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Braves' Hanson hopes to end winless drought versus MetsBaseball Betting Lines09/01/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A matchup at home versus the struggling New York Mets should translate into Tommy Hanson's first victory in nearly two months, but things just haven't gone the right-hander's way as of late. Hanson will look to halt his winless stretch at 10 straight starts this evening, when the Atlanta Braves try to make it five straight victories overall in the third contest of a four-game set with New York at Turner Field. Hanson has several factors working in his favor tonight. First is the fact that the Mets have lost 15 of their last 21 meetings with the Braves, as well as 11 of the past 14 played between the teams at Turner Field. Run support has also been an issue when Hanson has been on the mound, but the Braves have plated 18 runs in the first two games of this set and have scored at least seven runs in six of their last nine contests. Still, the fact remains that Hanson hasn't won since July 3, having gone 0-5 with a 3.08 earned run average in 10 starts since. He has also lost in each of his last two starts and served up four homers and seven runs -- six earned -- in a 7-1 loss to the Marlins on Friday. "I left some balls up to start the game," said Hanson, who is 8-10 with a 3.76 ERA this year. "I never got into a rhythm, never really got anything going." Luck hasn't been on his side when facing the Mets this year. He is 0-1 in two starts against the club, despite a 1.69 ERA. Hopefully Atlanta can keep swinging a hot bat for Hanson in this contest. The club certainly did that on Tuesday, when David Ross capped a seven-run fifth inning with his first career grand slam to help the Braves to a 9-2 victory. "That was a fun game," said Ross. "Any time I can succeed and contribute to a win feels good. It's just nice that I had a good game. I have to do my part whenever I get in there." Derrek Lee added three hits and an RBI and Jason Hayward smacked a two-run double for the Braves, who have won four straight and maintained a three-game edge over Philadelphia for first place in the National League East. Atlanta will try to win five games in a row for the first time since June 16-20. The Braves are expected to add more offense to the lineup today as rosters expand. The team is expected to promote first baseman Freddie Freeman, the International League's Rookie of the Year who hit .319 with 18 homers and 87 RBI for Triple-A Gwinnett this year. Jeff Francoeur and Henry Blanco each drove in a run for the Mets, who have dropped five of their last seven. Francoeur was then traded to the Rangers for infielder Joaquin Arias after the game . Jon Niese took the loss, though five of the eight runs he allowed over 4 2/3 innings were unearned. "It's a combination of things," said David Wright. "Obviously we don't want to make errors and you hope that when you do make an error that the pitcher can pick you up. Unfortunately, neither one of those things happened. We made the errors and couldn't stop the bleeding. When you're facing a team this good, you can't give them extra outs." Mets shortstop Jose Reyes missed his fifth game in a row due to a right oblique injury, while teammate Angel Pagan also sat out last night due to a right wrist injury that has him day-to-day. The good news for the Mets is that Mike Pelfrey has seemed to regain his early season form that saw him start the year 10-2. The right-hander then went winless over seven straight starts and four consecutive decisions between June 30-Aug. 4, but is 3-1 with a 1.20 ERA over his last four starts. Pelfrey has won each of his last two starts, going eight innings in both. He held Houston to just six hits without a run on Friday, improving to 13-7 with a 3.61 ERA this year. "Henry [Blanco] and I have gone back to the four-seam fastball," Pelfrey said in talking about his recent string of successful outings. "It's something we did earlier in the year and I've gotten back to using it again. [Friday] I was fortunate, I was pretty erratic to say the least. I felt like when it came time to, though, I made some pitches." The 26-year-old Pelfrey is 2-2 with a 3.80 ERA in four starts versus the Braves this season.
