Monday Trends and Indexes 5/11 (NBA, NHL, MLB, Misc.)

[pm530]

NHL


Monday, May 11

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Trend Sheet
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7:00 PM
WASHINGTON vs. PITTSBURGH
Washington is 5-20 SU in its last 25 games when playing on the road against Pittsburgh
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Washington's last 6 games when playing on the road against Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh is 15-7 SU in its last 22 games when playing Washington
The total has gone OVER in 7 of Pittsburgh's last 9 games when playing Washington

9:00 PM
VANCOUVER vs. CHICAGO
Vancouver is 7-3 SU in its last 10 games when playing on the road against Chicago
Vancouver is 9-3 SU in its last 12 games
Chicago is 13-5 SU in its last 18 games
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Chicago's last 9 games

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[pm530]

NHL


Monday, May 11

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Ice Picks: NHL best bets
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Washington Capitals at Pittsburgh Penguins (-190, 5.5)

The Pens are big faves to close out the Caps at home in Game 6 of their series after winning in dramatic fashion Saturday night in Washington.

The contest included few power play opportunities for Pittsburgh, but tripping call against Washington’s Milan Jurcina was all the edge Evgeni Malkin needed to notch the overtime winner.

Malkin’s shot was tipped in by Washington defenseman Tom Poti leaving Caps netminder Simeon Varlamov with no shot of stopping the puck.

“It’s Malkin, so you can’t give him too much time and space,” Poti explained after the game. “It became a 2-on-1 and I tried to go down to take the pass away and take away his angle coming to the net. He tried to make the pass and it ended up going off my glove and my stick or something. An unfortunate bounce.”

Scoring chances have come in bunches in this series with both teams’ skill players getting quality shots on net. Pittsburgh’s power play will miss the services of blueliner Sergei Gonchar but that won’t prevent the final score from finishing above the total for the fourth time in the series.

Pick: Over


Vancouver Canucks at Chicago Blackhawks (-180, 5)

The Canucks lost just two games at home over the final three months of the regular season, but they’ve managed to drop two straight at GM Place and face elimination Monday night as a result.

David Bolland’s goal with 5:05 remaining in the third period gave the Hawks the lead and Martin Havlat recorded an empty net marker to seal the Canucks’ fate.

“We’re going to regroup,” Vancouver goalie Roberto Luongo said. “We’re going to come Monday and we’re going to play the hardest game we’ve played all year, make sure we play our best game on the ice, and bring us back [home for Game 7].”

The Canucks will have to test Hawks goalie Nikolai Khabibulin more often to be successful Monday night. Vancouver has been outshot 58-36 in the last two games of this series and 114-78 since Game 2.

Expect the Hawks to finish off the Canucks and advance to the third round of the playoffs for the first time since the early 1990s.

Pick: Chicago

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[pm530]

MLB
Dunkel Index


Washington at San Francisco
The Nationals are 0-6 in Daniel Cabrera's last 6 starts as a underdog, while the Giants are 7-2 in their last 9 home games. San Francisco is the pick (-130) according to Dunkel, which has the Giants favored by 1 1/2. Dunkel Pick: San Francisco (-130). Here are all of today's games

MONDAY, MAY 11

Game 951-952: Atlanta at NY Mets
Dunkel Ratings: Atlanta (Lowe) 15.466; NY Mets (Santana) 17.088
Dunkel Line: NY Mets by 1 1/2; 6
Vegas Line: NY Mets (-180); 7
Dunkel Pick: NY Mets (-180); Under

Game 953-954: Cincinnati at Arizona
Dunkel Ratings: Cincinnati (Arroyo) 16.494; Arizona (Garland) 14.849
Dunkel Line: Cincinnati by 1 1/2; 8 1/2
Vegas Line: Arizona (-125); 9 1/2
Dunkel Pick: Cincinnati (+115); Under

Game 955-956: Washington at San Francisco
Dunkel Ratings: Washington (Cabrera) 15.082; San Francisco (Johnson) 16.557
Dunkel Line: San Francisco by 1 1/2; 9 1/2
Vegas Line: San Francisco (-130); 8 1/2
Dunkel Pick: San Francisco (-130); Over

