White Sox aim for 13th straight home win vs. A's

Baseball Betting Lines

07/31/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chicago will attempt to extend its home winning streak to 13 consecutive games tonight as they continue a three-game weekend set at U.S. Cellular Field against the Oakland Athletics.

Yesterday, Gordon Beckham had two hits and drove in two runs to support six solid innings from Lucas Harrell in his major league debut as Chicago downed Oakland, 6-1, in the opener of this series.

Harrell (1-0), promoted from Triple-A Charlotte earlier in the day, yielded a lone run on four hits while working around five walks for the White Sox, who have won five in a row overall and haven't lost as the host since June 27.

"I went from thinking I was going to start in Louisville today to pitching in Chicago, so it was definitely a different turn of events for me," Harrell said.

Paul Konerko chipped in with two hits, a run scored and a run batted in and Dayan Viciedo collected three hits and scored once for Chicago.

Brett Anderson (2-2) was tagged with the loss after giving up five runs on 10 hits over 5 1/3 innings in his first start since June 3 for the Athletics, who have dropped three out of four.

"My stuff was all right. I felt decent enough -- they're just a good team, playing good at home," Anderson said.

Chicago continues to lead the AL Central, as it holds a 1 1/2-game lead over Minnesota.

As for Oakland, it is 8 1/2 games back of AL-West-leading Texas.

The Athletics have been successful at U.S. Cellular Field in the recent past, having prevailed in four of six matchups with the White Sox there last season. Oakland has also won seven of the past 12 overall tilts in the series.

Dallas Braden was the winning pitcher for Oakland on Sunday in the team's 6-4 triumph over the White Sox. That victory was significant because it marked the first for Braden since his May 9th perfect game. He had lost his last five starts and owned a streak of nine consecutive starts without a win, the longest following a no-hitter in major league history. Braden is 5-7 this season with a 3.77 ERA with only 19 walks in 105 innings.

In two games against the White Sox in his career, Braden is 1-0 with a 4.26 ERA.

Chicago will hand the ball to John Danks this evening in hopes that he can improve on an already solid 11-7 record and 3.23 ERA. Danks has chewed up 133 2/3 innings so far this season, allowing only 107 hits. He has only surrendered seven home runs and win over Seattle on Monday that saw him yield one earned run in eight innings.

Danks has yet to face Oakland this season, but he is 4-0 lifetime against the A's with a 1.62 ERA.

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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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