Buchholz, Red Sox complete sweep of Dodgers

Baseball Betting Lines

06/20/2010 - Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Clay Buchholz pitched effectively into the seventh to pick up his 10th win of the season, and the Red Sox shut down the Dodgers, 2-0, to complete a three-game interleague sweep.

Buchholz (10-4) yielded just three hits and three walks while striking out four in 6 2/3 scoreless innings. The 25-year-old right-hander has pitched to a 1.62 earned-run average over his last eight starts.

Daniel Bard recorded four outs behind Buchholz, and Jonathan Papelbon closed out Boston's 8-1 homestand in the ninth.

David Ortiz and Kevin Youkilis each drove in a run, while Dustin Pedroia, who had the game-winning single on Saturday, went 3-for-4 with a triple and a run scored for the Sox, whose six-game win streak is their longest of the season.

Hiroki Kuroda (6-5) was solid in seven innings of work, giving up a mere two runs on six hits and a walk to go with nine strikeouts for Los Angeles, which has dropped four straight.

Buchholz wiggled out of a bases-loaded, one-out jam in the first by fanning Garret Anderson and getting Casey Blake on a comebacker to the mound.

Pedroia got the Red Sox on the board in the bottom half, singling with one out and quickly stealing second. Russell Martin's throw to second got past the bag, and with the infield shifted for Ortiz, Pedroia alertly advanced to an unoccupied third.

Ortiz was intentionally walked, and Youkilis' check-swing dribbler down the third base line stayed fair, bringing in Pedroia for a 1-0 lead.

The Sox got another run in the third, as Marco Scutaro singled, moved to third on Pedroia's base hit and scored on an Ortiz sacrifice fly to right.

Buchholz induced a double-play lineout off the bat of Matt Kemp to end the second and retired 10 straight before tiring in the seventh.

Anderson led off with a ground-rule double to right-center, and Buchholz was pulled after plunking Blake DeWitt with two outs. Daniel Bard entered and needed just one pitch to get Jamey Carroll on a weak grounder to short.

James Loney flied out to the warning track in left to end the eighth, and Boston wasted Pedroia's leadoff triple in the bottom half.

Papelbon retired Anderson, Blake and Martin in succession in the ninth to record his 16th save of the season.

Game Notes

Ramirez went 2-for-3 with a walk and finished the series 5-for-12 with a solo homer in his return to Boston, which traded the slugger to LA prior to the trade deadline in 2008...Buchholz joined New York's Phil Hughes and Tampa Bay's David Price as the American League's only 10-game winners. All three pitchers are 25-years-old or younger...Red Sox outfielder J.D. Drew sat out for a second straight game with an injured hamstring...DeWitt left the game after getting hit in the seventh.

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American Idol odds : Blake Lewis the Early Standout

An important American Idol betting lines recap from February 20 Guys episode. The 12 men came out flat overall with Blake Lewis appearing to have the early edge after the first hour and a half.

Rudy - was quite good singing "Free Ride" to start off.  Randy was not impressed though.  Paula thought he started off fantastic.  "Never had anyone stop off so lively" said Paula but Simon (who does not like Rudy) does not feel he has a distinct voice and was not impressed either. 

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Tomorrow night, the ladies perform and I sure hope they do a better job than the boys.  Check out all the American Idol betting odds here.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.

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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