Game 957-958: Chicago White Sox at Cleveland
Dunkel Ratings: White Sox (Floyd) 15.373; Cleveland (Pavano) 14.285
Dunkel Line: Chicago White Sox by 1; 11
Vegas Line: Cleveland (-130); 10 1/2
Dunkel Pick: Chicago White Sox (+120); Over

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[pm530]

MLB
Long Sheet


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Monday, May 11
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ATLANTA (15 - 16) at NY METS (17 - 13) - 7:10 PM
DEREK LOWE (R) vs. JOHAN SANTANA (L)
Top Trends for this game.
ATLANTA is 79-91 (-22.7 Units) against the money line after a win over the last 3 seasons.
ATLANTA is 87-106 (-27.8 Units) against the money line in all games over the last 2 seasons.
ATLANTA is 86-104 (-26.9 Units) against the money line in games played on a grass field over the last 2 seasons.
ATLANTA is 58-71 (-20.3 Units) against the money line in night games over the last 2 seasons.
SANTANA is 97-40 (+35.5 Units) against the money line in night games since 1997. (Team's Record)
SANTANA is 81-28 (+38.4 Units) against the money line after a win since 1997. (Team's Record)
SANTANA is 76-22 (+36.5 Units) against the money line when playing against a team with a losing record since 1997. (Team's Record)
NY METS are 39-41 (-27.2 Units) against the money line in home games against division opponents over the last 3 seasons.
SANTANA is 6-10 (-12.8 Units) against the money line in home games against division opponents over the last 3 seasons. (Team's Record)

Head-to-Head Series History
NY METS is 2-0 (+2.2 Units) against ATLANTA this season
1 of 2 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL this season . (Over=+0.0 Units)

DEREK LOWE vs. NY METS since 1997
LOWE is 1-1 when starting against NY METS with an ERA of 8.79 and a WHIP of 2.094.
His team's record is 1-2 (-1.1 units) in these starts. The OVER is 3-0. (+3.0 units)

JOHAN SANTANA vs. ATLANTA since 1997
SANTANA is 0-3 when starting against ATLANTA with an ERA of 2.75 and a WHIP of 1.469.
His team's record is 1-4 (-5.7 units) in these starts. The UNDER is 5-0. (+5.0 units)

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CINCINNATI (17 - 14) at ARIZONA (13 - 19) - 9:40 PM
BRONSON ARROYO (R) vs. JON GARLAND (R)
Top Trends for this game.
CINCINNATI is 34-47 (-18.8 Units) against the money line when playing against a team with a losing record over the last 2 seasons.
GARLAND is 25-13 (+11.4 Units) against the money line in all games over the last 2 seasons. (Team's Record)
GARLAND is 23-11 (+11.2 Units) against the money line in games played on a grass field over the last 2 seasons. (Team's Record)
CINCINNATI is 459-528 (+50.3 Units) against the money line in road games since 1997.
CINCINNATI is 398-475 (+34.1 Units) against the money line in road games in games played on a grass field since 1997.
CINCINNATI is 302-343 (+34.1 Units) against the money line in road games in night games since 1997.
CINCINNATI is 336-388 (+35.5 Units) against the money line in road games against right-handed starters since 1997.
ARIZONA is 96-99 (-21.9 Units) against the money line in all games over the last 2 seasons.
ARIZONA is 15-23 (-12.9 Units) against the money line in May games over the last 2 seasons.
ARIZONA is 96-96 (-18.3 Units) against the money line in games played on a grass field over the last 2 seasons.
ARIZONA is 64-64 (-13.1 Units) against the money line in night games over the last 2 seasons.
ARIZONA is 64-71 (-21.1 Units) against the money line against right-handed starters over the last 2 seasons.
ARIZONA is 2-10 (-9.3 Units) against the money line after a win this season.
ARIZONA is 28-42 (-17.7 Units) against the money line when playing against a team with a winning record over the last 2 seasons.
GARLAND is 36-42 (-20.5 Units) against the money line in home games after a win since 1997. (Team's Record)

Head-to-Head Series History
There were no past matchups in this series during this time period.

