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05/08/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Injuries to a number of key regulars have rendered the Atlanta Braves' offense punchless over the last few games, a trend the slumping club would like to end in this afternoon's divisional showdown with the National League East-leading Philadelphia Phillies from Citizens Bank Park.
After failing to record a hit off Washington's Scott Olsen until the eighth inning of Thursday's 3-2 loss to the Nationals, the Braves' bats were stymied by Phillies' graybeard Jamie Moyer in last night's opener of this three-game series. The 47-year-old spun a dazzling two-hitter to become the oldest player in major league history to throw a shutout in Philadelphia's 7-0 triumph.
Moyer (4-2) struck out five without a walk and needed only 105 pitches to record the 10th shutout of his long and storied career. At 47 years and 170 days old, the veteran lefty broke Hall of Famer Phil Niekro's mark of being the eldest pitcher to blank the opposition over nine innings. Niekro was 46 years and 188 days of age when he threw his final shutout.
"Outstanding control and command on both sides of the plate," said Philadelphia manager Charlie Manuel about Moyer. "He says if he can put the ball where he wants to do he can get them out, and that was a great example of it right there. [The Braves] hit a few balls hard but not very many, he was just that good."
Jayson Werth gave Moyer all the support he would need with a three-run homer in the third inning, with Raul Ibanez and Wilson Valdez each delivering two- RBI singles in the fifth to stake the Phils to a 7-0 advantage.
All seven runs came against Braves starter Derek Lowe (4-3), who was tagged for 11 hits in a five-inning stint.
Atlanta has now lost 10 of its last 11 on the road and fell to 4-13 as the visitor this season, tied with Baltimore for the worst record in the majors.
The Braves did play Friday's test without rookie sensation Jason Heyward (strained groin) and All-Star catcher Brian McCann (eye problems) and were forced to place shortstop Yunel Escobar on the disabled list with a groin injury earlier in the week. McCann is expected to return to the lineup for this afternoon's contest, while Heyward, the team's leader with eight homers and 26 RBI, is considered day-to-day.
Atlanta has also had to deal with injuries on the pitching end, with valued starter Jair Jurrjens recently sent to the 15-day DL after injuring his hamstring in an April 29 outing at St. Louis. As a result, Kris Medlen will make his initial start of the season this afternoon in Jurrjens' place.
Medlen has pitched exclusively in middle relief for the Braves this year and compiled a 1-1 record with a 2.55 earned run average in 12 appearances out of the pen. The sophomore right-hander struggled when used as a starter as a rookie last year, going 1-2 with a poor 6.38 ERA in four starts and walking 11 batters in only 18 1/3 innings of work.
This will be Medlen's first-ever start against the Phillies, but he's faced them twice already in relief this season and seven times over the past two years. The 24-year-old has recorded a 6.75 ERA lifetime versus Philadelphia and allowed two runs in 2 1/3 innings during his two previous matchups in this series in 2010.
Joe Blanton makes his second start of the year for Philadelphia this afternoon, having spent the season's first month on the disabled list with a strained left oblique. The stocky right-hander pitched well for the most part in Monday's debut, despite being saddled with a loss against St. Louis.
Blanton held the Cardinals to one run over the first six innings but faltered in the seventh, when he was charged with three more runs allowed and failed to finish out the frame. For the game, the 29-year-old gave up 10 hits over 6 2/3 innings and struck out four while walking one.
The University of Kentucky product is no stranger to the Braves, having made five starts against Atlanta a year ago. Blanton was 1-1 with a 5.23 ERA in those tests, with the lone win coming at Citizens Bank Park on August 30 by virtue of yielding just one run and three hits over seven innings.
Philadelphia puts a streak of four straight wins on the line today and has gone 6-2 thus far on a 10-game homestand. The two-time defending NL champs will be without their dugout leader this afternoon, however, as Manuel will miss the game due to a personal matter. He's expected to be back behind the bench for Sunday's finale.
Atlanta lost two of three to the Phillies at Turner Field last month, but did win five of the nine 2009 encounters between the teams held in Philadelphia.
<< Angels attempt to pin eighth straight loss on Mariners
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The struggling Seattle Mariners will try to snap out of
their rut tonight as they host the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in the middle
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After last night's 8-0 setback to the Angels,
<< Cards, Pirates set to continue series between Central foes
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The St. Louis Cardinals hope to carry over the momentum
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The division-leading Ca
<< Surging Blue Jays strive to stay hot in Chicago
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Riding the longest current winning streak in the majors,
the Toronto Blue Jays go for seven in a row when they take on the Chicago
White Sox tonight in third test of a four-game set.
Last night, Alex Gonzalez blasted a thr
<< Cilic, Youzhny to meet in BMW final
Munich, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Top-seeded Croat Marin Cilic and two-time
runner-up Mikhail Youzhny of Russia were both semifinal winners Saturday to
reach the title match at the clay-court BMW Open, a French Open tune-up.
The Aussi
Kentucky's Orton, Bledsoe staying in NBA Draft >>
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Nationals promote Chico for Saturday start >>
Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Washington Nationals have recalled
left-hander Matt Chico from Double-A Harrisburg for Saturday's start against
the Florida Marlins.
