Rhymes helps Tigers beat Royals in extras

Baseball Betting Lines

09/03/2010 - Kansas City, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Will Rhymes' two-run triple in the 11th highlighted the four-run inning, and the Detroit Tigers defeated the Kansas City Royals, 9-5, in the first of three games at Kauffman Stadium.

Ryan Raburn added his ninth homer in 21 games and drove in two for the Tigers, who have won three of five. Raburn has been on a tear during the 21-game stretch, batting nearly .350 over his torrid streak.

Brandon Inge had two hits and two RBI, while Don Kelly had three hits in the win. Ryan Perry (3-5) earned the win with two scoreless innings of relief after Jeremy Bonderman allowed four runs, seven hits and five walks in a 7 1/3-inning start.

Alex Gordon homered, while Yuniesky Betancourt drove in two runs for the Royals, who have lost five of seven. Zack Greinke had a no-hitter through 4 1/3 frames before faltering, giving up four runs, six hits and two walks while fanning only three in 6 1/3 frames.

Jesse Chavez (2-3) took the loss after allowing four runs -- two earned -- in the 11th.

The Tigers surged ahead in the 11th off Chavez.

Alex Avila singled with one away, and Casper Wells reached on an error. Rhymes followed with a drive to the right-center field gap, making it all the way to third on a two-run triple to give Detroit a 7-5 advantage.

After Johnny Damon was intentionally walked, Raburn's single gave the Tigers a three-run lead. Austin Jackson put down a suicide squeeze bunt to score Damon for a 9-5 contest.

Perry finished out the 11th without giving up a run.

The Royals staked Greinke to an early 4-0 lead with a big second inning.

Josh Fields singled, and Gordon worked a walk. Brayan Pena doubled to plate Fields with the game's first run, and, with runners on second and third with one out, Betancourt made it 3-0 with a single to center.

Gregor Blanco's triple to right scored Betancourt to cap the inning.

The Tigers, though, rallied to tie the game in the seventh.

Raburn worked a leadoff walk, and Brennan Boesch followed with a single. Two batters later, Kelly's single loaded the bases with one out.

Inge's base hit to center plated two runners, and Avila kept the hit parade going with another single to score Kelly for a 4-3 game. The Royals finally went to their bullpen, inserting Robinson Tejeda into the game.

Tejeda didn't fare much better, allowing a Wells single. On the play, Inge was unsure if center fielder Blanco would catch it, so he didn't get a good jump from second and was thrown out at home. Two batters later, however, Tejeda uncorked a wild pitch that allowed Avila to score the tying run.

Blake Wood started the next inning, and Raburn greeted him with a rainbow-like home run just inside the left-field foul pole.

Fields nearly answered for the Royals in the home half, but his deep drive off Bonderman was just foul to left. Bonderman eventually struck out Fields and exited in favor of Daniel Schlereth, who immediately gave up the game-tying homer to Gordon.

Game Notes

The Tigers lead the season series, 7-6...Detroit's Miguel Cabrera (biceps) did not play...Raburn hit 27 homers in his first 332 career games...Avila finished with two hits, as did Kansas City's Billy Butler and Chris Getz.

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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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