Cust and Watson power Athletics past Red Sox

Baseball Betting Lines

07/21/2010 - Oakland, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jack Cust finished 2-for-3 with a two-run homer and scored twice as Oakland took down Boston, 6-4, in the rubber match of a three-game set.

Rajai Davis added two RBI and Matt Watson slugged his first career home run for the Athletics, who have won seven of their last eight.

Gio Gonzalez (9-6) worked six innings for the win, allowing seven hits and four runs with three strikeouts and a pair of walks. Michael Wuertz turned in a scoreless ninth for his second save.

"It's really encouraging. That's still a good team over there although they've had some injuries," Cust said of the still-contending Sox. "We've faced some good pitching and that lineup has quality at-bats. We're just going to try and build off this and face the next series."

Adrian Beltre went 3-for-4 with a two-run homer and drove in three for the Red Sox, who stumbled to their fifth loss in seven contests.

Activated from the 15-day disabled list prior to the game after recovering from a strained left hamstring, Clay Buchholz (10-5) was shelled in defeat for six hits and five runs, fanning two with three walks over four-plus frames.

Jed Lowrie's one-out run-scoring hit in the fifth got the Sox within a run, but the A's chased Buchholz in the home half, scoring three times to take a 6-2 advantage.

Kurt Suzuki and Cust stroked back-to-back hits before Scott Atchison took the hill. He allowed a one-out RBI single from Mark Ellis, then after a passed ball moved both runners into scoring position, Davis stroked a two-run hit to center before being caught in a rundown between first and second.

Beltre's two-run homer to right-center in the sixth made it 6-4, but Boston couldn't score with two on in the seventh. Neither could the A's extend their advantage, as Davis flied out with the bases loaded in the home half.

Oakland's Coco Crisp hit a one-out triple in the eighth but was erased at home trying to score on a fly to left from Cliff Pennington.

The failed attempt at an insurance run wasn't costly, though, as Wuertz set down the side in order in the ninth to lock up the victory.

"It was just four runs. It wasn't enough," mused Red Sox manager Terry Francona. "We battled back, but the extra two was huge. That hurt us because they spread it out and it was just too much. When you spread it out (score runs in different innings) that's how you win."

Boston picked up a run in the first after a Beltre RBI single, then Watson knotted the score in the second with a one-out solo shot.

In the home third, Daric Barton reached on a leadoff infield single and scored on Cust's two-run blast two batters later.

Game Notes

Watson had played in 36 previous MLB games with the Mets (2003) and A's (2005; 2010) and went 75 career at-bats before going deep...The Sox head to Seattle for four games starting Thursday, continuing their 10-day, 10-game western road swing...Oakland improved to 22-10 this season in day games...The A's host the White Sox for three starting Friday...Boston also activated Lowrie off the 60-day disabled list, designated infielder Ryan Shealy for assignment, while optioning pitchers Dustin Richardson and Fernando Cabrera to Triple-A Pawtucket.

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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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