Red Sox send Lester to the hill against Orioles

Baseball Betting Lines

09/07/2007 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jon Lester tries to win his third straight start this evening when the Boston Red Sox continue their four-game series with the Baltimore Orioles.

Lester got the best of Baltimore in his last start on Sunday, as he allowed a pair of runs and six hits in six innings to run his record to 3-0, while lowering his earned run average to 5.26.

The 23-year-old left-hander is 2-0 in his young career against the Orioles, pitching to a 4.91 ERA in the process.

Baltimore will counter with right-hander Daniel Cabrera, who is 9-14 on the season and lost to Lester and the Red Sox in his last trip to the hill on Sunday. He surrendered three runs and five hits in six innings of that one and walked four batters to up his MLB-leading total to 95.

Cabrera, who is pitching to a 5.06 ERA this season, is just 1-8 lifetime against the Red Sox with a 7.88 ERA in 10 starts.

In the opener of this set on Thursday, Coco Crisp went 3-for-4 with a three- run homer and three runs scored, while Jason Varitek drove in the go-ahead run in the ninth inning to lead Boston to a 7-6 win. Kevin Youkilis went 2-for-3 with a run scored for the AL East-leading Red Sox, who have won five of their last six.

The Red Sox also extended their lead in the East to 6 1/2 games over the idle New York Yankees. They have been in first place for 142 straight games, their longest streak since 1986.

Clay Buchholz (3-0), in his first appearance since throwing a no-hitter on Saturday, earned the win by allowing one hit over three relief innings. Starter Tim Wakefield was charged with nine hits and six runs over 3 2/3 frames in his first no-decision of the season.

Danys Baez (0-6) took the loss by allowing Boston's go-ahead run. O's starter Garrett Olson left after 3 2/3 innings with left forearm tightness, allowing five hits and five runs with three strikeouts and two walks.

Tike Redman had three hits and scored two runs for the Orioles, who have dropped 14 of their last 16 games and 10 in a row at home to match the franchise record first set from August 8-September 6, 1954 in the team's inaugural season in Baltimore. They also dropped 10 straight at home the following season.

Boston has won 10 of its 15 matchups with the Orioles this season and is 35-16 in the series since the start of the 2005 campaign. The Red Sox have also had success in Baltimore, where they have won in 14 of their last 18 visits.

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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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