Chico went 1-2 with a 3.12 earned-run average in five start
Martinez Sanchez downs Jankovic for Rome crown >>
Rome, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Unseeded Spaniard Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez
finished off her stellar run of tennis at the $2 million Italian Masters on
Saturday, defeating Jelena Jankovic in a long straight-sets final.
Martinez Sanche
Canada rolls by Italy in Worlds opener >>
Mannheim, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rene Bourque, Matt Duchene and Steven
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Corey Perry and Kris Russell al
Two playoff teams from 2007 take center stage on the NFL Network Sunday night in a Week 2 NFL betting match-up when the (0-1) New England Patriots betting head south to Florida for a contest with the (1-0) Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
New England HC Bill Belichick couldn’t care less about the way his team plays in the preseason. With a chance to tie last week’s game with the Baltimore Ravens betting, He elected to go for the two-point conversion and outright victory. The conversion failed, and the Pats ended up falling to the Ravens by a 16-15 final count.
New England rolled off twelve unanswered points to give it a chance at securing the victory, but it never threatened to cover the 3.5-point spread. NFL bettors saw this one coming, as they bet the Ravens down from +6 to +3.5 as the week progressed. QB Tom Brady didn’t take part in the Patriots first preseason clash, but could see action this weekend.
His three replacements all put up embarrassing numbers. They went a combined 17 for 33, and threw three interceptions and no touchdowns. The New England defense was encouraging, as they held the Ravens to 2/12 third down conversions and surrendered just ten first downs. That ‘D’ should be bolstered with the addition of former Bucs and Denver Broncos betting safety John Lynch, who could make his Patriots debut on Sunday against his former mates.
HC Jon Gruden had to be impressed with the way his Bucs played on both sides of the ball in their dominating 17-6 victory over the Miami Dolphins in Week 1’s NFL pre-season betting action. Bucs bettors were quite happy with the effort, as they made a mockery of the fact that they were underdogs in the game.
The logjam at the quarterback position didn’t get any easier to separate for Gruden, as all four of his QBs had positive experiences in the first exhibition of 2008. The four combined to complete 28 of their 40 passes for 204 yards and a touchdown, and that was without starting QB Jeff Garcia in the lineup.
RB Michael Bennett had 19 carries and four receptions, totaling 90 yards and a touchdown. Expect to see more of Bennett, Kenneth Darby, and Earnest Graham, as they all compete for playing time with Warrick Dunn in the backfield this season. Defensively, the Bucs recorded four sacks and held the Fins offense in check all day.
First round draft pick Aqib Talib was impressive in the secondary, recording a tackle and two pass defenses in his debut. Don’t be surprised to see Talib in the starting lineup opposite Ronde Barber for the Bucs in ’08.
The betting trends suggest that NFL bettors should be backing the Bucs in this intra-conference exhibition.
These two teams hooked up last year in Tampa Bay, with the Bucs winning that game 13-10. The Buccaneers have only lost one preseason game at home dating back to the beginning of the ’05 preseason. The Patriots have had a mixed bag of results in their recent exhibitions. They have gone 2-2 ATS and SU each of the last three years.
New England currently sits as modest 1-point favorites in this preseason showdown with the ‘total’ now sitting at 34.5.
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Brandon Roy Favorite to Win 2007 NBA Rookie of the Year
Portland TrailBlazer’s guard, Brandon Roy, is MySportsbook.com’s overwhelming favorite to win the NBA Rookie of the Year odds.
Despite missing 20 games due to an injury earlier this season, Roy has definitely put up the best numbers of his 1st year peers. In 32 games, Roy is averaging 15.3 PPG, 4.2 boards and 3.5 assists in over 33 minutes of play per game. While most rookies breakdown as the season progresses (see Morrison), Roy is only getting stronger as his playing time and scoring average has increased each month.
With 30 or so games left in the regular season, Roy isn’t a lock for the award by any means. Other rookies are putting together some pretty impressive campaigns and a few could give Roy a run for the award with increased playing time. Heading the list is first pick, Andrea Bargnani of the Toronto Raptors. Even though he has started only two games all season, Bargnani is averaging 10.3 PPPG while shooting 35% from deep.
Randy Foye of the Minnesota Timberwolves could be set to give Roy the best competition NBA Rookie of the Year betting lines. With the benching of Mike James, Foye looks like he could be the starter in the T-Wolves backcourt for the rest of the season. So far, Foye has averaged 9 PPG and 2.4 assists in just under 21 minutes per game. With his new role of starter, Foye’s numbers will definitely increase. In his first game as the new starting guard this past Sunday, Foye had 10 points; five rebounds and 8 assists. More importantly, he logged 34 minutes of playing time; his third highest run of the season.
Adam Morrison, of the Charlotte Bobcats, was the favorite early on in the season after averaging 15+ PPG through the first month of the season. Ever since his torrid start, Morrison’s point production has declined each month. This really isn’t surprising, considering at 6’8” he only weighs 205 lbs. Obviously he will need to hit the weights big time during the off-season in order to keep from breaking down in the future.
Be sure to log on to MySportsbook.com to bet on the NBA. With the regular season about to hit the homestretch, it is important to point out that MySportsbook.com has the highest credit card acceptance rate in the industry.
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