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06/04/2008 -
Chicago has built the best record in the majors mostly by winning at Wrigley Field.
After taking the first two games in San Diego, the Cubs are showing they can win on the road, too.
Alfonso Soriano hit a three-run homer and Mark DeRosa added a two-run shot to lead the Cubs to a 9-6 win over the San Diego Padres on Tuesday night, their ninth straight victory.
``We are finding ways to win,'' DeRosa said. ``We have guys who are swinging hot bats. We never feel like we're ever out of the game.''
The Cubs' streak is their best since winning 12 straight games from May 19-June 2, 2001. By taking the first two games of the three-game set, Chicago won a road series for the first time since sweeping three games at Pittsburgh April 7-10. The Cubs had failed to win in seven road series since.
``Right now, it's fun to play with the way things have been going for us,'' Reed Johnson said. ``We are playing with a lot of confidence and it shows.''
The Cubs have their best record after 59 games since the 1977 team was 39-20.
In other NL games, it was: Milwaukee 7, Arizona 1; Atlanta 5, Florida 4; Philadelphia 3, Cincinnati 2; Houston 2, Pittsburgh 0; Colorado 3, Los Angeles 0; New York 9, San Francisco 6; and St. Louis 6, Washington 1.
Jason Marquis (3-3) won for just the second time in eight starts, although he didn't get past the sixth inning for the seventh straight time. Kerry Wood pitched the ninth for his 16th save.
Corey allowed three runs on four hits in 1 1-3 innings.
Adrian Gonzalez, the NL leader in RBIs with 55, drove in a run for the Padres, who lost their third straight.
``The biggest thing about that lineup is that they really forced us to come to them,'' Padres catcher Michael Barrett said. ``You don't see them making too many quick outs.''Brewers 7, Diamondbacks 1
At Milwaukee, Ryan Braun hit a two-run homer to ruin a memorable night for Arizona's Randy Johnson.
Johnson (4-2) broke a tie with Roger Clemens to take sole possession of second place on baseball's career strikeout list in the first inning when he fanned Mike Cameron. That gave the Big Unit 4,673 strikeouts, still far behind Nolan Ryan's 5,714.
Johnson struck out eight in five innings.
Brewers starter Seth McClung (3-2) gave up a run and six hits over six innings in his third start of the season.Braves 5, Marlins 4
At Atlanta, Chipper Jones hit a three-run homer and Greg Norton came through with a two-run double in the eighth inning that gave the Atlanta another come-from-behind victory.
The Braves actually won a one-run game, improving their mark in those contests to 3-16, despite two more homers by Florida's slugging second baseman, Dan Uggla.
Will Ohman (3-0) won for the second night in a row with a scoreless inning. Rafael Soriano worked the ninth for his second save.
Matt Lindstrom (1-1) took the loss.Phillies 3, Reds 2
At Philadelphia, Pat Burrell hit a tiebreaking two-run homer, Adam Eaton pitched 6 2-3 impressive innings and the Phillies beat the Reds.
Ken Griffey Jr. walked as a pinch-hitter in the eighth inning to remain one shy of 600 home runs. Griffey wasn't in the Reds' lineup for the second straight game because of general soreness. He's been bothered by a sore left knee, though he could return Wednesday.
Edwin Encarnacion hit a solo homer and tripled for two of Cincinnati's four hits.
Eaton (2-3) allowed one run and three hits, outpitching Aaron Harang (2-8). Brad Lidge finished for his 15th save.Astros 2, Pirates 0
At Pittsburgh, Lance Berkman and Miguel Tejada doubled in runs, Wandy Rodriguez pitched six shutout innings in his second start after coming off the disabled list, and Houston ended a five-game losing streak.
Chris Sampson, Doug Brocail and Jose Valverde finished up the five-hitter with an inning each, with Valverde getting his 16th save. Kaz Matsui went 4-for-4 with a sacrifice and scored both Astros runs.
Rodriguez (2-1) was out for five weeks with a strained left groin before returning to lose to St. Louis 6-1 last Wednesday.
Pirates left-hander Phil Dumatrait (2-3) allowed two runs and seven hits in six innings.Rockies 3, Dodgers 0
At Los Angeles, Jeff Francis outpitched longtime Rockies nemesis Brad Penny and Colorado snapped an eight-game losing streak, beating the Dodgers in a game that was punctuated by a bench-clearing brawl.
Francis (2-5) gave up four hits in seven innings. Penny (5-7) lost his fifth consecutive decision over six starts.Mets 9, Giants 6
At San Francisco, Pedro Martinez came off the disabled list and got a win over the Giants, more than two months after leaving his first start of the year April 1 with a hamstring injury.
Martinez (1-0) even hit a pair of singles and drove in a run to help his cause and boost his line, which read: six innings, seven hits, three runs, three walks and three strikeouts on 109 pitches.
Barry Zito (1-9), who began the season 0-8, lost for the first time in his three career starts versus New York.Cardinals 6, Nationals 1
At Washington, The St. Louis Cardinals faced more resistance from Mother Nature than from the Washington Nationals, enduring more than 2 1/2 hours of delays before finishing off a victory.
