Lowrie sends Angels packing, Boston back to ALCS
Baseball Betting Lines
10/07/2008 -
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Boston introduced a new late-game hero, as
Jed Lowrie's two-out seeing-eye single to right scored Jason Bay with the
winning run in the ninth frame, as the Red Sox advanced to the
American League Championship Series with a 3-2 victory over the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in Game 4 at Fenway Park.
Bay, the man who replaced much-maligned yet still terrorizing hitter Manny
Ramirez in a three-team deal prior to the trade deadline, scored the winning
run as part of a solid series.
He hit a bloop tight to the right-field line that bounced just to the side of
Reggie Willits, who was put into the game as a pinch-runner in the top of the
frame. The ball caromed into the seats for a ground-rule double. Mark Kotsay
followed with a line-drive shot that appeared destined for right field, but
first baseman Mark Teixeira lunged to his left and made an acrobatic catch for
the second out.
Lowrie followed with the dribbler that rolled into right field just past the
diving Howie Kendrick.
"It's a funny game. It's all a matter of keeping a steady approach," Lowrie
said of his mind set prior to the last at-bat.
Manny Delcarmen (1-0) retired two batters to pick up the victory, and Scot
Shields (0-1) gave up the winning run in the ninth to suffer the loss.
The Red Sox will now meet AL East rival Tampa Bay in the American League
Championship Series starting Friday in St. Petersburg.
Torii Hunter drove in the lone two runs for the Angels, while Bay and Lowrie
each recorded a multi-hit game for the Red Sox, who won the best-of-five
series, 3-1.
The defending-champion Red Sox are back in familiar territory -- the American
League Championship Series -- behind a new cast of characters. Ramirez is in
Hollywood, Mike Lowell's bad hip landed him off the roster for this game and
the entire ALCS and David Ortiz continued a below average postseason.
That isn't the case for Bay and Lowrie, who are hitting .412 and .364
respectively through four postseason games. Another star is the young southpaw
Jon Lester, who continued his dominating postseason. Lester didn't allow an
earned run in 14 innings during this series after scattering four hits and a
pair of walks with four strikeouts on Monday.
Lester hasn't given up an earned run over his last 22 2/3 postseason frames.
John Lackey was nearly as good, yielding two runs on seven hits with one walk
and one strikeout over seven frames. The Angels failed to reach the ALCS after
becoming the first 100-game winner since the 2005 St. Louis Cardinals.
Both teams went quietly into the night in the first frame, and Lester bared
down to punch out Kendrick with two runners on base to end the top of the
second frame. Lester worked out of another first-and-second jam in the third,
inducing a Vladimir Guerrero ground out.
The Angels again threatened in the fifth with runners on the corners and two
outs before Teixeira was called out on strikes on a borderline low-and-outside
pitch.
Finally, Boston's offense struck first in the home half of the fifth. Kotsay
led off with a base hit and Jason Varitek's one-out single moved the
outfielder to third. Jacoby Ellsbury hit a slow chopper to second, but
Kendrick bobbled in quickly trying to pivot for a potential inning-ending
double play. He recovered to nab Ellsbury by a step, but Kotsay crossed the
plate.
Dustin Pedroia, mired in an 0-for-15 start in the series, followed by clubbing
a hanging breaking ball off the Green Monster for an RBI double and a 2-0
edge.
The Angels squared the contest against the Boston bullpen in the top of the
eighth. Teixeira walked with two outs, and Justin Masterson entered the game
on the mound. Guerrero then walked and both runners moved up one base on a
passed ball. Hunter lined a single to right, plating both runners to tie the
game.
The visitors looked ready to take the lead in the top of the ninth. Pinch-
hitter Kendry Morales doubled and Willits, pinch-running, moved to third on
Kendrick's sacrifice bunt. With Erick Aybar at the plate, an attempted suicide
squeeze was bunted through, and Varitek ran down Willits for the tag and the
second out.
"I thought it was good play with the guy we had at the plate and the count we
had," Angels manager Mike Scioscia rationalized.
Game Notes
Boston has won 12 of 13 postseason games versus the Angels...One game after
recording three hits, Chone Figgins added a pair of singles in a 2-for-4 game.
The Angels turned a pair of double plays...The Rays won 10 of 18 meetings with
the Red Sox during the regular season.
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are still in their division.
The Chargers headed to Miami for a showdown with the supposedly-overmatched
Dolphins this past Sunday and came back home with a 2-3 r
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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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