Ludwick leads Cards past Brewers

Baseball Betting Lines

08/27/2008 - St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ryan Ludwick finished 3-for-4 with two runs batted in, as St. Louis used a four-run eighth inning to upend Milwaukee, 5-3, and earn a split in the two-game set with the Brewers.

Albert Pujols and Yadier Molina each had two hits, while Aaron Miles drove in the go-ahead run for the Cardinals, who have won four of six. St. Louis also moved within 3 1/2 games of first-place Milwaukee in the NL Wild Card standings.

Adam Wainwright allowed three runs -- two earned -- on eight hits in a six- inning start for the Cardinals, but didn't factor into the decision. Ryan Franklin (5-5) threw a scoreless eighth to earn the win.

David Riske (1-2) took the loss for the Brewers after giving up three runs in the eighth. Starter Manny Parra was solid in six-plus innings, as he gave up one run on six hits and struck out seven for Milwaukee, whose five-game win streak ended.

The Brewers also fell to six games back of the Chicago Cubs for first in the NL Central.

Mike Cameron and Jason Kendall each finished with two hits and an RBI, while J.J. Hardy had three hits and drove in a run for the Brewers.

The Cardinals trailed by two heading into the bottom of the eighth, but got a rally started when Pujols hit a lead off double off Riske. Ludwick followed with another double to plate the run, and Troy Glaus singled to tie the game.

After Riske got Molina to ground out, Brian Shouse came on in relief to face pinch-hitter Miles with Glaus on third. Miles sent a grounder to shortstop, but Glaus slid under the tag as Hardy went home with the throw.

Braden Looper sacrificed Miles to second with a bunt and Felipe Lopez singled to center to bring another run home for a 5-3 lead.

Chris Perez entered for the Cardinals in the ninth and gave up a one-out double to Hardy. However, he struck out Ryan Braun and Prince Fielder to end the game and notch his sixth save.

Hardy's RBI single in the third inning plated Kendall, who had singled, went to second on an error and advanced to third on a bunt. In the fourth, consecutive doubles from Corey Hart and Cameron gave the Brewers another run. A ground out put Cameron on third base for Kendall, whose single made it 3-0, Milwaukee.

Ludwick hammered a two-out pitch from Parra in the sixth for a solo homer to bring St. Louis within two.

Game Notes

Milwaukee left 10 runners on base, while the Cardinals stranded eight...On Wednesday, St. Louis purchased the contract of first baseman Josh Phelps from Triple-A Memphis, and optioned pitcher Jaime Garcia to Memphis....Phelps was 1-for-1 in a pinch-hit appearance on Wednesday...The Cardinals also transferred pitcher Mark Mulder to the 60-day disabled list on Wednesday.

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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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