Mariners hope to shake offensive woes in Texas

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07/23/2007 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Seattle Mariners hope a visit to hitter-friendly Rangers Ballpark in Arlington will enable them to cure their recent offensive struggles as they open up a four-game series with fellow American League West member Texas this evening.

Seattle was shut out in each of the final two tests of its three-game weekend series at Toronto, including an 8-0 setback in Sunday's finale. The Mariners managed just three hits off Blue Jays ace Roy Halladay on the afternoon, just one day after mustering only three hits in a 1-0 defeat on Saturday.

Felix Hernandez (6-6) wasn't nearly as effective on the mound for Seattle on Sunday, as the young right-hander surrendered six runs over six innings. He struck out seven but issued four walks.

The loss dropped the Mariners two games back of the division-leading Angels in the division standings. Seattle has not dropped three consecutive contests since a six-game slide from June 13-19.

The Mariners will attempt to break out of their funk against a familiar mound opponent tonight. Texas' Kevin Millwood has faced Seattle three times already this season, compiling a 1-1 record with a 5.29 earned run average in those games.

Millwood, meanwhile, will be trying to extend a string of strong July performances. In four starts this month, the burly right-hander has gone 2-1 with a 1.67 ERA and surrendered two earned runs or less on all of those occasions.

The veteran was a hard-luck loser Wednesday in Oakland. Millwood allowed four runs in six innings against the Athletics, but three of them were unearned and he yielded only three hits on the afternoon.

Horacio Ramirez, who is coming off a successful return from the disabled list, will take the mound tonight for Seattle. The former Atlanta Brave limited Baltimore to two runs and five hits and walked none over seven innings to lead the Mariners to a 4-2 victory on July 16. He had been sidelined for nearly two months due to shoulder tendinitis.

Ramirez made his Seattle debut against the Rangers on April 15 and picked up the victory after allowing five runs, only one of which was earned, over six innings. That was his first career start against Texas.

The left-hander has had his problems on the road this season, however. In four starts away from home, Ramirez is 0-2 with a 13.21 ERA in 15 2/3 total innings.

Texas has lost four of its last five games and is mired at the bottom of the AL West standings, 15 1/2 games behind the Angels. The Rangers came up short again last night, dropping an 8-3 decision to Cleveland in Arlington.

Marlon Byrd went 3-for-5 with a triple to lead Texas offensively. Rangers starter Robinson Tejeda (5-9) took the loss after allowing five runs (three earned) and issuing five walks in five innings.

Seattle has won six of eight 2007 matchups with the Rangers, all but one of which have been played at Safeco Field. In the only meeting in Texas, the Mariners came away with a 5-4 win on April 23.

The Mariners are just 9-21 in Arlington since 2004, however.

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NCAA Football Betting : USC's reward: Top spot in Top 25

NEW YORK (AP) -By staying away from the cupcakes, Southern California earned itself a slim new ranking.

No. 1 always seems to fit USC.

Southern California jumped two spots to No. 1 in The Associated Press Top 25 on Tuesday, rewarded by voters for opening the season with a dominant performance on the road against a BCS conference opponent.

Georgia and Ohio State, the preseason Nos. 1 and 2, respectively, started their seasons with glorified scrimmages at home against FCS (formerly I-AA) teams. USC, however, traveled across country to face Virginia and could not have been more impressive in a 52-7 victory.

Georgia fell to No. 2 and Ohio State to No 3.

"We realize that rankings so early in a season are certainly fluid. But rankings do help establish a pecking order for things later in the season," USC coach Pete Carroll said in a statement. "As for moving into the No. 1 spot, it's nice to know that people think highly of our team."

Since reaching No. 1 on Dec. 7, 2003, the final-regular season AP poll of that season, USC has been No. 1 in 39 polls, by far the most of any team during that time.

"Some have said the voters are taking our schedule into consideration," Carroll said. "Our philosophy has always been to schedule outstanding opponents. We need to play challenging games like we just did, traveling across the country to open the season at Virginia. Games like that bring out our best and make us stronger as a team."

The latest voting was close. USC received 21 first-place votes and 1,539 points from the 65-member media panel. Georgia had 20 first-place votes and 1,506 points. Ohio State got 15 first-place votes and 1,497 points.

"I'd say we've evolved as pollsters," said Stewart Mandel of SI.com, who moved USC up to No. 1. "In the past, voters just kind of automatically moved teams up and kept teams where they were if they won."

Georgia beat Georgia Southern 45-21 on Saturday and Ohio State opened with a 43-0 win over Youngstown State.

"There's a bit of a growing backlash for the amount of teams that open with I-AA cupcakes," said Mandel, whose book "Bowls, Polls and Tattered Souls" chronicles college football's controversies. "To see a team [USC] go on the road and play a New Year's Day bowl team from last season, and not only play them but destroy them, how could you not reward that team?"

USC also jumped past Georgia to No. 1 in the USA Today coaches' poll, which has the same top five as the AP poll.

"It's definitely a privilege to be No. 1. But it's not heartbreaking to me if we drop," Georgia offensive lineman Josh Davis said. "It doesn't matter right now what we're ranked. What matters is our next game and right now, that's Central Michigan. The only time the polls matter is in December. That's when the polls matter."

While the Bulldogs opened easy, their schedule ultimately should be as difficult as any team's. Georgia's big nonconference test is at No. 15 Arizona State on Sept. 20. The Bulldogs also face six Southeastern Conference rivals that've been ranked in the first two polls.

As for Ohio State, the Buckeyes play at USC on Sept. 13 before getting into the Big Ten schedule.

But of the teams in this week's top 10, USC and Texas are the only ones that don't play an FCS opponent, and the Trojans are the only team that doesn't play a team from a non-BCS conference.

Get the latest 2009 BCS Championship odds at MySportsbook.com.

The last team to drop from No. 1 after a victory was USC last season. LSU jumped from No. 2 to No. 1 when it beat Tulane 34-9, the same week the Trojans edged Washington 27-24 on the road.

The last preseason No. 1 team to lose the top spot after winning its opening game was Florida in 2001. The Gators beat Marshall 49-14, but preseason No. 2 Miami opened with a 33-7 victory over Penn State and the Hurricanes jumped to No. 1 with Florida slipping to second.

The next four teams in the new Top 25 stayed the same: No. 4 Oklahoma (two first-place votes), No. 5 Florida (five first-place votes), No. 6 Missouri (one first-place vote), No. 7 LSU (one first-place vote) and No. 8 West Virginia.

No. 9 Auburn and No. 10 Texas each moved up a spot, taking advantage of Clemson's big drop. Clemson, ninth in the preseason, fell out after losing 34-10 to Alabama on Saturday.

Also falling out after losses were Virginia Tech, Pittsburgh and Tennessee.

Moving into the rankings were No. 21 Fresno State, No. 22 Utah, No. 23 UCLA and No. 24 South Carolina.

Alabama moved up 11 spots after its big victory over Clemson.

The second 10 started with No. 11 Wisconsin, followed by Texas Tech, Alabama and Kansas. BYU and Arizona State were tied for 15th. Rivals BYU and Utah are both ranked for the first time since 1996.

South Florida was No. 17, ahead of Oregon, Penn State and Wake Forest at No. 20.

The final five were all the teams to move into the ranking, except for Illinois, which dropped four spots and tied South Carolina for No. 24.

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