Braves conclude homestand versus Cardinals

Baseball Betting Lines

07/22/2007 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Atlanta Braves will attempt to wrap their 10-game homestand with a winning record tonight when they conclude a four-game series with the St. Louis Cardinals at Turner Field.

Atlanta has taken two of the first three games of this set, including a 14-6 rout on Saturday, to improve to 5-4 on its current residency.

Willie Harris sparked yesterday's offensive explosion as he became just the second player in Atlanta history to have six hits in a game, matching Felix Millan, who turned the trick in 1970.

Harris went 6-for-6, including two triples, drove in a career-high six runs, and also scored four times for the Braves, who trail the New York Mets by 2 1/2 games for the lead in the National League East.

Chipper Jones added three hits, one a two-run homer, and knocked in four runs for the Braves. The run support was more than enough for starter Buddy Carlyle (5-2), who won his fourth straight decision after allowing three runs on seven hits over six innings.

Braden Looper (7-8) on the other hand, was victimized for seven runs and 10 hits in just 2 2/3 innings for St. Louis, which has dropped two of three and fell to 4-5 on a 10-game road trip.

Chris Duncan had three hits, including a two-run homer, and Aaron Miles knocked in two runs in the setback.

Cardinals third baseman Scott Rolen (shoulder) missed his fourth straight game due to a shoulder injury, but took batting practice yesterday and could be in the starting lineup tonight.

Brad Thompson earns the starting assignment this evening for the Cardinals. Thompson has jumped around this year as a starter and a reliever, but was on the hill to start St. Louis' game on Tuesday against Florida. The right- hander walked away with a loss, however, after allowing three runs on seven hits over six innings of a 4-0 loss.

Thompson is 4-3 with a 4.88 earned run average in 11 starts this season and 2-1 with a 5.55 ERA in 18 relief appearances.

The 25-year-old has faced the Braves just once in his career, coming out of the bullpen, and tossed two scoreless innings, yielding one hit in an 8-1 setback on August 6, 2005.

Atlanta's Jo-Jo Reyes will try again for his first major league win when he makes just his third career start tonight. Reyes earned a no-decision after a three inning debut on July 7 that saw him allow five runs in three innings at San Diego. However, his offense took him off the hook in the 8-5 loss.

He wasn't so lucky in his home debut against the Reds on Tuesday, as the left- hander was blitzed for four runs and eight hits over 6 1/3 innings of a 6-5 loss, his first in the big leagues.

This series marks the first 2007 meeting between these teams. Atlanta won four of six matchups with St. Louis last season and is 6-2 in its last seven games against the Cardinals at Turner Field.

Wwwmsnmusic Baseball Betting News

<< Cincinnati ends road trip in Florida
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Cincinnati Reds will conclude their 11-game road trip this afternoon when they also wrap a four-game set with the Florida Marlins at Dolphin Stadium. Bronson Arroyo appears to be righting the ship to his season and wil

<< Dodgers go for split with Mets in LA
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Los Angeles Dodgers will try for a series split with the New York Mets, and maintain their new lead in the National League West, when the two clubs wrap their four-game series this afternoon at Dodger Stadium. Thanks

<< Peavy, Padres aim to get back on track against Phillies
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jake Peavy will try for his first win in over a month when his San Diego Padres conclude a four-game series with the Philadelphia Phillies this afternoon at Petco Park. Peavy's last victory came on June 19 against Baltimo

<< Unpack your bags: Rockies conclude road swing against Nats
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Colorado Rockies will try to end their road trip on a positive note when they play the final contest of a four-game series this afternoon with the Washington Nationals at RFK Stadium. The Rockies have lost two of three

<< Giants, Brewers wrap anticipated set in Milwaukee
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Milwaukee Brewers will get one last look at Barry Bonds at home this season when they try to avoid a three-game sweep at the hands of the San Francisco Giants this afternoon at Miller Park. The Brewers came into this s

