Arizona's Edwin Jackson no-hits Rays

Baseball Betting Lines

06/26/2010 -

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) -Edwin Jackson had a chance to finish the ugliest of the no-hitters in this the Year of the Pitcher, and nothing was going to stop of him.

Not Arizona manager A.J. Hinch. Certainly not the Tampa Bay Rays.

Barreling ahead despite a soaring pitch count, Jackson tossed the fourth no-hitter of the season Friday night, beating his former team 1-0 despite walking eight, hitting a batter and watching another reach base on an error.

It took an astounding 149 pitches - most in the majors in five years - to complete the second no-hitter in Arizona history.

``We talked every inning after about the sixth because I was checking on him. It's such a complicated situation with the game in the balance and him chasing a no-hitter,'' Hinch said.

``He kept saying he was fine and, `I'm not coming out, I'm not coming out, I'm not coming out.' As the momentum built and the situation grew, it was pretty evident he had an extra gear. It's something to celebrate.''

All but one of Jackson's walks came in the first three innings, but the Rays still were no-hit for the third time in less than a year, including perfect games by Dallas Braden at Oakland on May 9 and Mark Buehrle at Chicago last July 23.

Colorado's Ubaldo Jimenez no-hit Atlanta on April 17 and Philadelphia's Roy Halladay tossed a perfect game at Florida on May 29. Detroit's Armando Galarraga lost his perfect game with two outs in the ninth on a blown call by umpire Jim Joyce.

``It's one of those moments where I tell him I'm not coming out until I give up a hit or a home run. You want to skip my next start, that's fine. Give me an extra day, that's fine,'' Jackson said.

``It's one of those opportunities that doesn't come everyday. And for me to come out of that game without giving up a hit, it would have been what if. What if I would have stayed in. I'm glad it didn't have to be a what if situation.''

Jason Bartlett grounded to shortstop Stephen Drew for the final out and Jackson's teammates mobbed him after the improbable feat.

Jackson, who entered the game with a 5.05 ERA, is 43-45 in eight seasons. He was an All-Star last year for Detroit before being traded to Arizona in the offseason in a three-team trade with the Yankees that included Curtis Granderson.

Two years ago, the 26-year-old right-hander matched a Tampa Bay franchise record with 14 wins to help the Rays make an improbable run to the World Series.

``It's one of those bittersweet moments. You throw a no-hitter and it's against your old team. At least it's with a crowd that you've had accomplishment with,'' said Jackson who was hit with a pie in the face by a teammate during an on-field interview before receiving a beer shower heading into the clubhouse.

The crowd of 18,918 stood and applauded the first no-hitter at Tropicana Field in the relatively short history of the Rays, who like the Diamondbacks began play in 1998.

Randy Johnson has the only other no-hitter in Arizona history, a perfect game at Atlanta on May 18, 2004.

Adam LaRoche homered off Jeff Niemann (6-2) in the second inning, all the support Jackson would need.

``He's a great athlete and a great kid. He's one of the very few who can do that,'' Tampa Bay manager Joe Maddon said, noting Jackson's ability to continue to pitch well despite a high pitch count.

``We had so many guys on base,'' Rays center fielder B.J. Upton said, ``nobody knew it was a no-hitter until the seventh.''

Jackson (5-6) walked the bases loaded in the third but was bailed out by a stellar play by third baseman Mark Reynolds, who spun around to throw out Ben Zobrist at home plate. Hank Blalock then grounded out to end the inning.

Reynolds made another big play on a sharp line drive by Bartlett in the seventh. Earlier in the at-bat Bartlett hit a dribbler that hung close to the third base line before rolling foul in front of the bag.

In the eighth, Miguel Montero threw out pinch-runner Carl Crawford trying to steal second after Carlos Pena reached on an error by Drew.

Jackson was so wild and the pitch count unusually high that the Diamondbacks had relievers warming up from the sixth inning on.

``All's well that ends well.'' Hinch said. ``We stopped counting at about 115.''

No one had thrown that many pitches in a nine-inning game since June 3, 2005, when Washington's Livan Hernandez threw 150 against the Marlins.

Jackson pitched for the Rays from 2006-08. His only other shutout in 126 career starts came for Tampa Bay in 2007.

``He was a big part of our success and a great guy in the clubhouse,'' Upton said, adding Jackson seemed as strong as the end as he did in the beginning.

``For him to have thrown that many pitches and still have 95 (mph) in the tank at the end says a lot about him.''

Jackson's eight walks were a career high - he struck out six. In 2001, A.J. Burnett walked a record nine in a no-hitter for Florida against San Diego.

In the ninth, Jackson struck out B.J. Upton on three pitches. After Blalock flied to left, Jackson walked pinch hitter Willy Aybar before getting the final out for his 149th pitch.