BRONSON ARROYO vs. ARIZONA since 1997
ARROYO is 0-1 when starting against ARIZONA with an ERA of 4.13 and a WHIP of 1.458.
His team's record is 2-2 (-0.3 units) in these starts. The OVER is 1-3. (-2.5 units)

JON GARLAND vs. CINCINNATI since 1997
GARLAND is 1-0 when starting against CINCINNATI with an ERA of 1.13 and a WHIP of 0.625.
His team's record is 1-0 (+1.2 units) in these starts. The OVER is 0-1. (-1.2 units)

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WASHINGTON (10 - 19) at SAN FRANCISCO (16 - 14) - 10:15 PM
DANIEL CABRERA (R) vs. RANDY JOHNSON (L)
Top Trends for this game.
WASHINGTON is 39-81 (-31.1 Units) against the money line after a loss over the last 2 seasons.
WASHINGTON is 28-65 (-28.0 Units) against the money line when playing against a team with a winning record over the last 2 seasons.
WASHINGTON is 69-121 (-31.2 Units) against the money line in all games over the last 2 seasons.
WASHINGTON is 29-81 (-39.1 Units) against the money line when the total is 8 to 8.5 over the last 3 seasons.
WASHINGTON is 5-23 (-18.7 Units) against the money line after allowing 10 runs or more over the last 3 seasons.
CABRERA is 10-24 (-14.3 Units) against the money line after a loss over the last 2 seasons. (Team's Record)
SAN FRANCISCO is 126-75 (+51.5 Units) against the money line when playing on Monday since 1997.
SAN FRANCISCO is 667-563 (+81.6 Units) against the money line in night games since 1997.

Head-to-Head Series History
There were no past matchups in this series during this time period.

DANIEL CABRERA vs. SAN FRANCISCO since 1997
No recent starts.

RANDY JOHNSON vs. WASHINGTON since 1997
JOHNSON is 3-3 when starting against WASHINGTON with an ERA of 2.67 and a WHIP of 1.114.
His team's record is 5-4 (-4.7 units) in these starts. The UNDER is 7-2. (+4.9 units)

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CHI WHITE SOX (14 - 16) at CLEVELAND (11 - 21) - 7:05 PM
GAVIN FLOYD (R) vs. CARL PAVANO (R)
Top Trends for this game.
PAVANO is 48-32 (+17.0 Units) against the money line against division opponents since 1997. (Team's Record)
CHI WHITE SOX are 56-34 (+19.3 Units) against the money line when playing against a team with a losing record over the last 2 seasons.
CHI WHITE SOX are 88-68 (+22.4 Units) against the money line against division opponents over the last 3 seasons.
CHI WHITE SOX are 97-73 (+14.8 Units) against the money line in games played on a grass field over the last 2 seasons.
FLOYD is 12-4 (+8.6 Units) against the money line after a loss over the last 2 seasons. (Team's Record)
CLEVELAND is 42-46 (-14.7 Units) against the money line when playing against a team with a losing record over the last 2 seasons.
CLEVELAND is 11-21 (-11.3 Units) against the money line in all games this season.
CLEVELAND is 10-20 (-11.3 Units) against the money line in games played on a grass field this season.
CLEVELAND is 7-19 (-14.2 Units) against the money line against right-handed starters this season.

Head-to-Head Series History
There were no past matchups in this series during this time period.

GAVIN FLOYD vs. CLEVELAND since 1997
FLOYD is 2-1 when starting against CLEVELAND with an ERA of 4.42 and a WHIP of 1.309.
His team's record is 2-1 (+1.3 units) in these starts. The OVER is 2-1. (+1.0 units)

CARL PAVANO vs. CHI WHITE SOX since 1997
PAVANO is 1-1 when starting against CHI WHITE SOX with an ERA of 3.65 and a WHIP of 1.054.
His team's record is 1-1 (+0.0 units) in these starts. The OVER is 1-1. (-0.2 units)

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[pm530]

MLB
Short Sheet


Monday, May 11th

National League

ATLANTA at NY METS, 7:10 PM ET
LOWE: ATL 110-63 AWAY with double revenge
SANTANA: 6-10 TSR at home against division opponents

CINCINNATI at ARIZONA, 9:40 PM ET
ARROYO: CIN 7-0 after allowing 8+ runs
GARLAND: ARI 2-10 after a team win

