin Verlander tries for a third straight win tonight when the Detroit Tigers host the Cleveland Indians in the third and final game of a three-game series at Comerica Park.
Verlander, who's won 17 and 18 games in the last two seasons, respectively, had upped his 2008 mark to a mediocre 8-9 on July 20 before losing four consecutive starts, including a 7-2 defeat against Toronto on Aug. 11 in which he lasted just 4 1/3 innings.
The second overall draft pick in 2004 regained his stuff for a 5-3 victory against the Orioles on Aug. 16, then pitched 6 2/3 solid innings en route to a 4-3 win at Kansas City on Aug. 22.
In the two victories, the 25-year-old Virginian has allowed 12 hits and two unearned runs in 12 2/3 innings.
He's 4-8 lifetime against the Indians in 13 starts, including a 9-4 loss on July 31 at Progressive Field and a 9-2 win on July 8 at Comerica.
For Cleveland, burly right-hander Fausto Carmona makes start No. 7 since returning from a two-month stint on the disabled list with a hip injury.
A 19-game winner last season, Carmona fell to 4-2 this season when he dropped an 13-9 decision to Texas on May 23 and was subsequently shelved for the first time since he became a full-time starter last season.
He came back to lose an 11-4 verdict to Minnesota on July 26, but rebounded five days later for a 9-4 victory over Detroit after allowing five hits and two earned runs in 6 1/3 innings.
The win upped his career mark against the Tigers to 5-2 in 10 games - seven starts - with a 3.02 ERA in 50 2/3 innings.
In his last start, on Aug. 22 at Texas, Carmona allowed six hits and an unearned run over six innings of a 7-5 downing of the Rangers.
On Tuesday, Ben Francisco hit two home runs and Cliff Lee got his American League-leading 19th win, as the Indians crushed the Tigers, 10-4.
Lee (19-2) was sensational once again, allowing only two runs on six hits and a walk in 7 2/3 innings with four strikeouts. The lefty won for the eighth time in nine starts and for the fifth time in August, matching a season-high set in April.
Francisco finished the game 3-for-5 with four runs batted in while Carroll and Kelly Shoppach each added solo home runs to give the Indians their ninth straight victory.
Chris Lambert (0-1) didn't last long in his major league debut, allowing six runs -- two earned -- on five hits in 2 2/3 innings while striking out two and walking one. He didn't get much help from his defense, which committed two crucial errors in the third.
Brandon Inge went 2-for-4 with an RBI while Ryan Raburn had a hit, a run scored and an RBI for the Tigers, losers of three straight.
Detroit has split its 14 matchups with the Tribe this season.
<< Cubs shoot for sweep of Pirates
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago Cubs try to continue their season-long mastery
of the Pittsburgh Pirates this afternoon, as they go for a sweep in the finale
of their three-game series at PNC Park.
Chicago, which leads the majors with 8
<< Blue Jays try to solve Tampa's Garza
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Toronto has had little luck offensively when facing Tampa
Bay's Matt Garza this year. The Blue Jays will try to plate some runs against
the Rays young gun tonight in the middle portion of three-game series at
Trop
<< Report: DE Harvey ends holdout, signs with Jaguars
Jacksonville, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Defensive end Derrick Harvey has
reportedly ended his 33-day holdout, and has agreed to a deal with the
Jacksonville Jaguars that could be worth more than $33 million. Harvey was the
last ro
<< Report: Red Sox close to getting Kotsay from Braves
Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Boston Red Sox are reportedly close to a
deal that will land outfielder Mark Kotsay from the Atlanta Braves.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported Wednesday that the Braves will
continue the
Phils try to extend NL East lead over Mets >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Phillies' rally last year to overtake the Mets for the
National League East crown was pretty impressive. Last night's comeback to
recapture first place in the division wasn't too bad either.
After rallying from
With backs to the wall, Yanks continue battle with BoSox >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - With their chances for a 14th straight postseason
appearance dwindling by the day, the New York Yankees turn to Sidney Ponson to
right their ship tonight in the second test of a critical three-game series
with th
Twins turn to Perkins in finale with Mariners >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Glen Perkins has played a big part in the second-half
resurgence of the Minnesota Twins. Now the rookie pitcher will be asked to
play the role of stopper when his team wraps up a three-game series with the
Seattle Mariners th
Rangers go for sweep in KC >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rookie southpaw Matt Harrison makes the 10th start of his
major league career and tries to regain the momentum of a recent three-game
win streak tonight when the Texas Rangers visit Kauffman Stadium to close out
a three-game
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NEW YORK (AP) -By staying away from the cupcakes, Southern California earned itself a slim new ranking.
