Blue Jays hope to stay hot versus Indians

Baseball Betting Lines

07/31/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Toronto Blue Jays are riding a four-game winning streak and will attempt to continue the string of strong play against the Cleveland Indians in the second of three weekend games at Rogers Centre.

Righty Jake Westbrook will get the ball for Cleveland this afternoon, and he will attempt to improve a 6-7 record and 4.65 ERA. He allowed three runs over eight innings on Monday, but a lack of run support led to defeat. In 127 2/3 innings of work this season, Westbrook has permitted 133 hits and 44 walks while striking out 73 batters.

Westbrook is 2-1 with a 4.57 ERA in five career games at Rogers Centre.

As for Brett Cecil, who is the scheduled starter for the Blue Jays today, he has quietly put together a solid season, posting an 8-5 mark and a 3.89 ERA to date. Cecil did not figure in the decision of Sunday's game against Detroit despite seven solid innings, and he is 1-0 in July with a 2.39 ERA.

Cecil beat Cleveland in his only start against the team this season, pitching eight innings of one-hit ball with 10 strikeouts.

Yesterday, Jose Bautista's grand slam and league-leading 31st home run highlighted a six-run fourth, as the Blue Jays cruised to an 8-1 rout of the struggling Cleveland Indians at Rogers Centre.

Bautista tied the club record with his 11th home run of July and finished with three hits, as the Blue Jays snapped a four-game losing streak to Cleveland. Fred Lewis also homered as part of the 14-hit attack, while Yunel Escobar and Lyle Overbay both had multi-hit efforts.

"I feel really good. I'm getting ready on time," Bautista said. "I'm seeing a lot of pitches over the plate, and I'm taking advantage of it. Hopefully, I can ride this wave as long as I can."

Shaun Marcum (10-4) was dominant in the start, allowing just one run and three hits while fanning a season-high 10 over seven frames.

Matt LaPorta's sacrifice fly was the only offense for the Indians, who have lost three straight and six of seven. Justin Masterson (3-10) was pounded for eight runs on a career-high 13 hits and two walks over only 5 1/3 innings to take the loss.

"It seemed like you kind of need something to keep them on edge," Masterson said. "They're free-swinging -- that's what they did. They beat us at what they're good at -- hit a few home runs."

Cleveland and Toronto have split their eight meetings so far this season.

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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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