Scutaro's grand slam helps Red Sox complete sweep of Angels

Baseball Betting Lines

07/28/2010 - Anaheim, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Marco Scutaro's grand slam in the eighth inning helped the Boston Red Sox to a three-game sweep of the LA Angels of Anaheim with a 7-3 win in the finale.

Kevin Youkilis, Adrian Beltre and Bill Hall each hit solo homers for the Red Sox, who have won five of their last seven. Josh Beckett (2-1) went seven innings in the start and was charged with three runs on five hits with a walk and five strikeouts.

"I had to manifest some energy today," said Beckett. "I felt better today than last time out. I did some good things and made some good adjustments. The most important thing is for our team to win now."

Reggie Willits went 2-for-3 with an RBI and a run scored while Maicer Izturis and Bobby Wilson each drove in a run for the Angels, who have dropped four straight and seven of eight.

The team suffered a blow before the game started as pitcher Joel Pineiro strained a muscle in his left side while warming up and will miss the next 6- to-8 weeks. Scot Shields started in Pineiro's place and was charged with two runs over 1 2/3 innings. Fernando Rodney (4-1) got the loss for giving up the grand slam.

"Halfway through my warmup I threw a curveball and it felt like a cramp," said Pineiro. "Just a freak thing to happen, I can't explain it. It's really frustrating and when I heard how long I'll be out my heart sunk to the ground."

With the score tied in the eighth, Boston went ahead. Rodney started on the mound and promptly loaded the bases on a pair of walks and a bunt single. Scutaro then stepped to the plate and smacked a 1-2 pitch just inside the left field pole for a 7-3 lead.

"After two strikes I was just trying to see the ball and I got a changeup," said Scutaro. "I got lucky today."

With two outs in the bottom of the eighth, Alberto Callaspo doubled and Bobby Abreu followed with a walk. Juan Rivera then lofted a soft blooper to shallow center that appeared to be over the head of Hall, but he was able to make a diving catch to preserve the four-run lead.

Ramon Ramirez then set the Angels down in order in the ninth to close the win.

Boston jumped on top in the second as Beltre clubbed a solo homer and, two batters later, Hall smacked a solo shot for a 2-0 lead.

The Angels, though, tied the game in the bottom of the frame on back-to-back RBI singles from Wilson and Willits.

Anaheim went ahead in the fifth as Willits led off with a double, moved to third on a sacrifice bunt from Erick Aybar and came home on a sac fly off the bat of Izturis for a 3-2 lead.

In the sixth, the Red Sox got a two-out triple from Eric Patterson. Scutaro followed with a walk, but Darnell McDonald flied out to end the threat.

Boston did tie the game in the seventh when Youkilis led off the frame with a blast over the left field wall.

Game Notes

Boston returns home to face Detroit for three games starting on Friday...The Angels host Texas for three games beginning Friday...The Red Sox are 15-9 versus the AL West this season...Boston has won all seven games against the Angels this season...Scutaro has two grand slams in his career.

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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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