A miscue-filled, four-run first-inning, highlighted by Yadier Molina's three-run homer, was all the Cardinals needed.
The game's two delays totaled 2 hours, 40 minutes, but Cardinals starter Kyle Lohse (6-2) returned both times to pitch the required five innings for the victory.
Odalis Perez (2-5) took the loss.Copyright © 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.
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<< Soriano, Cubs down Padres to extend winning streak to nine games
San Diego, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Alfonso Soriano stroked a three-run homer
as the Chicago Cubs defeated the San Diego Padres, 9-6, in the middle contest
of a three-game set from Petco Park.
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single in the 11th inning plated Kurt Suzuki with the winning run, as the
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a thre
Braves shoot for another win over floundering Fish >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Atlanta Braves aim for another win over the National
League East-rival Florida Marlins in this afternoon's third installment of a
four-game series at Turner Field.
Atlanta entered this series on a three-game los
Surging Brewers ready brooms in finale with D-Backs >>
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winning streak to six games tonight, when they go for a three-game sweep of
the Arizona Diamondbacks at Miller Park.
Milwaukee swept Houston in three games b
Red Wings visit Penguins with second chance at clinching Cup >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Detroit Red Wings will get another shot at clinching
Lord Stanley's Cup tonight, when they visit the Pittsburgh Penguins for Game 6
of the best-of-seven finals.
The Red Wings grabbed a 3-1 series edge with a Game 4 vic
Angels wrap set with M's aiming for fifth straight win >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim will try to run their
current win streak to a season-high five games in this afternoon's finale of a
three-game series with the Seattle Mariners from Safeco Field.
The Angels have taken th
Many fans thought it was the best side in the nation by the end of last season. This year, the polls have built on Georgia's momentum and granted it the No. 1 preseason ranking, followed by Ohio State and USC. (The Associated Press has the Buckeyes at No. 2; USA Today took the Trojans.)
"To have people believing we have one of the best teams in the nation going into this thing, it's exciting for us," Bulldogs coach Mark Richt told the AP. "I don't think anything is guaranteed, but we certainly have put ourselves in position where at least the college football world thinks we're pretty good."
Georgia Bulldogs - 9.5 wins
There's no question they're good, but the Bulldogs have one of the toughest 12-game schedules in the nation, mostly because they play in the powerhouse Southeastern Conference. Away games at No. 15 Arizona State, No. 7 LSU and No. 10 Auburn loom large, with contests between the hedges versus No. 24 Alabama and No. 18 Tennessee as well as the World's Largest Cocktail Party in Jacksonville versus No.5 Florida.
Ohio State Buckeyes - 10 wins
Like the Bulldogs, the Buckeyes also have a number of tough road contests in 2008. After two scrimmages dressed up as real games versus Youngstown State and Ohio, it's off to face USC. Other tough away games include No.13 Wisconsin in October and No. 20 Illinois in November. Granted, it should be pretty easy sledding at the Horseshoe. In fact, the only ranked team that travels to Columbus is No. 22 Penn State, in October.
USC Trojans - 10.5 wins
A similarly light schedule awaits the Trojans of Southern California, which is why the oddsmakers' total is one win more and the over is currently commanding -150 odds. Pete Carroll's troops only play three ranked teams in 2008, and all of those games are at home. After what should be an easy trip to Virginia to start things off on Aug. 30, the Trojans get two weeks to prepare for Ohio State in Los Angeles. Their two other ranked opponents, No. 21 Oregon and No. 15 Arizona State, visit in consecutive weeks to start the month of October. After that, the competition eases up. Of course, this is the same highly-touted school that lost to Stanford in 2007 and Oregon State in 2006. And don't discount the fact that USC plays its biggest rivals, Notre Dame and UCLA, back-to-back to close out the regular season. On paper, the Trojans are far superior, but motivation will be high for the Irish and Bruins, especially if their historic foes are in national-title contention.
Odds to Win the Heisman Trophy
Tim Tebow, Florida - 7/2
He won it last year, so it's no surprise he's the favorite to do it again, making him just the second player to go back-to-back. Ohio State's Archie Griffin turned the trick in 1974 and 1975, and Tebow's coach, Urban Meyer, is pretty sure his star quarterback can match the Buckeyes legend.
"There has never been anyone quite like him," Meyer told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "I am very lucky to be his coach."
Chris Wells, Ohio State - 5/1
The man they call "Beanie" was a star recruit out of high school, so it's not like nobody knew who the star tailback was before he rushed for 576 yards as a freshman in 2006 and 1,609 as a sophomore. But perhaps his finest moment came last year versus Michigan when he rumbled for 222 yards and two touchdowns in the Buckeyes' 14-3 victory over the hated Wolverines.
Knowshon Moreno, Georgia - 8/1
If the Bulldogs are to live up to expectations, they'll need a huge effort from their sophomore running back. This might be the last year of college ball for Moreno, who rushed for 1,334 yards and for 14 touchdowns as a freshman, while adding 253 receiving yards on 20 receptions, so expect big things for the man from Belford, N.J.
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