Jackson powers Tigers past Royals

Baseball Betting Lines

09/04/2010 - Kansas City, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Austin Jackson went 3-for-4 and singled in the go-ahead run in the eighth inning, leading the Detroit Tigers to a 6-4 win over the Kansas City Royals in the middle test of a three-game series.

Jackson also hit a home run in the fifth inning for Detroit, which has won three in a row. Miguel Cabrera, who did not play Friday because of biceps tendinitis, added a two-run double in the victory.

Rick Porcello (8-11) took the victory after pitching seven innings, in which he allowed four runs on seven hits and a walk.

Jose Valverde pitched a scoreless ninth to get his 25th save and spare the Tigers from playing a fourth consecutive extra-inning game. They lost to Minnesota in 10 innings Wednesday before beating the Twins in 13 the following day. Detroit then won the opener of this series in the 11th inning Friday.

Billy Butler had three hits, while Kila Ka'aihue added a two-run homer and drove in three to lead the Royals' offense. Ka'aihue has three homers this season, all of which have come against Detroit.

Bruce Chen got the start for Kansas City, which has lost three in a row, and allowed four runs in 4 2/3 innings.

The Tigers got to him for two runs in the first inning, when they put runners on the corners with one out before Cabrera smacked a double to left-center. Jhonny Peralta's sacrifice fly in the third inning made it a 3-0 game, but the Royals got on the board in the home half.

With runners on the corners and two away, Butler and Ka'aihue hit back-to-back RBI singles.

Jackson's homer put Detroit up 4-2 before Ka'aihue's blast in the sixth evened the contest.

But in the eighth, Royals reliever Dusty Hughes (1-2) allowed consecutive one- out singles to Max St. Pierre and Will Rhymes. After Hughes was replaced by Blake Wood, Jackson singled to right to plate a run. Rhymes then scored on a passed ball to give the Tigers a two-run cushion.

Phil Coke pitched a scoreless eighth before Valverde took over in the ninth.

Game Notes

Rhymes went 2-for-4 to extend his hitting streak to 12 games...Peralta went 0- for-3. He had gotten a hit in 11 straight starts...St. Pierre, 30, was playing in his first major league game.

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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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