First place on line in latest Red Sox-Rays skirmish

Baseball Betting Lines

06/04/2008 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Right-handed ace Josh Beckett will try to pitch Boston back into first place tonight, when the second-place Red Sox meet the American League East Division-leading Tampa Bay Rays in the middle test of a three-game series at Fenway Park.

Beckett, a member of the 2003 World Series champion Florida Marlins before heading to Boston prior to the 2006 season, is 4-3 in seven lifetime starts against the Rays with a 3.86 earned run average in 46 2/3 innings.

He's split a pair of meetings with Tampa Bay thus far in 2008, losing a 3-0 verdict on April 27 in St. Petersburg before rebounding with a 12-4 win in a follow-up meeting on May 3 in Boston.

Beckett is 0-1 with a no-decision in his last two overall starts, allowing 11 hits and four runs over 13 innings with three walks and 19 strikeouts.

The Red Sox trimmed Tampa Bay's first-place margin to one-half game on Tuesday night, scoring four times in the sixth inning to erase a one-run deficit en route to a 7-4 triumph.

Mike Lowell and J.D. Drew homered for Boston, which got a win from youngster Justin Masterson (2-0) in just his third major-league start and save No. 17 on the season from closer Jonathan Papelbon.

The victory was the 11th in a row at Fenway Park for the Red Sox, who haven't lost at home since May 1.

Matt Garza (4-2) took the loss for the Rays, who got home runs from Akinori Iwamura and Carlos Pena.

Right-hander Edwin Jackson goes for the Rays tonight in his third meeting of the season with Boston.

The 24-year-old got a no-decision after allowing just five hits and a run in seven innings of Tampa Bay's 2-1 win over Boston on April 26, then dropped a 7-3 verdict on May 2 while surrendering nine hits and six runs in four innings.

Jackson was hit hard in his most recent start, allowing 10 hits and four runs over six innings of a 5-1 loss to the Chicago White Sox on Thursday. His last win came May 24 against Baltimore, when he pitched five innings and allowed four hits and three runs in an 11-4 Rays win.

He is 2-2 in nine lifetime games against Boston with a 5.50 ERA in 37 2/3 innings.

Boston has now won four of seven versus Tampa Bay so far this year, and the Rays have won just five times in their last 32 visits to Boston.

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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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