Riggans, Sonnanstine lead Rays over Bucs
Baseball Betting Lines
06/29/2008 -
Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Shawn Riggans went 3-for-4, homered, drove
in two and scored, and the Tampa Bay Rays edged the Pirates, 4-3, to take
two of three from Pittsburgh.
The win put the Rays back at a franchise-record 17 games over .500. Tampa is
49-32 at the season's official halfway point, after going a major league-worst
66-96 last season.
Andy Sonnanstine (9-3) scattered five hits and two runs over seven frames,
fanning four and walking one for the Rays, who have won five of six heading
into another clash with the American League East-leading Red Sox.
Boston, which led Tampa by a half game entering play Sunday, visits the Rays
for three games starting on Monday. This will be the first matchup between the
clubs since Boston's three-game sweep of the Rays at Fenway Park in early
June, a series which included a benches-clearing brawl.
Jack Wilson went 2-for-4 and scored twice for the Pirates, who have dropped
three of four. Tyler Yates (3-1) took the loss after allowing two runs on
three hits in two innings of relief for Tom Gorzelanny, who gave up two runs
on eight hits with eight strikeouts and two walks in six frames.
The game was tied at 2-2 after seven innings, but an Xavier Nady throwing
error allowed the Rays to go on top in the eighth. Carlos Pena led off with a
single to right, and Willy Aybar followed with another single to right. Nady
tried to throw Pena out at third, but his throw bounced up the line, allowing
Pena to score the go-ahead run.
Riggans singled in Aybar later in the frame for a 4-2 lead.
Ryan Doumit's pinch-hit RBI single in the eighth cut the deficit to one run
for the Pirates, but Troy Percival recovered from a leadoff walk and set down
the next three batters in the ninth to pick up his 19th save.
Riggans' leadoff homer in the fourth put Tampa on top, but Jason Bay's
sacrifice fly in the home half tied it at 1-1.
Aybar led off the sixth with a homer to left, again putting the Rays in front
by a run, but Nate McLouth's RBI groundout in the sixth knotted the game.
Game Notes
Tampa finished its interleague slate 12-6, while the Pirates went 5-9 against
the AL...Following their 4-3, 13-inning win on Saturday, the Pirates
optioned pitcher Ty Taubenheim to Triple-A Indianapolis. On Sunday they
recalled right-handed reliever Romulo Sanchez from their Triple-A
affiliate...The Rays outhit the Bucs, 12-7, but left 11 runners on base,
including failing to score despite loading the bases with one out in the
second.
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Big East Conference odds
Work left to do: Villanova, Syracuse, DePaul, West Virginia, Providence
 Notre Dame and Louisville appear to have done enough to make the move, so we'll make them locks. The Cardinals, despite a modest RPI, are trending way up and have clinched at least a tie for third in the Big East, which should be more than enough with their pair of big road wins. Villanova got back to .500 and gets back to more solid footing. Syracuse got a very important road win and crippled a fellow contender in the process. West Virginia's fate could be in its hands Tuesday at Pitt.
Work left to do:
Villanova [18-9 (7-7), RPI: 21, SOS: 5] Pounded Rutgers to get back to .500. If Cats can get their last two (at UConn, vs. Syracuse), that should be enough with strong computer numbers and a host of wins away from The Pavilion. The Cats have beaten Texas and swept the Big 5 (never easy in Philly), but have a couple of losses to bubble teams (Xavier, Drexel), too. I still think they'll be OK, possibly even at 8-8.
Syracuse [20-8 (9-5), RPI: 53, SOS: 62] History says 10 wins will be plenty, but it might be hard for the Orange to get that last one with a final two vs. G'town, which is trying to win the league title, and at Villanova, which will be desperate for a W. The relative lack of nonconference heft and the weak computer numbers are still concerns, but the Orange have won four in a row and got a very, very big win at Providence on Saturday.
DePaul [16-12 (8-7), RPI: 54, SOS: 18] Beat Cincy and should get past South Florida to get to 9-7, but then what? They have beaten Kansas and Cal (right after the DeVon Hardin injury) earlier this season, but also have lost to Bradley and Purdue, among others. They'll likely need a couple of BE tourney wins, too, but we'll see ...
West Virginia [19-7 (8-6), RPI: 58, SOS: 125] The game at Pitt on Tuesday night could decide the Mountaineers' fate (barring a deep tournament run). They can still get to 9-7 in the Big East without it by beating Cincinnati, but the nine wins would be against UConn, Villanova, St. John's, South Florida, DePaul, Rutgers, Seton Hall twice and the Bearcats. Beating bubble foes is fine, but where's the beef? Outside of beating PG-less UCLA in nonconference play (still a top quality win), there's not a lot to fall back on (besides maybe NC State). WVU vs. Syracuse would be an interesting debate, as the teams don't play in the Big East regular season. WVU has the best win, but Cuse has played the much better schedule.
Providence [17-10 (7-7), RPI: 70, SOS: 33] The Friars likely saw their at-large hopes die at home in the four-point loss to Syracuse, barring an unexpected run to the Big East semis or more. The RPI, bad already, won't be helped by playing St. John's and South Florida in the final two league games.
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