<< Surging Reds ready brooms for visiting Brewers
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Cincinnati is already getting playoff fever, but the city now has to deal with "Chapmania" as well. The highly-regarded Aroldis Chapman is coming off an electric debut and could get a chance tonight to help the first-place
<< Nationals, Marlins to wrap up charged-up set
<< Heavy-hitting Yanks continue series with A's
<< Angels take on Seattle's Vargas in series finale
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Manny grounds out in 1st at-bat for White Sox >>
CLEVELAND (AP) -Manny Ramirez's debut with Chicago has started with a groundout.Leading off the second inning, Ramirez fell behind 0-2 in the count against Cleveland's Carlos Carrasco, fouled off a few pitches and then hit a grounder to shortstop We
AP Source: Big Ten will announce divisions tonight >>
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Auburn opens at home against Arkansas State >>
Teams that should be in: Michigan State, Indiana Should be in: Michigan State [21-8 (8-6), RPI: 20, SOS: 15] The Spartans made it four-for-four on the homestand, a gigantic accomplishment that leaves them in extremely good shape. MSU is only 1-6 on the road and is at Michigan and at Wisconsin to close things out, meaning the date with the Wolverines on Tuesday looms very, very large. Beating Texas early will hold up well, as will the rout of Bradley and the win over BYU, but will 8-8 be enough? It very well could be, as the computer numbers are good, but why chance it? Indiana [18-9 (8-6), RPI: 24, SOS: 32] Hmm ... good thing the last two are at Northwestern and home to Penn State, because IU might want to get both to feel completely safe after dropping its third in the last four, fading after halftime at Michigan State. Who knew the best nonconference win would be over Southern Illinois, which is a gift that keeps on giving for the Hoosiers. The win over Wisconsin also looks good on the mantel. Work left to do: Illinois [21-9 (9-6), RPI: 31, SOS: 25] A good performance at Penn State leaves the Illini in pretty good shape. Can they go to Iowa and take care of business to really look on their way? That's a huge game, as there is a possible cluster of teams that will end at 9-7. Illinois beat Bradley, but has lost to Xavier. A 9-7 mark and a semifinals trip in Chicago could be enough with the computer profile hanging in there, but it would be better not to mess around, clinching at least a tie for third. Purdue [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 47, SOS: 28] Couldn't get it done at Iowa, but did win at Northwestern to put 9-7 squarely in sight. Where does that leave the Boilermakers, though? Even if they beat Minnesota and Northwestern at home, that won't help the computer numbers. Nonconference wins over Virginia, DePaul and Oklahoma are solid, but not spectacular. The Boilers very well might need an upset in the B10 quarters to have a legit claim. Michigan [19-10 (7-7), RPI: 55, SOS: 53] Well, Michigan did what it needed to do, winning at Minnesota to take control of its fate. The Wolverines have Michigan State and an already-wrapped-up-the-league Ohio State at home to close, so the chances are there. Win both and we can talk. There is no marquee win yet in the profile, and the Wolverines were splattered in several games against name opponents. A mediocre computer profile fueled by a lack of road wins isn't helping, either. Iowa [16-12 (8-6), RPI: 80, SOS: 64] For the sake of being complete, we'll add Iowa, this season's Stanford. It's plausible that the Hawkeyes could get to 10-6 (at Penn State, vs. Illinois left), but where does that leave them after a gruesome nonconference performance where the best win was over ... Toledo? Iowa State? Cornell?? If they get to 10-6, we can start to look at what they need to do in the B10 tourney, although my gut sense is that they would need to make the final and have knocked off Ohio State or Wisconsin on the way to have any real claim. For more College Basketball betting lines go to MySportsbook.com Additional sports lines can be found at: www.Sportsbooks.com To bet on March Madness games this online sportsbook accepts credit cards.
Dallas Cowboys Super Bowl Odds Will he or won't he? Now that the Dallas Cowboys have a new head coach in Wade Phillips, the big question will be: Does Terrell Owens stay with the team. Jerry Jones continues to suggest that Terrell Owens will remain with the team. "I've said that he's back, he's here, he's under contract," Jones said. "In the interviews I've just been through (to hire a new coach), it was very clear to me how highly he's thought of and how much of an impact he had on our offensive success." Just to be sure though, Terrell Owens cleared out his locker and removed his name plate. Terrell Owens was among the Cowboys most productive players this past season, catching 85 passes for 1,180 yards and a league-best 13 touchdowns. But T.O. is due a $3 million roster bonus in June, then a $5 million salary this season. Cutting him before then would save a lot of money and headaches. Aside from the questions surrounding Terrell Owens, the oddsmakers at MySportsbook.com have concerns over starting quarterback Tony Romo's state of mind and whether he will remain a starting quarterback. It is also not known how players will adjust to new head coach, Wade Phillips. Here are the football odds as seen at MySportsbook.com and subject to change after February 10, 2007 if not locked in prior to that date. To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your Sportsbook credit cards needs. |
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