A-Rod goes deep twice as Yanks come back to rout Bucs

Baseball Betting Lines

06/10/2007 - Bronx, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Alex Rodriguez homered twice and Bobby Abreu finished 4-for-4 with four runs scored and three runs batted in, leading the New York Yankees to a 13-6 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates and a sweep of the three-game interleague series at Yankee Stadium.

Rodriguez, who finished with four runs scored, clubbed a three-run homer in the fourth to erase a one-run deficit and added a two-run shot in the sixth. He has four multi-homer games this season and 48 in his career.

Abreu stroked a double, a triple and two singles to go along with a walk. Hideki Matsui added two runs batted in and Derek Jeter scored twice for New York, which has won a season-high six in a row and nine of its last 11 to claw within one game of the .500 mark (30-31).

Sean Henn (2-0) was credited with the win in two scoreless innings of relief. Yankee starter Tyler Clippard was roughed up for six runs on six hits and three walks in just 3 2/3 innings.

Former Yankee Shawn Chacon (2-1) took the loss in his return to the Bronx. The right-hander, who was an important acquisition for New York during the 2005 season, was shelled for seven runs on eight hits in just 3 1/3 innings.

Jose Bautista, Jose Castillo and Chris Duffy each drove in two runs for the Pirates, who have lost three straight and nine of their last 12.

The Yankees trailed 6-5 after Pittsburgh scored four in the top of the fourth, but New York regained the lead with one swing of the bat. After Jeter and Abreu each singled with one out to chase Chacon, Rodriguez greeted Josh Sharpless with a blast over the wall in left field for his 23rd home run of the season and an 8-6 advantage.

Henn worked in and out of trouble in the fifth, loading the bases with one out before fanning Ryan Doumit and getting Castillo on a grounder.

Rodriguez was at it again in the sixth, extending the Yankee lead to 10-6 with a two-run homer over the wall in right field, and New York tacked on three more in the seventh on an RBI single by Wil Nieves and a two-run double by Abreu.

Luis Vizcaino and Scott Proctor combined for 2 1/3 scoreless innings before Mike Myers got the last three outs. New York's bullpen combined for 5 1/3 innings of three-hit relief.

The Yankees scored three times in the first. Johnny Damon led off with a base hit and took second as Jeter bounced back to the mound. Abreu then laced a run-scoring triple to the gap in left-center field and Rodriguez drew a walk before Matsui doubled to left-center. Abreu scored easily and Rodriguez was safe on a close play at the plate.

Pittsburgh answered with two in the second. Adam LaRoche drew a walk to start the inning and raced to third on a double by Doumit before Castillo singled up the middle to chase home both runners.

New York added two in the third. Abreu led off with a single and stole second before Rodriguez walked and Matsui dropped in a base hit to load the bases. After Robinson Cano lined out, Melky Cabrera bounced an infield single over the pitcher's mound to score one run and Miguel Cairo followed with a fly ball to deep center field to knock in another for a 5-2 edge.

The Pirates responded with four in the fourth. Xavier Nady drew a one-out walk, Doumit singled and Castillo walked to load the bases for Duffy, who drilled a double just inside the bag at first to score two runs. Bautista followed with a base hit to score two more, giving Pittsburgh a 6-5 lead and chasing Clippard from the game.

Game Notes

The Yankees swept a series for just the third time this season, having taken three from Cleveland in April and three at Texas in May...New York continues interleague play Tuesday when the Arizona Diamondbacks visit for the start of a three-game series...Pittsburgh returns home on Tuesday to open a three-game interleague set with Texas.

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Numerous College Basketball teams take final big step to March Madness betting

So, what turned on the lock spigot? Well, after what felt like weeks of teams treading water and slipping back into the bubble muck, a bunch of them finally decided to say "to heck with parity" and won games that should put them into the Big Dance.

Disagree with some of these? Then here's the challenge. Take all of the "should be ins" and make a legit case that each should be ahead of the team that's a lock. Then find 10 more teams that also should be placed in the bracket ahead of that lock team. Not so easy, is it?

