Braves hope to break out the brooms against Phils
Baseball Betting Lines
07/02/2009 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Atlanta Braves are gradually working their way up the NL East standings and will try to extend their winning streak to a season-high four straight games tonight in the finale of a three-game series versus the Philadelphia Phillies at Turner Field.
Atlanta and Florida are the hottest teams in the division right now, as the Braves sit three games off Philadelphia's pace in the East and the Marlins are currently just a half-game behind the Phillies. The Braves posted their third win in a row with Wednesday's 11-1 bashing of 2008 World Series MVP Cole Hamels and the Phillies with a 14-hit attack.
Matt Diaz clubbed a two-run homer and finished with three hits, while Diory Hernandez belted a solo shot for the Braves, who got two hits and three RBI out of veteran Chipper Jones. Brian McCann and Martin Prado both had two hits in Atlanta's third win since a four-game losing streak.
Braves starter Jair Jurrjens had his no-hit bid broken up in the seventh inning by Paul Bako and allowed one run on just the one hit to go along with six strikeouts and four walks in seven frames for the win.
"I wasn't thinking (of the no-hitter). I was just trying to throw strikes early in the count, make them get themselves out," said Jurrjens.
Kris Medlen and Manny Acosta completed the two-hitter with a combined two innings of scoreless relief.
The Braves are 1-6 in Javier Vazquez's last seven starts and will roll the rice with him again this evening versus the Phillies. Vazquez is 1-4 over his last seven trips to the mound and lost his most recent outing on June 27 versus Boston. He held the Red Sox to a run and six hits over 7 2/3 decent innings, but fell to 2-5 in nine home starts this season.
Vazquez, who is 5-7 with a 3.04 ERA in 16 total starts, will face the Phillies for the third time this season. He is 1-0 in two appearances so far and 11-7 with a 4.45 ERA in 25 career games. The righty beat the Phils on May 9 at Citizens Bank Park with 7 2/3 innings of two-run ball.
Philadelphia is rapidly falling from grace and has dropped 13 of its last 17 games to watch its division lead shrink to just a half-game ahead of the suddenly-surging Marlins. The despised New York Mets are only two games in back of the Phillies, who would like to put last night's loss behind them.
Bako and Shane Victorino recorded the only hits for Philly, and Jimmy Rollins finished 0-for-3 at the plate to run his hitless streak to a career-worst 27 official at-bats. Rollins' previous career high had been a 25 at-bat hitless streak from June 18-24, 2002.
Hamels was rocked for seven runs and nine hits in only four innings of work to fall to 4-5 on the season.
"It's a challenging year," Hamels said on the team's site. "Not every time you got there, every season is going to be great. You have the years where you really have to learn who you are. You have to take what you did last year, kind of the ups, downs and really battle through it. I think that's where you learn who you are and what you're going to be capable of in the future. Things aren't going to be easy. You're put on a big pedestal when you win and win awards. You expect a lot out of yourself. And I expect a lot out of myself."
Philadelphia, which opens a three-game home series versus the Mets on Friday, will expect a lot from tonight's starter J.A. Happ. Happ will bring his unbeaten record to the mound for the Phillies and is 5-0 with a 3.00 ERA in 19 games (7 starts) this season. Happ is coming off the first shutout of his career, as he twirled nine innings of five-hit ball in a 10-0 victory at Toronto on June 27.
Happ struck out four and did not walk a batter at Rogers Centre, improving to 3-0 with a 1.67 ERA in nine road games (4 starts) this season. The young lefty will face Atlanta for the second time in 2009, as he tossed two innings of relief in a 12-11 win back on April 8. Happ allowed a two-run homer in that game.
Philadelphia went 14-4 against Atlanta a year ago, but the Braves have won six of eight meetings with the Phils so far in 2009. The Phils have dropped the first two tests at Turner Field after going 9-0 there a year ago.
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - If the Chicago Cubs are going to win a third straight National League Central title, they are going to have to pick it up offensively. This weekend would be a good time to get it going, as they return home for the start of a
<< Astros go for series win at Petco
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Houston Astros shoot for a series win this afternoon
over the San Diego Padres at Petco Park, where the two ballclubs will wrap up
a four-game set.
Houston has won five of its last seven games, including two of the fir
<< Mets head to Pittsburgh for makeup with Bucs
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Before the New York Mets begin a critical three-game set in
Philadelphia this weekend, they must first play a makeup game in the Keystone
State against the Pittsburgh Pirates today at PNC Park.