WASHINGTON at SAN FRANCISCO, 10:15 PM ET
CABRERA: WAS 8-31 after 5+ consecutive road games
JOHNSON: SF 9-0 OVER after BB games with no home runs


American League

CHI WHITE SOX at CLEVELAND, 7:05 PM ET
FLOYD: 12-4 TSR after a team loss
PAVANO: CLE 7-19 against right-handed starters

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[pm530]

MLB
Write-up


Monday, May 11

Hot Pitchers
-- Santana is 4-1, 1.36 in six starts this season. Braves won Lowe's last three starts (3-0, 4.82) scoring 25 runs.
-- Arizona won last four Garland starts (3-0, 2.63).
-- Johnson is 2-1, 1.89 in three home starts, not allowing a run in his last 14 innings at home.

-- Pavano is 2-0, 2.70 in his last two starts.

Cold Pitchers
-- Arroyo is 1-2, 11.05 in his last three starts.
-- Cabrera is 0-2, 8.56 in his last three starts.

-- Floyd is 0-1, 8.81 in his last three starts.

Hot Teams
-- Braves won four of last five games. Mets won their last seven games, outscoring foes 43-20.
-- Reds won seven of their last ten road games.
-- Washington won five of its last seven games. Giants won nine of last twelve home games.

-- None.

Cold Teams
-- Arizona lost three of its last four games.

-- White Sox lost six of their last eight games. Indians lost last four in a row, outscored 23-6- they scored three runs in their last three games.

Totals
-- Three of last four Atlanta games stayed under the total. Mets' last four games all went over.
-- Under is 8-1-2 in last eleven Arizona games.
-- Six of last eight Washington games went over the total.

-- Six of last seven White Sox games stayed under the total.

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[pm530]

MLB


Monday, May 11

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Trend Sheet
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7:05 PM
CHI WHITE SOX vs. CLEVELAND
Chi White Sox are 1-5 SU in their last 6 games on the road
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Chi White Sox's last 6 games on the road
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Cleveland's last 6 games when playing at home against Chi White Sox
Cleveland is 4-2 SU in their last 6 games when playing Chi White Sox

7:10 PM
ATLANTA vs. NY METS
Atlanta is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Atlanta's last 6 games
NY Mets are 6-2 SU in its last 8 games when playing at home against Atlanta
The total has gone OVER in 4 of NY Mets's last 6 games when playing Atlanta

9:40 PM
CINCINNATI vs. ARIZONA
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Cincinnati's last 5 games when playing on the road against Arizona
Cincinnati is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games when playing Arizona
Arizona is 2-6 SU in its last 8 games
The total has gone UNDER in 8 of Arizona's last 11 games

10:15 PM
WASHINGTON vs. SAN FRANCISCO
Washington is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games on the road
Washington is 5-20 SU in its last 25 games on the road
San Francisco is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games when playing at home against Washington
The total has gone OVER in 16 of San Francisco's last 24 games when playing at home against Washington

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[pm530]

MLB


Monday, May 11

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Tips and Trends
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Cincinnati Reds at Arizona Diamondbacks [9:40 PM ET]

Reds: Bronson Arroyo looks to put a forgettable outing behind. After allowing four hits in eight innings of a 4-0 win over Pittsburgh on May 1, Arroyo was tagged for nine runs, seven hits and three walks in just over an inning in Wednesday's 15-3 loss to Milwaukee. The right-hander hopes to bounce back on the road, where he's posted a 1.69 ERA in winning all three starts. He's 1-2 with a 16.34 ERA in three starts in Cincinnati. In his only start against the Diamondbacks last season, Arroyo gave up four runs in five innings of a 6-5 victory, but was not a factor in the decision.

The Reds are 8-2 in the last 10 meetings.
The Under is 40-11-4 in the last 55 meetings.

Key Injuries - 1B Joey Votto (flu) is PROBABLE.
SS Alex Gonzalez (oblique) is QUESTIONABLE.
3B Edwin Encarnacion (wrist) is on the 15-day DL.