If you want more evidence that these locks should be good to go, check out what our research department dug up. Since the NCAA Tournament went to 64 teams in 1985, only six teams from a "big six" conference have had a record of 10-6 or better in conference play and not been selected: Colorado (2004) and Nebraska (1999) from the Big 12, Boston College and Seton Hall (both 2003) from the Big East, Indiana (2005) from the Big Ten and UCLA, which somehow went 12-6 in the Pac-10 in 1988 and still missed out. (Note: Five teams went 11-7 and didn't get in, the latest being last season's Stanford team, which had a brutal nonconference run.)

Yes, 10 conference wins doesn't always mean what it used to because of unbalanced schedules, but this season, it should be plenty good in all but the extreme cases (see: Iowa).

In a way, this is a welcome development, because this is a bubble watch, not a lock watch. We can finally be done with teams like Maryland and Virginia Tech and start really bearing down on at-large battles such as Syracuse-West Virginia and Appalachian State-Georgia Tech.

Interestingly, all the shifting of teams into lock status appears to be more administrative than impactful. The number of remaining available at-larges didn't change one iota. The only difference is that teams on the bubble now have a clearer idea of which team(s) they are competing with for those precious bids.

The Bubble Breakdown
CONFERENCE LOCKS SHOULD BE INS AT-LARGES TAKEN
(assuming no auto bid outlier)
ACC Betting Odds 6 0 5
Big East Betting Odds 5 0 4
Big Ten Betting Odds 2 2 3
Big 12 Betting Odds 3 0 2
Pac-10 Betting Odds 5 1 5
SEC Betting Odds 4 0 3
MVC Betting Odds 1 1 1
MWC Betting Odds 2 1 2
TOTAL 28 5 25

As always, I've tried to be as inclusive as possible while only including teams that would have a reasonable chance of at least being discussed if this were Selection Sunday. If your team's not on here, there's probably a good reason (or three) -- start with the RPI and SOS numbers and work your way down.

(Please remember, per selection committee criteria, that records displayed are Division I only. Next update: Feb. 28)

If you have a legitimate grievance, or just like talking bubble, send an e-mail. Polite ones with fact-based arguments have a much better chance of receiving a response. I apologize in advance if I can't get back to all of you.

Atlantic Coast Conference

Work left to do: Clemson, Florida State, Georgia Tech

The ACC moves to six locks as BC, Va Tech and Virginia all got their 10th ACC wins, which should be more than enough this season, and Maryland rallied past North Carolina to get the final piece the Terps needed. After that? It could end there unless FSU, Ga Tech or Clemson picks things up in a hurry.

 

Work left to do:

Clemson [19-9 (5-9), RPI: 41, SOS: 42] The Tigers are closer to locking up the collapse of the year award (in a good battle with OK State) than they are to grabbing an at-large. Clemson's been very competitive, but there's no really positive way you can spin nine losses in 11 games. They now cannot get to .500 in ACC play and still must head to Virginia Tech in the season finale (after hosting Miami). Unless the Tigers win both and/or do some serious work in the ACC tourney, they very well could be left out. There are no great nonconference wins, but ODU, App State, Miss. State, South Carolina and Georgia are all respectable W's.

Florida State [18-11 (6-9), RPI: 48, SOS: 14] The Noles got thrashed at Maryland to run their losing streak to five, but then pounded NC State at home to set the table for what likely is an elimination game at Miami. You can at least make a case for the Seminoles at 7-9 in ACC play (and some work in the ACC tourney), but 6-10 is not going to cut it. Wins at Duke and over Florida will resonate, but the computer numbers remain questionable. Beyond Florida, FSU thrashed bubble buddy Providence, but there's not a ton beyond those two games that will help. They didn't show well in big-time opportunities against Pitt and Wisconsin (before the Florida win).

Georgia Tech [18-10 (6-8), RPI: 51, SOS: 46] The Jackets beat Wake on Wednesday but couldn't get it done at UVa on Saturday, which could be a crucial loss with UNC and BC (both at home) remaining and 8-8 almost a certain need for at-large consideration. A nonconference win over Memphis helps, but the RPI and SOS are not at-large quality right now; if you combine those with a sub-.500 ACC mark, that could spell NIT for GT.

For more College Basketball betting lines go to MySportsbook.com

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