Today's contest was original
<< Judge lifts Mayfield's suspension
Charlotte, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A federal judge lifted the NASCAR-imposed
suspension on driver Jeremy Mayfield Wednesday, allowing him to race again,
possibly as soon as this weekend at Daytona International Speedway.
"This is huge for us.
<< Sedin twins headline first day of NHL free agency
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Wednesday marked the beginning of the
NHL's free agency period, and two of the biggest players on the open market
opted to stay put.
The Vancouver Canucks re-signed forwards Daniel and Henrik
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Alex Rodriguez is starting to heat up. Not coincidentally, so are the New York Yankees. The Bronx Bombers will be shooting for an eighth consecutive victory and a series sweep of Rodriguez's original team, the Seattl
Reds, D-Backs close series in Cincy >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Cincinnati Reds hope that Aaron Harang can have the
same type of outing Johnny Cueto had last night, as they wrap up a three-game
series Thursday afternoon from Great American Ball Park.
Cueto tossed six shutout inning
Cardinals try to even up Giants in series finale >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Barry Zito tries to slow down Albert Pujols this evening
when the San Francisco Giants and St. Louis Cardinals conclude a four-game set
at Busch Stadium.
St. Louis won in dramatic fashion on Wednesday, as Colby Rasmus bel
White Sox take win streak to Kansas City >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago White Sox will be putting a season-high win
streak on the line when the resurgent club heads to Kansas City's Kauffman
Stadium tonight for the opener of a four-game series with the Royals.
Chicago comes
Angels return home to host Orioles >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Los Angeles Angels return home from a six-day road
trip in first place in the American League West. The two-time defending
division champions will try to stay on top when they start up a four-game
series
COLLEGE FOOTBALL BETTING
NCAA Football BettingMany fans thought it was the best side in the nation by the end of last season. This year, the polls have built on Georgia's momentum and granted it the No. 1 preseason ranking, followed by Ohio State and USC. (The Associated Press has the Buckeyes at No. 2; USA Today took the Trojans.)
"To have people believing we have one of the best teams in the nation going into this thing, it's exciting for us," Bulldogs coach Mark Richt told the AP. "I don't think anything is guaranteed, but we certainly have put ourselves in position where at least the college football world thinks we're pretty good."
Georgia Bulldogs - 9.5 wins
There's no question they're good, but the Bulldogs have one of the toughest 12-game schedules in the nation, mostly because they play in the powerhouse Southeastern Conference. Away games at No. 15 Arizona State, No. 7 LSU and No. 10 Auburn loom large, with contests between the hedges versus No. 24 Alabama and No. 18 Tennessee as well as the World's Largest Cocktail Party in Jacksonville versus No.5 Florida.
Ohio State Buckeyes - 10 wins
Like the Bulldogs, the Buckeyes also have a number of tough road contests in 2008. After two scrimmages dressed up as real games versus Youngstown State and Ohio, it's off to face USC. Other tough away games include No.13 Wisconsin in October and No. 20 Illinois in November. Granted, it should be pretty easy sledding at the Horseshoe. In fact, the only ranked team that travels to Columbus is No. 22 Penn State, in October.
USC Trojans - 10.5 wins
A similarly light schedule awaits the Trojans of Southern California, which is why the oddsmakers' total is one win more and the over is currently commanding -150 odds. Pete Carroll's troops only play three ranked teams in 2008, and all of those games are at home. After what should be an easy trip to Virginia to start things off on Aug. 30, the Trojans get two weeks to prepare for Ohio State in Los Angeles. Their two other ranked opponents, No. 21 Oregon and No. 15 Arizona State, visit in consecutive weeks to start the month of October. After that, the competition eases up. Of course, this is the same highly-touted school that lost to Stanford in 2007 and Oregon State in 2006. And don't discount the fact that USC plays its biggest rivals, Notre Dame and UCLA, back-to-back to close out the regular season. On paper, the Trojans are far superior, but motivation will be high for the Irish and Bruins, especially if their historic foes are in national-title contention.
Odds to Win the Heisman Trophy
Tim Tebow, Florida - 7/2
He won it last year, so it's no surprise he's the favorite to do it again, making him just the second player to go back-to-back. Ohio State's Archie Griffin turned the trick in 1974 and 1975, and Tebow's coach, Urban Meyer, is pretty sure his star quarterback can match the Buckeyes legend.