NOTES: Jackson's performance overshadowed the first meeting between brothers B.J. and Justin Upton, who despite being relatively close in age had never competed with or against each other at any level before Friday. ... The no-hitter was the fourth in interleague play. David Cone (Yankees, 1999), six Astros pitchers (2003) and Justin Verlander (Tigers, 2007) had the others. ... Niemann allowed six hits, struck out eight and walked two in 7 1-3 innings for Tampa Bay.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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Numerous College Basketball teams take final big step to March Madness betting

So, what turned on the lock spigot? Well, after what felt like weeks of teams treading water and slipping back into the bubble muck, a bunch of them finally decided to say "to heck with parity" and won games that should put them into the Big Dance.

Disagree with some of these? Then here's the challenge. Take all of the "should be ins" and make a legit case that each should be ahead of the team that's a lock. Then find 10 more teams that also should be placed in the bracket ahead of that lock team. Not so easy, is it?

If you want more evidence that these locks should be good to go, check out what our research department dug up. Since the NCAA Tournament went to 64 teams in 1985, only six teams from a "big six" conference have had a record of 10-6 or better in conference play and not been selected: Colorado (2004) and Nebraska (1999) from the Big 12, Boston College and Seton Hall (both 2003) from the Big East, Indiana (2005) from the Big Ten and UCLA, which somehow went 12-6 in the Pac-10 in 1988 and still missed out. (Note: Five teams went 11-7 and didn't get in, the latest being last season's Stanford team, which had a brutal nonconference run.)

Yes, 10 conference wins doesn't always mean what it used to because of unbalanced schedules, but this season, it should be plenty good in all but the extreme cases (see: Iowa).

In a way, this is a welcome development, because this is a bubble watch, not a lock watch. We can finally be done with teams like Maryland and Virginia Tech and start really bearing down on at-large battles such as Syracuse-West Virginia and Appalachian State-Georgia Tech.

Interestingly, all the shifting of teams into lock status appears to be more administrative than impactful. The number of remaining available at-larges didn't change one iota. The only difference is that teams on the bubble now have a clearer idea of which team(s) they are competing with for those precious bids.

The Bubble Breakdown
CONFERENCE LOCKS SHOULD BE INS AT-LARGES TAKEN
(assuming no auto bid outlier)
ACC Betting Odds 6 0 5
Big East Betting Odds 5 0 4
Big Ten Betting Odds 2 2 3
Big 12 Betting Odds 3 0 2
Pac-10 Betting Odds 5 1 5
SEC Betting Odds 4 0 3
MVC Betting Odds 1 1 1
MWC Betting Odds 2 1 2
TOTAL 28 5 25

As always, I've tried to be as inclusive as possible while only including teams that would have a reasonable chance of at least being discussed if this were Selection Sunday. If your team's not on here, there's probably a good reason (or three) -- start with the RPI and SOS numbers and work your way down.

(Please remember, per selection committee criteria, that records displayed are Division I only. Next update: Feb. 28)

If you have a legitimate grievance, or just like talking bubble, send an e-mail. Polite ones with fact-based arguments have a much better chance of receiving a response. I apologize in advance if I can't get back to all of you.

Atlantic Coast Conference

Work left to do: Clemson, Florida State, Georgia Tech

The ACC moves to six locks as BC, Va Tech and Virginia all got their 10th ACC wins, which should be more than enough this season, and Maryland rallied past North Carolina to get the final piece the Terps needed. After that? It could end there unless FSU, Ga Tech or Clemson picks things up in a hurry.

 

Work left to do:

Clemson [19-9 (5-9), RPI: 41, SOS: 42] The Tigers are closer to locking up the collapse of the year award (in a good battle with OK State) than they are to grabbing an at-large. Clemson's been very competitive, but there's no really positive way you can spin nine losses in 11 games. They now cannot get to .500 in ACC play and still must head to Virginia Tech in the season finale (after hosting Miami). Unless the Tigers win both and/or do some serious work in the ACC tourney, they very well could be left out. There are no great nonconference wins, but ODU, App State, Miss. State, South Carolina and Georgia are all respectable W's.

Florida State [18-11 (6-9), RPI: 48, SOS: 14] The Noles got thrashed at Maryland to run their losing streak to five, but then pounded NC State at home to set the table for what likely is an elimination game at Miami. You can at least make a case for the Seminoles at 7-9 in ACC play (and some work in the ACC tourney), but 6-10 is not going to cut it. Wins at Duke and over Florida will resonate, but the computer numbers remain questionable. Beyond Florida, FSU thrashed bubble buddy Providence, but there's not a ton beyond those two games that will help. They didn't show well in big-time opportunities against Pitt and Wisconsin (before the Florida win).

Georgia Tech [18-10 (6-8), RPI: 51, SOS: 46] The Jackets beat Wake on Wednesday but couldn't get it done at UVa on Saturday, which could be a crucial loss with UNC and BC (both at home) remaining and 8-8 almost a certain need for at-large consideration. A nonconference win over Memphis helps, but the RPI and SOS are not at-large quality right now; if you combine those with a sub-.500 ACC mark, that could spell NIT for GT.

For more College Basketball betting lines go to MySportsbook.com

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