Rangers, Royals play second of three in KC

Baseball Betting Lines

08/26/2008 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Right-hander Zack Greinke will try to replicate the effort, but not the result of an early season meeting when the Kansas City Royals host the Texas Rangers in the second test of a three-game series at Kauffman Stadium.

Greinke, a first-round draft pick in 2002, tossed seven innings of four-hit, two-run ball against the Rangers on May 1 in Arlington, but nonetheless came out on the short end of a 2-1 decision after walking none and striking out nine.

The loss was his first of the season and the only one in his initial nine starts of 2008, during which the Royals went 7-2 in his appearances.

Things have become more difficult since, as Greinke has won just four times in 17 subsequent appearances, including losses in five of his last seven decisions.

He dropped a 10-3 verdict in his last outing on Aug. 21, allowing six hits and a single earned run in five innings against Cleveland.

Greinke is 2-3 over eight lifetime appearances - six starts - against the Rangers in 35 innings of work.

For Texas, veteran right-hander Kevin Millwood won his last start with a complete game after going winless in four straight starts since mid July.

He downed the Detroit Tigers, 9-1, on August 20 in Texas, allowing six hits and a run in nine innings with one walk and four strikeouts.

Previously, he'd gone 0-3 in four starts while giving up 33 hits and 18 runs in 18 innings.

He's picked up a win and a no-decision in two starts against the Royals this season, combining to surrender 18 hits and 10 runs in 12 1/3 innings.

Lifetime against Kansas City, he is 5-3 in 10 starts with a 5.22 ERA over 58 2/3 innings.

On Monday, Milton Bradley went 3-for-4 with three RBI as the Rangers downed the Royals, 9-4.

Nelson Cruz went 3-for-5 with a three-run home run while Chris Davis hit a solo shot for the Rangers, who had dropped six of seven coming into the game.

Scott Feldman (5-5) gave up three runs -- two earned -- on eight hits in seven innings of work to grab the win.

David DeJesus went 3-for-4 with an RBI and Gil Meche (10-10) was saddled with the loss as he gave up five runs on a career-high 14 hits in 6 1/3 innings of work for the Royals, who have lost eight of their last nine games.

Texas has won five of seven from the Royals this season.

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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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