Hits Of Beachy Red

Baseball Betting Lines

Against the Chicago White Sox earlier in the week Hammel permitted just two runs on six hits and a pair of walks over seven innings, yet he didn't post a single strikeout for the first time in 2011.

 

Despite the team's dismal first half of the season, the Royals have actually been hitting the ball fairly well through 83 games, placing seventh in the majors in batting average at .262 entering play on Sunday. Unfortunately, KC hurlers have failed to make timely hitting stand up game after game due to the fact that they have one of the highest ERAs in baseball at the moment (4.58).

 

Beckett has faced the Astros six times and is 2-2 with a 2.20 ERA.

 

Boston put itself in position for a sweep on Saturday, as Darnell McDonald's three-run homer came during a four-run eighth inning in the Red Sox' 10-4 win. Adrian Gonzalez, Kevin Youkilis and Dustin Pedroia all collected three hits and drove in a run apiece for Boston, which has won three straight.

 

Hunter Pence finished 3-for-4 with a home run and two RBI for the Astros, who have dropped 10 of their last 12. Michael Bourn, though, tied a career high with four hits and scored pair of runs in the loss.

 

Houston will hand the ball to rookie Jordan Lyles, who at 0-3 is still searching for his first big league win. Lyles absorbed the loss on Tuesday against the Texas Rangers, as he was hit for five runs and 10 hits in six innings, upping his ERA to 4.75.

 

This will be his first-ever appearance against the Red Sox.

 

"I felt good," Beachy said. "I'm just a little upset with myself for wasting too many pitches. I'd like to get deeper into games."

 

The undrafted Beachy, who has never faced the O's, has compiled 81 strikeouts through the first 13 starts and 71 1/3 innings of his career.

 

Baltimore, meanwhile, will counter with an impressive rookie of its own in lefty Zach Britton, who has fallen on some hard times after a sizzling start to his big league career. Britton opened the year by winning five of his first six starts, but has gone just 1-5 in 10 starts since.

 

"[The coaching staff and I] look at the last couple of starts, and there's a handful I could have won easily," said Britton. "We think about that. It's not that I haven't pitched well. There are games that I haven't pitched well at all and deserved to lose. But at the same time, I knew throughout some of these stretches, I threw the ball [well]. It just hasn't worked out for me in the win-loss column."

 

Mark Reynolds belted a pair of homers and Nick Markakis added a solo shot for the Orioles, who have lost five straight.

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Big East Conference odds

Work left to do: Villanova, Syracuse, DePaul, West Virginia, Providence

Notre Dame and Louisville appear to have done enough to make the move, so we'll make them locks. The Cardinals, despite a modest RPI, are trending way up and have clinched at least a tie for third in the Big East, which should be more than enough with their pair of big road wins. Villanova got back to .500 and gets back to more solid footing. Syracuse got a very important road win and crippled a fellow contender in the process. West Virginia's fate could be in its hands Tuesday at Pitt.

Work left to do:

Villanova [18-9 (7-7), RPI: 21, SOS: 5] Pounded Rutgers to get back to .500. If Cats can get their last two (at UConn, vs. Syracuse), that should be enough with strong computer numbers and a host of wins away from The Pavilion. The Cats have beaten Texas and swept the Big 5 (never easy in Philly), but have a couple of losses to bubble teams (Xavier, Drexel), too. I still think they'll be OK, possibly even at 8-8.

Syracuse [20-8 (9-5), RPI: 53, SOS: 62] History says 10 wins will be plenty, but it might be hard for the Orange to get that last one with a final two vs. G'town, which is trying to win the league title, and at Villanova, which will be desperate for a W. The relative lack of nonconference heft and the weak computer numbers are still concerns, but the Orange have won four in a row and got a very, very big win at Providence on Saturday.

DePaul [16-12 (8-7), RPI: 54, SOS: 18] Beat Cincy and should get past South Florida to get to 9-7, but then what? They have beaten Kansas and Cal (right after the DeVon Hardin injury) earlier this season, but also have lost to Bradley and Purdue, among others. They'll likely need a couple of BE tourney wins, too, but we'll see ...

West Virginia [19-7 (8-6), RPI: 58, SOS: 125] The game at Pitt on Tuesday night could decide the Mountaineers' fate (barring a deep tournament run). They can still get to 9-7 in the Big East without it by beating Cincinnati, but the nine wins would be against UConn, Villanova, St. John's, South Florida, DePaul, Rutgers, Seton Hall twice and the Bearcats. Beating bubble foes is fine, but where's the beef? Outside of beating PG-less UCLA in nonconference play (still a top quality win), there's not a lot to fall back on (besides maybe NC State). WVU vs. Syracuse would be an interesting debate, as the teams don't play in the Big East regular season. WVU has the best win, but Cuse has played the much better schedule.

Providence [17-10 (7-7), RPI: 70, SOS: 33] The Friars likely saw their at-large hopes die at home in the four-point loss to Syracuse, barring an unexpected run to the Big East semis or more. The RPI, bad already, won't be helped by playing St. John's and South Florida in the final two league games.

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