No. 1 always seems to fit USC.
Southern California jumped two spots to No. 1 in The Associated Press Top 25 on Tuesday, rewarded by voters for opening the season with a dominant performance on the road against a BCS conference opponent.
Georgia and Ohio State, the preseason Nos. 1 and 2, respectively, started their seasons with glorified scrimmages at home against FCS (formerly I-AA) teams. USC, however, traveled across country to face Virginia and could not have been more impressive in a 52-7 victory.
Georgia fell to No. 2 and Ohio State to No 3.
"We realize that rankings so early in a season are certainly fluid. But rankings do help establish a pecking order for things later in the season," USC coach Pete Carroll said in a statement. "As for moving into the No. 1 spot, it's nice to know that people think highly of our team."
Since reaching No. 1 on Dec. 7, 2003, the final-regular season AP poll of that season, USC has been No. 1 in 39 polls, by far the most of any team during that time.
"Some have said the voters are taking our schedule into consideration," Carroll said. "Our philosophy has always been to schedule outstanding opponents. We need to play challenging games like we just did, traveling across the country to open the season at Virginia. Games like that bring out our best and make us stronger as a team."
The latest voting was close. USC received 21 first-place votes and 1,539 points from the 65-member media panel. Georgia had 20 first-place votes and 1,506 points. Ohio State got 15 first-place votes and 1,497 points.
"I'd say we've evolved as pollsters," said Stewart Mandel of SI.com, who moved USC up to No. 1. "In the past, voters just kind of automatically moved teams up and kept teams where they were if they won."
Georgia beat Georgia Southern 45-21 on Saturday and Ohio State opened with a 43-0 win over Youngstown State.
"There's a bit of a growing backlash for the amount of teams that open with I-AA cupcakes," said Mandel, whose book "Bowls, Polls and Tattered Souls" chronicles college football's controversies. "To see a team [USC] go on the road and play a New Year's Day bowl team from last season, and not only play them but destroy them, how could you not reward that team?"
USC also jumped past Georgia to No. 1 in the USA Today coaches' poll, which has the same top five as the AP poll.
"It's definitely a privilege to be No. 1. But it's not heartbreaking to me if we drop," Georgia offensive lineman Josh Davis said. "It doesn't matter right now what we're ranked. What matters is our next game and right now, that's Central Michigan. The only time the polls matter is in December. That's when the polls matter."
While the Bulldogs opened easy, their schedule ultimately should be as difficult as any team's. Georgia's big nonconference test is at No. 15 Arizona State on Sept. 20. The Bulldogs also face six Southeastern Conference rivals that've been ranked in the first two polls.
As for Ohio State, the Buckeyes play at USC on Sept. 13 before getting into the Big Ten schedule.
But of the teams in this week's top 10, USC and Texas are the only ones that don't play an FCS opponent, and the Trojans are the only team that doesn't play a team from a non-BCS conference.
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The last team to drop from No. 1 after a victory was USC last season. LSU jumped from No. 2 to No. 1 when it beat Tulane 34-9, the same week the Trojans edged Washington 27-24 on the road.
The last preseason No. 1 team to lose the top spot after winning its opening game was Florida in 2001. The Gators beat Marshall 49-14, but preseason No. 2 Miami opened with a 33-7 victory over Penn State and the Hurricanes jumped to No. 1 with Florida slipping to second.
The next four teams in the new Top 25 stayed the same: No. 4 Oklahoma (two first-place votes), No. 5 Florida (five first-place votes), No. 6 Missouri (one first-place vote), No. 7 LSU (one first-place vote) and No. 8 West Virginia.
No. 9 Auburn and No. 10 Texas each moved up a spot, taking advantage of Clemson's big drop. Clemson, ninth in the preseason, fell out after losing 34-10 to Alabama on Saturday.
Also falling out after losses were Virginia Tech, Pittsburgh and Tennessee.
Moving into the rankings were No. 21 Fresno State, No. 22 Utah, No. 23 UCLA and No. 24 South Carolina.
Alabama moved up 11 spots after its big victory over Clemson.
The second 10 started with No. 11 Wisconsin, followed by Texas Tech, Alabama and Kansas. BYU and Arizona State were tied for 15th. Rivals BYU and Utah are both ranked for the first time since 1996.
South Florida was No. 17, ahead of Oregon, Penn State and Wake Forest at No. 20.
The final five were all the teams to move into the ranking, except for Illinois, which dropped four spots and tied South Carolina for No. 24.
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