Texas Joins Worley Down Hits

Baseball Betting Lines

The Nationals won two of three when the clubs last met in Washington in 2005, though the Angels returned the favor by winning a series at home in '08.

 

(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Texas Rangers try to continue their mastery of the Houston Astros this evening when the Lone Star State rivals resume a three- game set at Minute Maid Park. The Rangers have won four straight Silver Boot trophies, awarded annually to the victor in the interleague matchup between the two clubs each year. It hasn't been much of a rivalry, though, lately, as Texas took two of three from the Astros earlier in the year and has won the season series in each of the last two years by a 5-1 margin, while compiling a 13-3 mark against their in- state rivals since the start of the 2009 campaign.

 

C.J. Wilson (8-3) worked seven strong innings to earn the win, giving up a pair of runs on seven hits while fanning three and walking two. In addition to his work on the mound, Wilson also ripped a triple.

 

Michael Bourn had a pair of hits, including a triple, for the Astros, who have lost four games in a row and seven of their last eight. Houston has also lost seven in a row at home and another loss tonight would give the Astros their first eight-game skid there since a franchise-record 11-game slide July 23- Aug. 17, 1966.

 

Getting the call for the Rangers tonight will be righty Colby Lewis, who is 6-7 with a 4.44 ERA. Lewis was terrific last Wednesday against the Astros, scattering three hits over seven scoreless innings. He didn't get a decision in that 5-3 loss, though.

 

Lewis has faced the Astros six times (three starts) and is 1-1 with a 1.78 ERA.

 

(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - When the Phillies signed Cliff Lee in the offseason, they envisioned him being part of a rotation of four aces that would carry them into October. After Lee did his part in Tuesday's opener of this highly-anticipated set with the Boston Red Sox, Philadelphia turns to its wild card tonight in Vance Worley.

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Big Ten Conference odds

Teams that should be in: Michigan State, Indiana
Work left to do: Illinois, Purdue, Michigan, Iowa

Behind the big two, the pecking order might be in a bit of flux. Has Michigan State passed Indiana after handling the Hoosiers in East Lansing? Where is Illinois in that mix? What looked like a four-big league last week could be morphing into five -- and even six is not unthinkable at this point if everything breaks right.

Should be in:

Michigan State [21-8 (8-6), RPI: 20, SOS: 15] The Spartans made it four-for-four on the homestand, a gigantic accomplishment that leaves them in extremely good shape. MSU is only 1-6 on the road and is at Michigan and at Wisconsin to close things out, meaning the date with the Wolverines on Tuesday looms very, very large. Beating Texas early will hold up well, as will the rout of Bradley and the win over BYU, but will 8-8 be enough? It very well could be, as the computer numbers are good, but why chance it?

Indiana [18-9 (8-6), RPI: 24, SOS: 32] Hmm ... good thing the last two are at Northwestern and home to Penn State, because IU might want to get both to feel completely safe after dropping its third in the last four, fading after halftime at Michigan State. Who knew the best nonconference win would be over Southern Illinois, which is a gift that keeps on giving for the Hoosiers. The win over Wisconsin also looks good on the mantel.

Work left to do:

Illinois [21-9 (9-6), RPI: 31, SOS: 25] A good performance at Penn State leaves the Illini in pretty good shape. Can they go to Iowa and take care of business to really look on their way? That's a huge game, as there is a possible cluster of teams that will end at 9-7. Illinois beat Bradley, but has lost to Xavier. A 9-7 mark and a semifinals trip in Chicago could be enough with the computer profile hanging in there, but it would be better not to mess around, clinching at least a tie for third.

Purdue [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 47, SOS: 28] Couldn't get it done at Iowa, but did win at Northwestern to put 9-7 squarely in sight. Where does that leave the Boilermakers, though? Even if they beat Minnesota and Northwestern at home, that won't help the computer numbers. Nonconference wins over Virginia, DePaul and Oklahoma are solid, but not spectacular. The Boilers very well might need an upset in the B10 quarters to have a legit claim.

Michigan [19-10 (7-7), RPI: 55, SOS: 53] Well, Michigan did what it needed to do, winning at Minnesota to take control of its fate. The Wolverines have Michigan State and an already-wrapped-up-the-league Ohio State at home to close, so the chances are there. Win both and we can talk. There is no marquee win yet in the profile, and the Wolverines were splattered in several games against name opponents. A mediocre computer profile fueled by a lack of road wins isn't helping, either.

Iowa [16-12 (8-6), RPI: 80, SOS: 64] For the sake of being complete, we'll add Iowa, this season's Stanford. It's plausible that the Hawkeyes could get to 10-6 (at Penn State, vs. Illinois left), but where does that leave them after a gruesome nonconference performance where the best win was over ... Toledo? Iowa State? Cornell?? If they get to 10-6, we can start to look at what they need to do in the B10 tourney, although my gut sense is that they would need to make the final and have knocked off Ohio State or Wisconsin on the way to have any real claim.

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