Buehrle helps White Sox complete second straight shutout of Royals
Baseball Betting Lines
08/14/2008 -
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mark Buehrle threw seven shutout innings, and
Jermaine Dye finished with a double and run batted in for Chicago, which shut
out Kansas City for the second game in a row, 4-0.
On Tuesday, in the opener of this three-game set, Javier Vazquez blanked the
Royals for eight innings. Buehrle (10-10) followed that performance by giving
up just five hits while walking none and striking out five. Over his past two
outings, both wins, Buehrle has allowed just one run in 14 innings pitched.
"I thought he had one of his better fastballs that he's had this season,"
White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen said of Buehrle. "He wasn't dominant, but he
was darn good."
Paul Konerko and Ken Griffey, Jr. each finished 1-for-3 with an RBI for the
White Sox, who have won three of four. Chicago also maintained its half-game
lead over Minnesota in the AL Central, as the Twins beat the Yankees earlier
Wednesday.
Luke Hochevar (6-11) got tagged with the loss despite a solid start in which
he allowed three runs on five hits in seven frames. The former number one
overall pick in the 2006 MLB Draft struck out four and walked one in the loss.
Billy Butler had two of the five hits for Kansas City, which has lost six of
seven.
"I thought Luke pitched extremely well after the first inning," Royals manager
Trey Hillman said. "He really had trouble using all of his pitches in the
first. After that I thought he was outstanding. They pitched two outstanding
ballgames against us. It's hard to win when you don't score any runs."
The White Sox backed Buehrle with two runs in the first inning. Orlando
Cabrera led off with a single and went to second on Tony Pena's throwing
error. A.J. Pierzynski then sacrificed Cabrera to third, and Dye doubled to
center to bring the run in. Later, Griffey singled to plate Dye for a 2-0
lead.
Consecutive singles from Juan Uribe and Chris Getz began the home fifth,
putting runners on the corners. A ground out put them both in scoring position
for Pierzynski, who drove in Uribe with a ground out to short.
Buehrle, meanwhile, worked out of a few jams. After putting runners in scoring
position with two outs in the second, he struck out John Buck to end the
threat. In the following frame, Kansas City again had runners in scoring
position, with one out -- but Buehrle fanned David DeJesus and Jose Guillen to
escape.
The Chicago starter set the Royals down in order in the fifth, sixth and
seventh before Octavio Dotel took over for the eighth and worked a 1-2-3
inning.
Konerko's RBI single in the home eighth plated Pierzynski for the final White
Sox run, and Bobby Jenks was perfect in the ninth to close out the game.
Game Notes
The White Sox last won consecutive shutouts on April 12-13, both against
Detroit...On Wednesday, Chicago agreed to terms with infielder Gordon Beckham
on a minor league contract. Beckham was the club's first-round pick and the
eighth overall selection of the 2008 draft. The University of Georgia product
hit .411 with 28 homers and 77 runs batted in this past season...Hochevar has
lost his past three starts.
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Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Daniel Murphy clubbed a two-run homer and
added an RBI single, as the New York Mets -- aided by an eight-run third
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against
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install
<< Cardinals hang on to edge Marlins
Miami, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Troy Glaus collected a game-high four hits and
finished with an RBI and a run scored to lead the St. Louis Cardinals over the
Florida Marlins, 6-4, in the third game of a four-game set at Dolphin Stadium.
Jaso
<< D-Backs reinstate Slaten from DL, option Buckner
Denver, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Arizona Diamondbacks reinstated left-handed
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<< Wells' slam helps Blue Jays hold off Tigers
Detroit, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Vernon Wells clubbed his fifth career grand
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staved off a late rally to edge the Detroit Tigers, 4-3, in the third
install
Blazers' G Roy to undergo surgery >>
Portland, OR (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Portland Trail Blazers guard Brandon Roy will
have arthroscopic knee surgery on Thursday to repair a tear in the meniscus of
his left knee, the club announced Wednesday.
An MRI taken Tuesday revealed the tear
The San Jose Earthquakes >>
Waived defender/midfielder Amir Lowery.
Oklahoma City >>
Acquired forward Joe Smith from Cleveland and forward Desmond Mason from Milwaukee in exchange for forward Adrian Griffin and guard Luke Ridnour.
Izturis leaves after injuring thumb >>
Anaheim, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim shortstop Maicer
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the ninth with an injury to his thumb.
Yuniesky Betancourt hit a grounder towards
Zobrist, Rays edge A's >>
Oakland, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ben Zobrist hit the go-ahead RBI double in the
seventh and the Rays took the second test of their three-game series against
the Athletics, 3-2, at McAfee Coliseum.
Andy Sonnanstine (12-6) threw his third
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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