Braves try to end recent road woes in Houston

Baseball Betting Lines

08/10/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Atlanta Braves have used the best home record in baseball to climb atop the National League East standings, but an inability to win on the road could cost them a chance at the playoffs.

Atlanta, losers of eight of their last 11 as the guest, will try to snap the Houston Astros' home winning streak at six games and even a three-game series this evening at Minute Maid Park.

The Braves came to town fresh off a 5-2 homestand and with a two-game lead over Philadelphia for first place in the NL East. However, a 10-4 setback last night shaved that edge by a half-game over the idle Phillies and dropped Atlanta to just 25-33 on the road, compared to 38-15 as the host.

Atlanta committed three errors in last night's loss, including two during a six-run seventh inning for Houston. Brian McCann had a go-ahead two-run homer for the Braves in the sixth frame, but his throwing error in the seventh allowed two runs to score.

The Braves, who have lost three in a row on the road, got a decent outing from Mike Minor in his MLB debut. The seventh overall pick of the 2009 draft allowed four runs -- three earned -- on five hits over six innings.

"I don't think [Minor] was nervous, he didn't appear that way," said Atlanta manager Bobby Cox. "He had great mound presence and he made some pitches when he had to. He gave up a couple bloopers in the third inning that hurt. Then we gave up a ton of bloopers in the seventh inning that hurt."

One bright spot for the Braves was Omar Infante, who extended his hitting streak to a career high-tying 12 straight games. He his 20-for-53 over the run for a .377 average.

Chris Johnson highlighted Houston's big frame with a two-run single and drove in three runs in all while scoring twice for the Astros, who snapped a four- game slide both overall and to the Braves. They were swept in three games in Atlanta from April 30-May 2, getting outscored 21-4.

Carlos Lee had two hits, drove in a pair and scored twice in the win.

"It's nice to see the guys run the bases like they did, aggressively and putting pressure on (the other team)," said Houston manager Brad Mills.

Mills will go tonight with J.A. Happ, who makes his third start since being acquired from Philadelphia as part of a package that sent Roy Oswalt to the Phillies.

Happ was excellent in his Houston debut on July 30, hurling six shutout innings in a victory over the Brewers. However, the 27-year-old was hammered for a career-high seven runs on six hits and walked three while recording just three outs in a loss to the Cardinals on Wednesday.

"He just didn't seem like he was able to make adjustments," Mills said. "He did a great job doing that last time, and that wasn't the case [Wednesday]. He just wasn't able to make those adjustments and get him back down in the zone."

The 27-year-old is 2-1 with a 4.03 ERA in five starts this year and 2-0 with a 2.23 ERA in six career games versus the Braves, five of those starts.

Atlanta counters with Jair Jurrjens, who after allowing a total of nine runs in rough back-to-back road outings, returned to the win column on Thursday with six innings of two-run ball versus San Francisco. The 24-year-old gave up seven hits and walked three while improving to 4-4 with a 4.48 ERA on the year.

Jurrjens has yet to win on the road in 2010, having gone 0-4 with a 7.63 ERA. He has also made just one career start versus Houston, allowing a run on four hits over two innings on May 2 of last year. The 24-year-old got a no-decision after exiting early due to a rain delay.

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MySportsbook.com: NFL draft - The NFC South


In part two of MySportsbook.com’s draft preview, we’ll take a look at a division that was extremely disappointing last season: the NFC South.  Many “experts” predicted the Panthers to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl, of course they could not even make the playoffs in an extremely weak NFC.  The Saints definitely made up for the disappointing seasons of their NFC South brethren by exploding out of no where en route to the NFC Championship game.  For the avid NFL gambler, it is imperative to pay attention to the NFL draft.  Although free agency gets a ton of publicity, the successful franchises build their teams around the draft.

1. New Orleans Saints
Who would have thought this time last year that the Saints would be the favorites to win the NFC South for the 2007 campaign?  New Orleans is loaded with firepower on the offensive side of the ball but with the exodus of Joe Horn they will most likely look to draft a WR on Day 1.  Despite having the NFL’s 3rd ranked pass defense last season, the Saints will most likely upgrade their CB’s with one of their first two picks. Other possibilities for the Saints will be TE and DT.  Because of where they will be selecting (27th), the Saints could go the “best available player” route which could net a LB.

