It was the Butler, with a bat at Comerica: Royals thump Tigers

Baseball Betting Lines

07/21/2007 - Detroit, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Billy Butler went 4-for-5 with four RBI as the Kansas City Royals pounded the Detroit Tigers, 10-2, in the opener of a three- game series at Comerica Park.

Mark Grudzielanek also had four hits and scored four times for the Royals, who have won 13 of their last 20 games.

Gil Meche (7-6) tossed seven strong innings, yielding two runs on five hits with five strikeouts and no walks.

Kenny Rogers (3-2), meanwhile, was tagged for six runs -- five earned -- over 6 1/3 frames for Detroit, which had a four-game winning streak halted. Gary Sheffield homered in defeat.

Butler put the Royals ahead in the first with an RBI groundout before Sheffield tied it up in the home-half of the inning with his 23rd home run of the year.

The Royals put up a three-spot in the third, though, to reclaim the lead. With the bases loaded and one out, Butler came through with a single to center that brought in both Grudzielanek and Esteban German. Curtis Granderson committed a throwing error on the play, allowing Mark Teahen to come home as well.

The scoring went quiet until the sixth, when Magglio Ordonez knocked in Granderson with a single to slice the Kansas City lead to 4-2.

Kansas City again provided an answer in the seventh. German and Grudzielanek started things with back-to-back doubles to push the first run of the frame across, and Butler added an RBI base hit later in the inning for a 6-2 advantage.

Four more Royals runs in the ninth turned it into a rout. David DeJesus drove in a pair with a single, and a throwing error during the sequence let a third run cross. Brown stepped in next and capped the scoring with an RBI groundout.

Game Notes

Butler has driven in 19 runs in his last 11 games. This was his first-ever four-hit game...Meche has not lost since June 9, spanning seven starts...Detroit entered off a sweep of the Minnesota Twins...Detroit has dominated this series since the start of last season, winning 21 of the 28 matchups. However, six of Kansas City's wins in that time have come in the Motor City.

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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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