Miyazato, Lee to battle for Match Play title >>
New Rochelle, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ai Miyazato cruised to a 3 & 2 win over Maria Hjorth on Sunday to advance to the final at the HSBC Women's World Match Play Championship. Miyazato, the 12th seed, moves on to face 22nd-seed Seon Hwa Le

Darcis wins first ATP final at Dutch Open >>
Amersfoort, Netherlands (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Belgian qualifier Steve Darcis upended unseeded Werner Eschauer of Austria in straight sets Sunday to win the Dutch Open title. It was the first career ATP championship for Darcis who came fr

Marlins' Ramirez leaves game with shoulder injury >>
Miami, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Florida Marlins shortstop Hanley Ramirez left the team's game against the Cincinnati Reds Sunday with an apparent left shoulder injury. Ramirez injured himself while swinging and missing at a pitch

Garcia and Harrington headed to British Open playoff >>
Carnoustie, Scotland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Sergio Garcia and Padraig Harrington are headed to a four-hole playoff to decide the British Open Championship at Carnoustie. The duo, who finished regulation at seven-under-par 277, will play the

Chakvetadze tops Morigami in Cincinnati final >>
Cincinnati, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Top-seeded Russian Anna Chakvetadze downed Akiko Morigami of Japan in straight sets to capture the $175,000 Western & Southern Financial Open title. Chakvetadze cruised to an easy first se

El Duque expected to throw Tuesday

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. -- New York Mets pitcher Orlando Hernandez, sidelined at spring training because of arthritis in his neck, is expected to resume throwing on Tuesday.

Hernandez received a cortisone shot Thursday after leaving camp and returning to New York to have his neck examined. The 41-year-old right-hander is penciled in as the team's No. 2 starter behind Tom Glavine.

El Duque's health is a major issue for the Mets, who won the NL East in 2007 and came within one victory of the World Series. Their aging and unsettled rotation is a big question mark this year.

MySportsbook.com has the Mets as -110 favorites to repeat as NL East champions odds. 

Hernandez went 11-11 with a 4.66 ERA last season, including 9-7 with a 4.09 ERA in 20 starts after the Mets acquired him from Arizona in late May. But he missed the playoffs because of a torn calf muscle.

New York already is without Pedro Martinez, out until at least midseason following rotator cuff surgery. Among those competing for starting jobs are prospects Mike Pelfrey, Philip Humber and Jason Vargas, plus veterans Chan Ho Park, Jorge Sosa and Aaron Sele.

Notes: Mets manager Willie Randolph is excited about two new utility players he could have on his bench: Damion Easley and David Newhan. ''Their value is really all over the place,'' Randolph said. Easley can play anywhere in the infield and could be used as an emergency outfielder, though Randolph said he would prefer to keep the veteran in the infield. Newhan, meanwhile, can play second base, third or any outfield position for the Mets. ''I love versatility,'' Randolph said. ''I love guys that can give me options when I need them to step in.''

Additional baseball lines and World Series odds can be found at: www.MySportsbook.com

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.

Numerous College Basketball teams take final big step to March Madness betting

So, what turned on the lock spigot? Well, after what felt like weeks of teams treading water and slipping back into the bubble muck, a bunch of them finally decided to say "to heck with parity" and won games that should put them into the Big Dance.

Disagree with some of these? Then here's the challenge. Take all of the "should be ins" and make a legit case that each should be ahead of the team that's a lock. Then find 10 more teams that also should be placed in the bracket ahead of that lock team. Not so easy, is it?

If you want more evidence that these locks should be good to go, check out what our research department dug up. Since the NCAA Tournament went to 64 teams in 1985, only six teams from a "big six" conference have had a record of 10-6 or better in conference play and not been selected: Colorado (2004) and Nebraska (1999) from the Big 12, Boston College and Seton Hall (both 2003) from the Big East, Indiana (2005) from the Big Ten and UCLA, which somehow went 12-6 in the Pac-10 in 1988 and still missed out. (Note: Five teams went 11-7 and didn't get in, the latest being last season's Stanford team, which had a brutal nonconference run.)