PROJECTED SCORE: 6 (Side Play of the Day)

D'backs (-125, O/U 9.5): The D'backs are coming off a win, but have lost six of their last eight. They're just 2-10 after a win this season. Arizona has the majors' worst batting average (.234) and has scored the second-fewest runs (120). Since yielding seven runs in a loss to St. Louis on April 15, the Jon Garland is 2-0 with a 2.30 ERA in his last four outings. In his only career start against the Reds on June 18, 2006, Garland yielded one run and four hits in eight innings of an 8-1 victory for the Chicago White Sox. The Diamondbacks lost four of six to Cincinnati last season and eight of the last 10 meetings.

The Diamondbacks are 2-10 in their last 12 games following a win.
The Diamondbacks are 1-7 in their last 8 games as a home favorite of -110 to -150.

Key Injuries - SS Stephen Drew (hamstring) is on the 15-day DL.

PROJECTED SCORE: 4

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[pm530]

MLB


Monday, May 11

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Hot lines: Today’s best MLB bets
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Chicago White Sox at Cleveland Indians (-126, 10.5)

The season just keeps getting worse and worse for the Cleveland Indians. The same club that was favored to win the AL Central division by many, own the worst record (11-21) in the majors.

The Tribe’s woeful pitching (5.88 team earned run average) is largely responsible for the disappointing start, but manager Eric Wedge says the problem is more widespread.

“I think that’s what you’re seeing with this club now,” Wedge told the Akron Beacon Journal following a 4-0 loss to the Tigers Saturday night. “It’s one area or another. You’re seeing different areas of the club struggle on different days. We need to put it together and become more consistent.’

Wedge’s squad hosts the White Sox after losing three straight to the Tigers over the weekend. Chicago is enduring a slump of its own.

Ozzie Guillen’s boys have dropped six of their last eight and registered just four runs in a three-game series with the Texas Rangers.

Expect the Indians to hit Sox starting pitcher Gavin Floyd hard and take the series opener.

Pick: Cleveland


Atlanta Braves at New York Mets (-196, 7)

Johan Santana never ceases to amaze. The Mets ace pitched seven shutout innings while striking out 10 in a 1-0 win over the Philadelphia Phillies in his last outing.

The performance lowered the lefty’s ERA to 0.91 and increased his win-loss record to 4-1. The former Cy Young winner faces a Braves team that’s won four of its last five contests.

Atlanta’s bats are once again potent thanks to the return of catcher Brian McCann and outfielder Garret Anderson. But the news isn’t all good on the health front.

Braves third baseman Chipper Jones left in the seventh inning of Sunday’s 4-2 victory over the Phillies because of a sore elbow.

“I couldn’t throw across the infield,” Jones, who is now day to day, said following the game. “I’ll see how it feels (Monday). If I can play, I’ll play.”

The Mets’ hitters routinely take the day off whenever Santana toes the rubber. This game should stay well under the seven-run total.

Pick: Under

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[pm530]

MLB


Monday, May 11

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Streaking and Slumping Pitchers
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Streaking

Johan Santana, New York Mets

The Mets' $137 million ace has the NL's best ERA but he's never beaten the Atlanta Braves, a drought he'll hope to end Monday night when New York looks for its eighth straight victory in the opener of a three-game series at Citi Field.

Santana (4-1, 0.91 ERA) signed a six-year, $137.5 million contract extension on Feb. 2, 2008, the final step toward a blockbuster deal that sent him from Minnesota to New York armed with, at the time, the richest deal ever for a pitcher.

Santana has looked to be worth the investment so far for the Mets (17-13). He went 16-7 with a major league-best 2.53 ERA in his first season in New York and has looked even more dominant in 2009, allowing just four earned runs in 39 2-3 innings.

Opponents are batting a minuscule .168 against Santana after he limited Philadelphia to two hits over seven innings on Wednesday, and the left-hander struck out 10 in New York's 1-0 victory.

"He's really, really special," Mets manager Jerry Manuel said. "This is the most impressive I've seen him."

New York hasn't scored much when Santana's been on the hill, totaling 12 runs in six starts. Then again, he hasn't needed much help - Wednesday's win was the two-time Cy Young Award winner's second 1-0 victory.

"With Johan, one run gives you a real good shot at winning," third baseman David Wright told the team's official Web site. "He's been just dominant. You run out of good things to say."

Santana would certainly prefer a few more runs of support as he tries to earn his first career victory against the Braves (15-16), the only team in baseball he's yet to beat. He hasn't pitched poorly versus Atlanta - posting a 2.76 ERA in five starts - but Santana is 0-3.

