Rays sweep Red Sox
Baseball Betting Lines
07/03/2008 -
Tampa, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jason Bartlett's two-run single capped a six-run
seventh inning, as the red-hot Tampa Bay Rays rallied to top the defending
world champion Boston Red Sox, 7-6, and complete a three-game sweep at
Tropicana Field.
Tampa Bay entered this set with a slim half-game edge on the Red Sox for the
top spot in the AL East, but the upstart Rays have widened the margin to 3
1/2 games with their seventh sweep of the season.
"It reaffirms to us that we can beat these guys," Tampa Bay manager Joe Maddon
said of the sweep. "Now we need to do it at Fenway."
Evan Longoria was 3-for-4 and knocked in three runs for the Rays, owners of
the best record of baseball at 52-32. Carl Crawford went 3-for-4 with a walk
and a run scored, while Akinori Iwamura and Carlos Pena also drove in a run
for Tampa Bay, which has won four in a row.
Scott Kazmir went just five innings and allowed four runs on seven hits with
four walks against three strikeouts. The comeback made a winner out of Gary
Glover (1-2), who allowed a run in 1 2/3 innings of work. Dan Wheeler recorded
the final four outs to notch his third save of the season.
Dustin Pedroia fell a single shy of the cycle, going 4-for-5 with a home run,
a triple and two doubles for Boston, which has dropped five straight, matching
a season-high. Pedroia also drove in two runs and scored three times.
J.D. Drew, who was selected as the Sharp American League Player of the
Month for June, finished 2-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored. He batted .337
(31-for-92) with 12 homers and 27 RBI in 26 June games. Brandon Moss also had
two hits for the Red Sox, who have lost seven in a row at Tropicana Field.
Daisuke Matsuzaka lasted only five innings for Boston, scattering one run on
two hits with five walks and five strikeouts. Manny Delcarmen gave up three
runs on three hits and failed to retire a batter in the ill-fated seventh.
Craig Hansen (1-3) surrendered three runs and didn't record out to absorb the
loss.
"They (Rays) took it to us, they beat us three games in a row," Boston manager
Terry Francona said. "We came here to win, we didn't do a very good job."
The Rays scored six times in the seventh to erase a 4-1 deficit. Delcarmen
started the frame, relieving Hideki Okajima, who had tossed a scoreless sixth,
and gave up a lead-off double to Bartlett, who swiped third and scored on
Iwamura's infield single.
After Crawford punched a single to right, Hansen was summoned from the bullpen
and promptly issued walks to B.J. Upton and Pena, which allowed Iwamura to
cross the plate. Longoria then gave Tampa Bay the lead with a two-run double
that rolled all the way to the warning track in right-center.
David Aardsma was called on to stifle the rally and retired Willy Aybar for
the first out of the inning. After intentionally walking Dioner Navarro, he
was lifted for Javier Lopez, who fanned pinch-hitter Gabe Gross. Bartlett then
drove in two more runs when he lined a single up the middle. Iwamura went down
on strikes to end the assault.
Boston got a run back in the eighth, as Julio Lugo drew a one-out walk and
came around to score on a two-out double by Pedroia.
In the ninth, Manny Ramirez reached first on Bartlett's throwing error, moved
to third when Mike Lowell slapped a single to right and scurried home on Kevin
Youkilis' sacrifice fly to cut the deficit to 7-6. Lowell was then caught
stealing before Jason Varitek stared at strike three to end the game.
The Red Sox grabbed a 1-0 lead in the opening frame on Pedroia's ninth home
run of the season, a one-out blast to left field.
Tampa Bay quickly evened the score in the bottom of the first. Upton reached
on a fielder's choice, stole second and, after Pena worked a two-out walk,
scored on an RBI single by Longoria.
With one gone in third, Pedroia smashed a triple to center field and later
scored when Ramirez grounded out.
Boston tacked on two more runs in the fifth. The inning began with Pedroia
slicing a double into the right-field corner. Drew then lined a triple to
plate the third run of the game for the visiting squad. After Kazmir fanned
Ramirez and got Lowell to ground out, the lefty intentionally walked Youkilis
before uncorking a wild pitch, which made it a 4-1 game.
Game Notes
According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the Rays are the first team other than
the Yankees or the Red Sox to lead the AL East in July or later since 2000,
when the Blue Jays held the top spot through games of July 6 before finishing
third...Tampa Bay sent 11 men to the plate in the seventh...The Rays are an
amazing 33-13 at home...Pedroia is riding a 10-game hitting streak...Tampa Bay
recorded its fourth sellout of the season and 12th in the history of Tropicana
Field...The home team has won all 12 clashes in this year's season series
between the Red Sox and Rays...Tampa Bay will remain home and open a four-game
set against Kansas City on Thursday...The Red Sox will close their 10-game
road trip with four games at Yankee Stadium beginning on Thursday.
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Phillies continued their dominance over the Braves with a 7-3 win over Atlanta
in the
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Cameron's single in ninth lifts Brewers past D-Backs >>
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San Francisco, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mike Fontenot's solo home run in the top
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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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