Key additions: Eric Johnson TE, Troy Evans LB, David Patten WR
Key loses: Joe Horn WR,
Team needs: CB, WR, TE, LB, DT
Possible draftees: Aaron Ross CB Texas, Darrelle Revis CB Pitt, Ted Ginn Jr. WR OSU, Paul Posluszny LB PSU, Chris Houston CB Arkansas, Greg Olsen TE Miami

2. Carolina Panthers
Carolina was one of the biggest disappointments in the NFL last season.  With the signing of David Carr, expect the very first quarterback controversy to come out of Carolina if Jake Delhomme doesn’t rebound quickly from an average 2007 season. With veteran safety Mike Minter getting up there in age, they will look to draft a safety on Day 1 but probably not in the first round.  LB is another need with the loss of Chris Draft to go along with Dan Morgan’s concussion problems.  If TE Greg Olsen is still on the board, he might be too good to pass up despite their needs on the defensive side of the ball.

Key additions: David Carr QB
Key loses: Chris Draft LB
Team needs: LB, TE, S, OT
Possible draftees: Greg Olsen TE Miami, Patrick Willis LB Ole Miss, Paul Posluszny LB PSU, Levi Brown OT PSU

3. Atlanta Falcons
The Falcons were another NFC South team to have a disappointing 2007 season.  The Falcons have been plenty busy during the off season with plenty of players coming and going including a new head coach.  The Falcons were able to improve their draft position with the trade of coveted backup QB Matt Schaub.  High on the list of Day 1 needs will be a defensive end to replace Patrick Kerney and a hard hitting safety since Lawyer Milloy is nearing the end of his career.  With an additional 2nd round pick, the Falcons could attempt to trade up to acquire local product WR Calvin Johnson. 

Key additions: Joey Harrington QB, Toniu Fonoti OG, Joe Horn WR
Key loses: Justin Griffen RB, Patrick Kerney DE, Matt Lehr OG, Ashley Lelie WR, Matt Schaub QB
Team needs: DE, S, OT, WR, DT
Possible draftees: LaRon Landry S LSU, Amobi Okoye DT Louisville, Levi Brown OT PSU, Jamaal Anderson DE Arkansas, Alan Branch DT Michigan

4. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Age really caught up to the Bucs last season.  The Bucs still have plenty of household names on defense in Ronde Barber, Simeon Rice and Derrick Brooks but the one thing those three have in common is unfortunately age.  It is imperative for the Bucs to get much younger, especially on the defensive side of the ball. Despite having bigger needs on the defensive side of the ball, WR Calvin Johnson is the most likely pick if he is still available when the Bucs pick at the four spot.  This would suit Bucs’ faithful just fine as Johnson is widely considered the top talent in the draft and it is a position of need for the Bucs.

Key additions: Jeff Garcia QB, Kevin Carter DE, Torrie Cox CB, Cato June LB
Key loses: Dewayne White DE, Sean Mahan OG
Team needs: WR, LB, DE, CB (Youth on defense!)
Possible draftees: Calvin Johnson WR Georgia Tech, Gains Adams DE Clemson, Jamaal Anderson DE Arkansas

It is never too early to start betting on the NFL. Log on to MySportsbook.com to checkout all of the NFL futures for the upcoming season.  On the clock: the NFC North

Odds to win the NFC South:
New Orleans Saints 8-5
Carolina Panthers 2-1
Atlanta Falcons 12-5
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 9-2    

Odds to win the NFC:
New Orleans Saints 13-2
Carolina Panthers 7-1
Atlanta Falcons 20-1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 25-1

Odds to win the Super Bowl:
New Orleans Saints 18-1
Carolina Panthers 20-1
Atlanta Falcons 50-1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 75-1

To visit this sportsbook get to MySportsbook.com for all your online sportsbook needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.