Yes, 10 conference wins doesn't always mean what it used to because of unbalanced schedules, but this season, it should be plenty good in all but the extreme cases (see: Iowa).

In a way, this is a welcome development, because this is a bubble watch, not a lock watch. We can finally be done with teams like Maryland and Virginia Tech and start really bearing down on at-large battles such as Syracuse-West Virginia and Appalachian State-Georgia Tech.

Interestingly, all the shifting of teams into lock status appears to be more administrative than impactful. The number of remaining available at-larges didn't change one iota. The only difference is that teams on the bubble now have a clearer idea of which team(s) they are competing with for those precious bids.

The Bubble Breakdown
CONFERENCE LOCKS SHOULD BE INS AT-LARGES TAKEN
(assuming no auto bid outlier)
ACC Betting Odds 6 0 5
Big East Betting Odds 5 0 4
Big Ten Betting Odds 2 2 3
Big 12 Betting Odds 3 0 2
Pac-10 Betting Odds 5 1 5
SEC Betting Odds 4 0 3
MVC Betting Odds 1 1 1
MWC Betting Odds 2 1 2
TOTAL 28 5 25

As always, I've tried to be as inclusive as possible while only including teams that would have a reasonable chance of at least being discussed if this were Selection Sunday. If your team's not on here, there's probably a good reason (or three) -- start with the RPI and SOS numbers and work your way down.

(Please remember, per selection committee criteria, that records displayed are Division I only. Next update: Feb. 28)

If you have a legitimate grievance, or just like talking bubble, send an e-mail. Polite ones with fact-based arguments have a much better chance of receiving a response. I apologize in advance if I can't get back to all of you.

Atlantic Coast Conference

Work left to do: Clemson, Florida State, Georgia Tech

The ACC moves to six locks as BC, Va Tech and Virginia all got their 10th ACC wins, which should be more than enough this season, and Maryland rallied past North Carolina to get the final piece the Terps needed. After that? It could end there unless FSU, Ga Tech or Clemson picks things up in a hurry.

 

Work left to do:

Clemson [19-9 (5-9), RPI: 41, SOS: 42] The Tigers are closer to locking up the collapse of the year award (in a good battle with OK State) than they are to grabbing an at-large. Clemson's been very competitive, but there's no really positive way you can spin nine losses in 11 games. They now cannot get to .500 in ACC play and still must head to Virginia Tech in the season finale (after hosting Miami). Unless the Tigers win both and/or do some serious work in the ACC tourney, they very well could be left out. There are no great nonconference wins, but ODU, App State, Miss. State, South Carolina and Georgia are all respectable W's.

Florida State [18-11 (6-9), RPI: 48, SOS: 14] The Noles got thrashed at Maryland to run their losing streak to five, but then pounded NC State at home to set the table for what likely is an elimination game at Miami. You can at least make a case for the Seminoles at 7-9 in ACC play (and some work in the ACC tourney), but 6-10 is not going to cut it. Wins at Duke and over Florida will resonate, but the computer numbers remain questionable. Beyond Florida, FSU thrashed bubble buddy Providence, but there's not a ton beyond those two games that will help. They didn't show well in big-time opportunities against Pitt and Wisconsin (before the Florida win).

Georgia Tech [18-10 (6-8), RPI: 51, SOS: 46] The Jackets beat Wake on Wednesday but couldn't get it done at UVa on Saturday, which could be a crucial loss with UNC and BC (both at home) remaining and 8-8 almost a certain need for at-large consideration. A nonconference win over Memphis helps, but the RPI and SOS are not at-large quality right now; if you combine those with a sub-.500 ACC mark, that could spell NIT for GT.

For more College Basketball betting lines go to MySportsbook.com

Additional basketball lines can be found at: www.MySportsbook.com

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.