Rookies to go head-to-head in Mets-Nationals clash

Baseball Betting Lines

09/07/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - With the Washington Nationals already looking ahead to next year -- and maybe even 2012 given Stephen Strasburg's need for Tommy John surgery -- a couple of young players are looking to show the team they can contribute.

No one has been better at that than Danny Espinosa.

The former 2008 third-round pick will aim to show his stuff again tonight, when the Nationals shoot for a season-high fourth straight win in the middle contest of a three-game set with the New York Mets at Nationals Park.

Expected to be Washington's everyday second baseman as early as next season, the 23-year-old made the start at shortstop in Monday's opener and went 4- for-5 with a pair of homers, including a sixth-inning grand slam, and six RBI in a 13-3 rout of New York.

Through five games since his September call-up, Espinosa is 9-for-16 with three homers and 10 RBI.

"These are big weeks for me," Espinosa said. "I just want to play well, play hard and I feel if I stay within myself and play my game, things will go my way."

Ivan Rodriguez added three RBI and Roger Bernadina scored three times for the Nationals, who have won a season high-tying three straight for the second time in less than two weeks.

The Nationals, though, did lose outfielder Willie Harris in the third inning after he crashed hard into the wall trying to make a catch. He came out of the game due to dizziness and is day-to-day.

Josh Thole drove in two runs for the Mets, who have lost six of eight on a 10- game road trip. Mike Pelfrey was tagged for six runs on five hits with three walks over 3 2/3 innings to take the loss.

"We had a 3-0 lead and he was kind of cruising and then kind of lost it," Mets manager Jerry Manuel said of his starter. "Mike Pelfrey is still a young pitcher. He's going to be a tremendous pitcher at some point in his career. I think he'll soon be a guy that will be counted on as someone that you know what you're going to get from him every time out."

Given that both teams are out of the playoff race, it isn't surprising that a pair of starters will be making their major league debuts in this game.

For the Mets, Dillon Gee steps in for an injured Johan Santana, who left his last start on Thursday after five innings due to a pectoral muscle strain.

"It's recommended that he skip this start," Manuel said of Santana on New York's website. "He wants to pitch, he feels like he can pitch through it, but I don't feel it's worth it to push him at this particular time. It's not in the best interest of the organization to push him at this particular point."

Gee, a 24-year-old righty, was 13-8 with a 4.96 earned run average with Triple-A Buffalo and led the International League with 165 strikeouts.

His counterpart tonight is 29-year-old Cuban Yuneski Maya, who signed a four- year deal with the Nationals on July 31 and gave up two runs -- one earned -- over 10 1/3 innings and two starts with Triple-A Syracuse.

The right-hander pitched in the World Baseball Classic in both 2006 and '09 and won Cuba's version of the Cy Young Award during his final season with Pinar Del Rio Vegueros after going 13-4 with a 2.22 ERA and seven complete games.

"I felt good in the minors," Maya told Washington's website. "My arm is at 100 percent, and I feel really good. It's a hard league in Triple-A, with a lot of veteran hitters that are pretty selective. I faced pretty tough hitters, but I felt pretty good."

The Nationals have won eight of 13 versus the Mets this year, including four of seven in Washington.

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Pacific-10 Conference odds

Teams that should be in: Stanford

Oregon and USC get their tickets punched after taking care of business this weekend. Yes, the Trojans' computer numbers aren't great, but there's no way the third-place team in this league is getting nixed. Grudgingly, I added Arizona after consultation with our Bracketologist. I don't know that Arizona will lose its last three (including a Pac-10 quarterfinal game), and even if the Cats do, I still can't see how they'd be left out, given the overall profile. That said, it bears watching, as three more L's would leave them at 18-12 (9-9) and on a 6-11 skid entering the Dance. It would be nice to see the Wildcats get at least one W in the Bay Area next week, as Cincinnati (albeit without Armein Kirkland and with a worse profile) was axed after a similar slide last season. I just couldn't rationalize having some of the other teams as locks and not having Arizona in that category -- there just aren't enough good teams behind the Cats to threaten their spot, it seems. Stanford has its fate in its own hands with the Arizona schools coming to the Farm to close out the regular season next weekend.

Should be in:

Stanford [17-10 (9-7), RPI: 40, SOS: 21] No shame in not getting a win in L.A., but that makes the home game against Arizona State a must-win ahead of what could be an intriguing meeting with Arizona should the Cats lose at Cal. Getting to 11 Pac-10 wins would make Selection Sunday much more comfortable, but 10's probably more than enough this season. The Cardinal have nonconference wins over Texas Tech and at Virginia to lean on, although they also lost badly to Air Force and Santa Clara at home.

Southeastern Conference odds
Work left to do: Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, Mississippi State

It looks more and more possible that no one from the SEC West will make the NCAAs. How weird is that? Tennessee and Vandy move into the locks category after more good work this weekend. Kentucky stays there, although it would be smart for the Cats to handle Georgia at home Wednesday ahead of a trip to the Swamp. Could a disaster scenario (two more L's and a first-round SEC tourney exit) somehow dislodge the Cats despite their incredible computer numbers? Still unlikely, but not worth chancing it.

Work left to do:

Alabama [19-9 (6-8), RPI: 43, SOS: 47] The tough L at Tennessee was understandable, and even created some hope. Unfortunately, that hope was dashed by a home loss to Auburn, which leaves the Tide in some real trouble. There's still no signature win on the profile (no, Kentucky doesn't count), and the computer profile is weakening rapidly. The Tide conceivably could beat Ole Miss and win at Miss. State to get to 8-8 and clinch at least a share of the West crown, but that's probably not enough right now. The Tide will need to do some work in the SEC tourney.

Georgia [16-10 (8-6), RPI: 52, SOS: 23] This is the team with the best chance to make it from this section right now. The Bulldogs rebounded from a terrible performance at Ole Miss to beat down Miss. State. Now they are at Kentucky (king of the RPI 51-100 win) and home to Tennessee. That would be worth a lot of computer points to get both (which is doable), as both teams are in the top 11 in RPI. Finishing at least 9-7 is an absolute must, and I would feel much better about the Dawgs' chances if they got both to get to 10 SEC wins. They also beat Gonzaga, but lost to ACC bubblers Georgia Tech and Clemson.

Mississippi [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 63, SOS: 79] Like everyone else in this division, Ole Miss gacked up a chance to stake a claim, losing by double figures at South Carolina. Even 9-7 likely is not nearly enough with a nonconference profile devoid of anything notable.

Mississippi State [16-11 (7-7), RPI: 66, SOS: 37] With a chance to get in the mix, these Bulldogs were leashed by their Georgia counterparts. Could they get to 9-7? I guess -- although winning at Arkansas, then beating Alabama is no lock -- but would that mean all that much for a team with this overall profile? Probably not. There's nothing of note (on the good side) in the nonconference profile.

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