First-place Braves resume series with Brewers

Baseball Betting Lines

07/16/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - With rookie sensation Jason Heyward back in the outfield for the Atlanta Braves, things may get a bit easier for the current National League East leaders. Tonight Heyward and the Braves will resume a four-game series versus the Milwaukee Brewers at Turner Field.

Heyward had been hampered by an injured left thumb and saw action last night for the first time since June 26. In the 2-1 triumph over the Brewers, Heyward went 0-for-4 at the plate, but made two key defensive plays in the field. He even collided with the right-field wall while chasing down a fly ball hit by Casey McGehee in the fourth inning.

"I didn't feel dizzy," Heyward said on the team's site. "It happened so quick that I couldn't even tell you what happened. I took a minute to catch my breath."

Martin Prado and Chipper Jones both homered, while Brian McCann and Troy Glaus ended with two hits apiece for Atlanta, which is five games ahead of New York and 5 1/2 games in front of Philadelphia in the division standings. Jair Jurrjens earned the win by holding Milwaukee to a run over 6 2/3 innings before Peter Moylan, Jonny Venters and closer Billy Wagner prevented any more damage. Wagner fanned two batters in the ninth for his 21st save.

Tommy Hanson gets the nod for the Braves Friday and he is 8-5 with a 4.13 earned run average in 18 starts this season. Hanson did not record a decision the last time out in a 4-2 victory against the Mets on July 9, as he delivered 5 2/3 innings of two-run ball with six strikeouts.

Hanson, a right-hander, will try to beat Milwaukee for the second time this season after throwing eight shutout innings and striking out eight in an 8-2 win over the Brewers on May 10 at Miller Park. He is 1-1 with a 3.43 earned run average in three career starts against Milwaukee.

The Braves, winners in five of their last six games, will also host San Diego on the current homestand.

Milwaukee entered the All-Star break fresh off a three-game sweep of the Pittsburgh Pirates and had its winning streak cut short with Thursday's close loss. Dave Bush was the tough-luck loser, as he yielded a pair of runs on seven hits and two walks in six innings.

"I felt good about the way I threw," Bush said. "Both pitches (for home runs) were mistakes, probably not the only two mistakes, but the two I got hurt on. Besides that, I was happy with the way I threw the ball."

Corey Hart accounted for the only offense with a homer and finished with a team-best two hits for Milwaukee, which lost for the sixth time in nine tries.

The Brewers will also visit the Pirates for four games following their lengthy set in Atlanta. Taking the ball for Milwaukee on Friday will be Randy Wolf, who is 6-8 with a 4.56 earned run average in 19 starts this season. Wolf did not record a decision in Sunday's 6-5 win over the Buccos, as he was reached for four runs and seven hits in six innings.

Wolf, who is 4-4 in nine road starts in 2010, has faced Atlanta plenty of times from his days with the Philadelphia Phillies, but hasn't fared so well. In 27 career appearances, 25 of which have been starts, the southpaw is 4-12 with a 5.31 ERA against the Braves.

The Braves have won five straight and seven of their last eight versus the Brewers, including a three-game sweep at Milwaukee from May 10-12.

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Mens NCAA Basketball Tournament odds  
As of February 9, MySportsbook.com has released its coveted 2007 Mens NCAA Basketball Tournament betting odds. “March Madness betting ” only a month away, the top ranked Florida Gators are favorite at 7-2 to win it all. The defending champs have not disappointed at all this season and currently have a 22-2 record and are undefeated (9-0) in SEC play. The Gators’ thrive off of their extremely balanced, experienced and versatile attack. All five starters started in last seasons National Championship game. What is most impressive with this group is their balance; the five starters all average between 10.7 and 13.6 PPG. The Gators have been on an absolute roll having won 15 straight by an average of 16.4 PPG.

Right behind the Gators are the 5th ranked UNC Tar Heels at 9-2. The Heels (21-3, 7-2) are absolutely loaded with top notch talent and are as deep as any team in the country. A concern for the Tar Heels might be inexperience. Of their top four scorers/ minute earners, three are freshmen and the other is a sophomore. The rest of the regular season, the Tar Heels play only one team that is currently ranked (Duke). Their remaining opponents do combine for an impressive 107-58 record though.

Other teams that the MySportsbook.com members seem to believe will win it all include the west coasts’ top team #2 UCLA (6-1), #3 OSU behind man-child Greg Oden (8-1), and #4 Wisconsin (10-1) behind their defense which has given up 70+ points only three times all season.

Below is a list of some of the favorites to win the 2007 Men’s NCAA Basketball Championship lines. For the full list of teams and March Madness odds be sure to log onto MySportsbook.com. If you want to use your credit card to bet on college hoops or any other event, MySportsbook.com has the highest credit card acceptance rate in the industry.

Arizona 20-1

Butler 20-1

Duke 30-1

Florida 7-2

Georgetown 30-1

Indiana 35-1

Kansas 15-1

Marquette 25-1

Maryland 40-1

Memphis 50-1

Nevada 50-1

UNC 9-2

OSU 8-1

Oregon 30-1

Pittsburgh 15-1

Texas 30-1

Texas A&M 18-1

UCLA 6-1

Wisconsin 10-1

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your Sportsbook betting needs.

Big Ten Conference odds

Teams that should be in: Michigan State, Indiana
Work left to do: Illinois, Purdue, Michigan, Iowa

Behind the big two, the pecking order might be in a bit of flux. Has Michigan State passed Indiana after handling the Hoosiers in East Lansing? Where is Illinois in that mix? What looked like a four-big league last week could be morphing into five -- and even six is not unthinkable at this point if everything breaks right.

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

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