Jon Garland, Arizona Diamondbacks

Arizona counters with Jon Garland (3-1, 4.03), who allowed three hits in seven shutout innings of a 3-1 win over San Diego on Wednesday.

Since yielding seven runs in a loss to St. Louis on April 15, the right-hander is 2-0 with a 2.30 ERA in his last four outings.

In his only career start against the Reds on June 18, 2006, Garland yielded one run and four hits in eight innings of an 8-1 victory for the Chicago White Sox.


Slumping

Gavin Floyd, Chicago White Sox

Chicago will look to Gavin Floyd (2-2, 6.29) to help snap a four-game slide away from home. Floyd, who hasn't earned a victory since April 19, won both of his starts last season against the Indians.

While going 0-1 in his last three starts, the right-hander has given up 14 earned runs in 15 1-3 innings.

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[pm530]

MLB
Baseball Today


SCOREBOARD

Monday, May 11

Atlanta at N.Y. Mets (7:10 p.m. EDT). Derek Lowe of the Braves takes on Johan Santana of the Mets, who have won seven straight, in a marquee pitching matchup.

STARS

Sunday

-Ken Griffey Jr., Mariners, hit a tying, two-run homer in the eighth inning of Seattle's 5-3 victory over Minnesota.

-Alfonso Soriano, Cubs, hit a towering two-run homer in a four-run third inning to help Chicago beat Milwaukee 4-2.

-Johnny Damon, Yankees, hit a three-run homer in the seventh inning and New York beat Baltimore 5-3.

-Hank Blalock, Rangers, homered twice to lead Texas to a 7-1 win over the Chicago White Sox.

-Casey Kotchman, Braves, had three hits and three RBIs in Atlanta's 4-2 win over Philadelphia.

-Troy Tulowitzki, Rockies, hit a solo homer to lead Colorado to a 3-2 victory over Florida.

-Adam Dunn and Josh Willingham, Nationals, both homered twice in Washington's 10-8 loss to Arizona.

-Miguel Tejada and Carlos Lee, Astros, each drove in four runs to help Houston beat San Diego 12-5.

-Randy Winn, Giants, hit a tiebreaking, two-run single with the bases loaded in the 13th inning and finished with four hits in San Francisco's 7-5 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers.

-Brett Cecil, Blue Jays, yielded five hits over eight impressive innings to earn his first major league victory in Toronto's 5-0 win against Oakland.

BIG NIGHT IN BEANTOWN

Jonathan Papelbon closed out a victorious night for Boston sports by fanning three of Tampa Bay's best hitters with the tying run at third, giving the Red Sox a 4-3 victory over the Rays. The victory capped a big night in Beantown after the Celtics tied their NBA playoff series against Orlando at two games apiece and the Bruins staved off elimination in their NHL playoff series with a win over Carolina in Game 5. The Red Sox also ended a six-series losing streak against the Rays, including last season's ALCS.

BACK IN THE SADDLE

The New York Mets welcomed manager Jerry Manuel back from his one-game suspension with their seventh straight victory. Carlos Beltran, Luis Castillo and Omir Santos each drove in a pair of runs for the Mets, who beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 8-4 and haven't lost since May 2 at Philadelphia. Manuel was back in the New York dugout after serving a suspension for making contact with an umpire Thursday.

A REAL WILD ONE

Colby Rasmus doubled home a run in the 10th inning Sunday, and the St. Louis Cardinals overcame five Cincinnati homers - including two solo shots in the ninth - to beat the Reds 8-7 and salvage the final game of their series. Jerry Hairston Jr. and Micah Owings, the Reds' fifth starter and one of their top pinch hitters, homered in the bottom of the ninth off Ryan Franklin to tie it at 7.

NICE GRAB

Torii Hunter made a leaping, homer-stealing catch in the ninth inning to help the Los Angeles Angels hold off the Kansas City Royals 4-3 on Sunday. Brian Fuentes got his ninth save, with a huge assist to Hunter. The Gold Glove center fielder timed his running jump perfectly, reaching about a foot over the wall in left-center to grab a drive by Miguel Olivo and preserve the one-run lead.

