Braves try to bounce back in key series with Marlins

Baseball Betting Lines

09/04/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Josh Johnson hopes for a better result than the last time he faced Atlanta when he and the Florida Marlins continue their three-game set with the Braves tonight at Sun Life Stadium.

Johnson surrendered just three hits and an unearned run in six innings against the Braves on Sunday, but received a no-decision in his team's 7-6 loss. It was the seventh time this season that he left with a lead only to settle for a no-decision.

"I would have liked to get a little bit deeper," said Johnson, who is 11-5 with a 2.28 earned run average on the year and has struck out 174 batters in 177 2/3 innings, after the game. "I just didn't."

Johnson has faced the Braves 14 times (13 starts) and is 4-2 with a 2.44 ERA against them.

The Marlins kept their fleeting postseason hopes alive in the opener of this set on Friday, as Logan Morrison tripled twice, scored two times and drove in a run in support of five solid innings from Andrew Miller to post a 6-1 win.

"The story is Andrew Miller and how he is gaining confidence," said Florida acting manager Brandon Hyde. "It was awesome to see. He was throwing strikes, working ahead and putting away guys. It was an impressive performance."

Chad Tracy had a key two-run double and Hanley Ramirez went 1-for-2 with a pair of runs scored, two walks, a stolen base and an RBI for the Marlins, who claimed their third win in a row and have now alternated three-game winning and losing streaks over their last nine games.

However, they still trail the Braves by nine games in the National League East and are eight back of the Philadelphia Phillies in the Wild Card race.

Miller (1-0) allowed the lone run on seven hits while walking three and fanning six to pick up his first win since July 4 of last season. Four different hurlers came out of the bullpen to blank the Braves over the final four frames.

Kenshin Kawakami (1-10) took the loss after lasting only three innings in his first start since June 26. The right-hander yielded five runs on five hits and four walks while fanning two for the Braves, who lost their second straight and saw their lead over Philadelphia in the division trimmed to a single game after the Phillies blanked Milwaukee, 1-0, earlier in the night.

"It was the worst ballgame I've ever seen him pitch," said Braves skipper Bobby Cox about his struggling starter. "He just couldn't get his stuff going, couldn't get his location going. He just never got into a good rhythm."

Hoping for a better effort tonight, Atlanta will turn to righty Jair Jurrjens, who has won his last three decisions and is 6-4 with a 4.38 ERA on the year. Jurrjens overcame six walks to beat the New York Mets on Monday, as he allowed three runs and six hits in 5 2/3 innings.

Jurrjens is 3-1 with a 4.50 ERA in seven starts against the Marlins.

Atlanta has won seven of its 13 matchups with the Marlins this season.

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Elite 8 NCAA Tournament Betting at online sportsbook MySportsbook.com

In what should be an outstanding Saturday of March Madness betting action, the top four teams in the South and West Regions square off in what should be extremely close match-ups. Three of the four teams are coming off extremely close games on Thursday evening, only UCLA won semi comfortably over Pitt 64-55.

Ohio State is coming off their second game in a row where in all reality they should have lost. Of course that doesn’t matter now since the name of the game is “survive and advance” but as the tournament continues, they can’t afford to keep getting down to their opponents early. Kansas also avoided a scare by holding off a scrappy Southern Illinois squad. In the third thrilling game of the evening Memphis pulled off the minor upset (+3.5) despite being the higher seed to Texas A&M.

Although the spreads are fairly small for Saturday’s games, MySportsbook.com continue to bet against the underdogs. Despite OSU’s two scares, 86% of the “betting public” feels the Buckeyes (-1.5) have what it takes to make the Final Four. In fact, so much of the early money is on OSU that the line has already moved from -1 to -1.5. In the second game of the doubleheader, Kansas and their high-powered offense are 2 point favorites as they take on UCLA and their effective defense. About 63% of the early money thus far is once again backing the favorites. If those percentages stay that high, don’t be surprised if this line moves as well. If you like Kansas (-2) you might want to jump on it early.

Memphis vs. Ohio State

Both squads were involved in thrillers on Thursday evening and should come out fired up. OSU can ill afford to get behind early like they did versus their previous two opponents (Xavier, Tennessee). Greg Oden needs to stay out of foul trouble; the Buckeyes are a completely different team when he is on the court. Memphis definitely has the athleticism and length to match-up with OSU. Of Memphis’ five leading minute earners, the shortest of the bunch is 6’5”. Each team has a very effective defense; Memphis surrenders 62.3 PPG whereas the Buckeyes give up only 61 PPG. With those type of numbers, it isn’t surprising that Memphis covered the UNDER almost 69% of the time this season. As a favorite, OSU has covered the UNDER almost 66% of the time over the last three seasons. The major concern for Memphis which is magnifies this time of the year is their brutal foul shooting (62%). This season, OSU is 17-11 ATS versus teams with a winning record and 7-2 ATS in all tournament games. Memphis has been an extremely reliable cover in tournament play in recent years with a 23-8 ATS record over the last three seasons.

UCLA vs. Kansas

In the second game of Saturday’s doubleheader, UCLA will play in a role which they are very unfamiliar with that of the underdog. Only twice this season have they been getting points from the handicappers and both times they covered. Over the last three seasons UCLA is a reliable 23-7 ATS in this unfamiliar role. UCLA has not fared well against Big 12 opponents recently going 1-7 ATS since 1997. Giving up only 59.6 PPG, UCLA will definitely look to do what they do best: keep this game as low scoring as possible. Their defense has been especially tough during the tournament. UCLA opponents have been able to muster up only 48.7 PPG while shooting a combined 34.5% from the field. UCLA definitely has a challenge at hand with a Kansas team that is capable of putting points on the board in bunches. As a team, they average 79 PPG and shoot an impressive 49.6% from the field and 39.4% from beyond the arc. During the tournament Kansas has been “lights out” from the field having shot 56.2%.

With Friday -105 juice on Basketball betting, MySportsbook.com is the place to bet on all of the “March Madness” action.  Don’t forget to monitor who the public is backing at MySportsbook.com’s “Betting Trends”.  By doing so, you have the best chance of predicting a possible line change, thus getting the best value for your wager.

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