"There has never been anyone quite like him," Meyer told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "I am very lucky to be his coach."
Chris Wells, Ohio State - 5/1
The man they call "Beanie" was a star recruit out of high school, so it's not like nobody knew who the star tailback was before he rushed for 576 yards as a freshman in 2006 and 1,609 as a sophomore. But perhaps his finest moment came last year versus Michigan when he rumbled for 222 yards and two touchdowns in the Buckeyes' 14-3 victory over the hated Wolverines.
Knowshon Moreno, Georgia - 8/1
If the Bulldogs are to live up to expectations, they'll need a huge effort from their sophomore running back. This might be the last year of college ball for Moreno, who rushed for 1,334 yards and for 14 touchdowns as a freshman, while adding 253 receiving yards on 20 receptions, so expect big things for the man from Belford, N.J.
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Football Betting: Defensive Rookie of the Year Awards
Oddsmakers have released the odds for the 2009 AP NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Award and Seattle Seahawks linebacker Aaron Curry has been made the opening favorite.
Seattle took Curry with the fourth overall pick in April's NFL draft and plan on inserting him into its starting lineup right away. The Hawks traded linebacker Julian Peterson in the offseason, so Curry is expected to have a significant role in Seattle's defense next year and that's one of the primary reasons he is the favorite to win the NFL ROY Award.
Oddsmakers from online sportsbook MySportsbook.com have made Curry a 5/1 favorite to win this year's NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Award. Given that he was the best defensive prospect in this year's draft and how he'll have plenty of opportunities to make plays in '09, Curry offers a ton of value at 5/1.
Another thing working for Curry is the position he plays. A linebacker has won the defensive ROY award six straight times and eight of the last nine years. Jerod Mayo, Patrick Willis, DeMeco Ryans, Shawne Merriman, Jonathan Vilma, Terrell Suggs, Kendrell Bell and Brian Urlacher were the most recent linebackers to take home the award.
Following Curry at 5/1 are Tyson Jackson (Chiefs) at 7/1, James Laurinaitas (Rams) at 8/1, Brian Orakpo (Redskins) at 10/1, Rey Maualuga (Bengals) at 10/1 and Jerry Peria (Falcons) at 10/1.
All the players mentioned above are expected to start for their respective teams, but Jackson and Peria are going to have a tough time being recognized on a national level given they're both defensive linemen. D-linemen rarely put up the numbers that it takes to win an individual award like the ROY.
A couple of players with some value are Clay Matthews (Packers) at 12/1 and Larry English (Chargers) at 15/1. Matthews is expected to start at outside linebacker in Green Bay's new 3-4 defense and could rack up a ton of tackles. English, who was an impressive player at Northern Illinois, is expected to be a situational pass rusher for the Chargers and could rack up a ton of sacks.
For complete odds on the 2009 AP NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Award, see below. And for complete odds for the 2009 AP NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year Award, click the link provided.
2009 AP NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Award
Robert Ayers (DEN) 12/1
Ron Brace (NE) 25/1
Everette Brown (CAR) 16/1
Darius Butler (NE) 40/1
Patrick Chung (NE) 30/1
Aaron Curry (SEA) 5/1
Brian Cushing (HOU) 12/1
Vontae Davis (MIA) 30/1
Louis Delmas (DET) 30/1
Larry English (SD) 15/1
Evander Hood (PIT) 25/1
Tyson Jackson (KC) 7/1
Malcolm Jenkins (NO) 25/1
Paul Kruger (BAL) 50/1
James Laurinaitas (STL) 8/1
Sen'Derrick Marks (TEN) 20/1
Clay Matthews (GB) 12/1
Aaron Maybin (BUF) 15/1
Rey Maualuga (CIN) 10/1
Roy Miller (TB) 20/1
Michael Mitchell (OAK) 45/1
Fili Moala (IND) 30/1
Brian Orakpo (WAS) 10/1
Jerry Peria (ATL) 10/1
B J Raji (GB) 7/1
Clint Sintim (NYG) 35/1
Alphonso Smith (DEN) 40/1
David Verkune (CLE) 20/1
Jason Williams (DAL) 30/1
Field (Any Other Player) 6/1
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