Drew, Diamondbacks edge Cubs

Baseball Betting Lines

07/21/2007 - Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Stephen Drew hit a go-ahead home run in the eighth inning and the Arizona Diamondbacks held on to beat the Chicago Cubs, 3-2, in the middle contest of a three-game set at Wrigley Field.

Orlando Hudson went 3-for-5 with an RBI and Chris Young scored twice for the Diamondbacks, who had lost five of six.

Arizona starter Micah Owings lasted just four innings after giving two runs on four hits. Juan Cruz (4-1) took over for Owings and pitched three no-hit innings to pick up the win.

Jose Valverde worked around a one-out walk in the ninth to nail down the victory and pick up his 29th save of the season.

Angel Pagan hit a two-run triple for the Cubs, who had won three in a row and seven of eight.

Rich Hill pitched six innings, yielding two runs -- one earned -- on six hits with six strikeouts and four walks.

Bob Howry (5-5) struck out pinch-hitter Augie Ojeda to start the eighth, but Drew stepped to the plate and smoked a 3-1 pitch over the right-field wall to give Arizona the lead.

Ryan Theriot led off the eighth with a walk, but after Mike Fontenot flied out, the Diamondbacks got out of the inning on an impressive double play by Drew and Hudson.

Aramis Ramirez hit a groundball up the middle and Drew, running away from second, caught up to the ball and backhanded a throw to second. Hudson caught the ball with his bare hand before throwing to first for the twin-killing.

A fielding error by Ramirez in the first inning allowed Arizona to jump out to an early lead. Young led off the game and bounced a groundball to third base that got by Ramirez, allowing Young to reach second.

Young then swiped third before scoring on Hudson's groundout.

Owings struggled with his command in the home half of the first, walking two batters and almost hitting Ramirez with a pitch that was high and inside. Ramirez took exception and approached the mound before cooler heads prevailed.

Chicago then took the lead in the fourth as Jacque Jones led off with a double, DeRosa walked and Pagan cleared the bases with a triple to right field.

Arizona answered right back in the fifth as Young walked, went to third on Hudson's single and scored on Eric Byrnes' groundball.

Game Notes

The Diamondbacks are 14-7 against Chicago since the start of the 2004 season...It was Pagan's second triple of the season...Attendance was 41,632.

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Marlins could start season without No. 2 starter Johnson

JUPITER, Fla. -- The Foorida Marlins are preparing for the likelihood that right-hander
Josh Johnson won't be ready when the season starts April 2.

Grapefruit League action starts Wednesday, but Johnson, penciled in as the No. 2 starter, hasn't even thrown off a mound at full speed since September. He's experienced some soreness in his right forearm.

MySportsbook.com have the Marlins listed with baseball betting lines at +800 to win the NL East this season .

''You guys know the math. If he's not on the hill then he becomes an opening day roster issue,'' manager Fredi Gonzalez said Saturday. ''We're borderline now.''

Johnson, who finished 12-7 with a 3.10 ERA in 2007, was supposed to throw on flat ground Saturday. That was canceled when he woke up with pain.

He played catch on Wednesday with no pain but felt discomfort in a throwing session on Thursday. He's expected to try again Sunday.

''Like we always said from the very beginning, we're going to take it easy on him,'' Gonzalez said. ''He didn't feel right, so we shut him down. We're going to take it back to step one and see where we're at.''

Among the candidates to take Johnson's spot in the rotation are left-hander Chris George and right-handers Yusmeiro Petit and Jose Garcia.

Right-hander Sergio Mitre, who missed most of last season with arm and shoulder problems, also is behind.

With Johnson's status doubtful, Gonzalez said right-hander Ricky Nolasco will stay in the rotation and no longer will be considered a candidate for closer.

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Kurt Warner to start, Matt Leinart to watch

Despite the debate that's swirling , Kurt Warner will remain the starting quarterback for the Arizona Cardinals, coach Dennis Green said today. The Arizona Cardinals are the +7 point underdog at online sportsbook MySportsbook.com for this Sunday's game.

Green's comment came in a statement released by the team following an ESPN report that Green decided that rookie Matt Leinart would replace Warner as starter for Sunday's game at Atlanta.

"Generally talking about the starting lineup is not something we do," Green told the AP. "However, given the speculation that was out there we want to make it clear. We're disappointed after last week, but we still expect to be a playoff football team and we fully expect Kurt Warner to be the quarterback that leads us. That has not changed."

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