WELCOME TO THE BIGS

Chris Snyder and Eric Byrnes each drove in three runs and the Diamondbacks gave manager A.J. Hinch his first victory. Ryan Roberts had three of the Diamondbacks' season-high 17 hits as Arizona snapped a three-game slide, the last two under Hinch after Bob Melvin was fired.

BAD NEWS

The Kansas City Royals placed All-Star closer Joakim Soria on the 15-day disabled list with a shoulder injury and recalled right-hander Luke Hochevar from Triple-A Omaha. Soria was second in the AL last year with 42 saves. He has seven saves in seven chances this season and is 1-0 with a 2.08 ERA. The Royals said he was diagnosed with a strained right rotator cuff and they were uncertain when he might return.

NOTEWORTHY

Ryan Zimmerman pushed his hitting streak to 28 games with a double and two singles in the Washington Nationals' 10-8 loss at the Arizona Diamondbacks. ... Roy Oswalt pitched six innings to earn his first win of the season in the Houston Astros' 12-5 victory over the San Diego Padres.

UGH

The Cleveland Indians, losers of seven of nine, have the worst record in baseball at 11-21. They lost 5-3 to the Detroit Tigers, who completed a three-game sweep. ... Oakland lost 5-0 to the Toronto Blue Jays and has dropped six of its last eight games. At 11-18 with the AL's worst offense in several categories, the A's have matched their second-worst start since moving to Oakland in 1968. ... Pittsburgh has dropped eight in a row and 12 of 13 after an 11-7 start to the season.

SPEAKING

"I felt like a wide receiver did a slant up the middle and I was the free safety and I took him out. It was a lot of fun. It felt good.'' - Los Angeles Angels center fielder Torii Hunter after making a wall-climbing, homer-stealing catch in the ninth inning of a 4-3 victory over the Kansas City Royals.

SEASONS

May 11

1904 - Cy Young's 23-inning no-hit string ended. The streak included two innings on April 25, six on April 30, a perfect game against the Philadelphia A's on May 5, and six innings today.

1919 - Walter Johnson of the Washington Senators pitched 12 scoreless innings in a duel with Jack Quinn of the New York Yankees at the Polo Grounds. The Big Train allowed only two hits and retired 28 batters in a row. Future football star George Halas, batting leadoff for the Yankees, went 0-for-5, striking out twice.

1919 - Hod Eller of the Cincinnati Reds pitched a no-hitter to beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 6-0. Eller struck out eight and walked three.

1923 - Setting several Pacific Coast League records, Pete Schneider of Vernon hit five homers and a double to knock in 14 runs in a 35-11 romp over Salt Lake City.

1955 - Ernie Banks' grand slam - the first of five on the year - led the Chicago Cubs to a 10-8 victory that snapped the Brooklyn Dodgers' 11-game winning streak.

1963 - Sandy Koufax pitched the second of four career no-hitters to help Los Angeles beat San Francisco 8-0.

1971 - Cleveland pitcher Steve Dunning became the last American League pitcher to hit a grand slam. Dunning's homer off Diego Segui of the Oakland A's gave the Indians a 5-0 lead, but Phil Henningan got the victory as the Indians won 7-5.

1996 - Al Leiter, the wildest pitcher in the American League the previous season, pitched the first no-hitter in Florida's brief history as the Marlins beat the Colorado Rockies 11-0.

1998 - Kerry Wood of the Chicago Cubs set the major league record for strikeouts in consecutive games (33) by fanning 13 Arizona Diamondbacks in a 4-2 victory. The record for strikeouts in two starts had been 32, set by Luis Tiant in 1968 and matched by Nolan Ryan (1974), Dwight Gooden (1984) and Randy Johnson (1997).

2000 - The Milwaukee Brewers beat the Chicago Cubs 14-8 in the longest nine-inning game in National League history - 4 hours, 22 minutes. The teams tied the major league record set by Baltimore and the Yankees on Sept. 5, 1997.

2003 - Rafael Palmeiro of Texas became the 19th player to join the 500-homer club. In a 17-10 win, Palmeiro hit a full-count fastball into the right field stands off Cleveland right-hander David Elder.

Today's birthdays: Roy Corcoran 29; Francisco Cordero 34.

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