Chipper hits 400th HR to lead Braves over Marlins

Baseball Betting Lines

06/05/2008 - Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chipper Jones hit his 400th career home run and the Atlanta Braves defeated the Florida Marlins, 7-5, in the finale of a four- game series at Turner Field.

Jones, who finished 4-for-5 and improved his batting average this season to .418, moved into sole possession of 43rd place on the all-time home run list while Brian McCann's two-run homer and a solo shot by Yunel Escobar paced Atlanta, which won three of the four games in the series.

"It was good to get it out of the way -- (the pressure) starts to wear on you a little bit," said Jones. "Now that the monkey is off my back, I can swing easy and just let me the chips fall. It's been a long time coming and hopefully now we can relax and focus on our job."

Jair Jurrjens earned the win despite the fact that he allowed five runs and 11 hits over six innings of work with four strikeouts. Jurrjens (6-3) improved to 5-0 in seven home starts this season.

Hanley Ramirez homered and scored twice for the Marlins, who have lost four of their last five games overall and concluded their 10-game road trip with a 3-7 mark. Dan Uggla finished 3-for-5 while Jacque Jones notched an RBI and a run scored in the losing effort.

"It turned out to be a bad road trip, but on the positive side we were in every game," Uggla said. "The record on this road trip doesn't explain the way that we've played. We just came up a little short in some different situations. That's the way it goes sometimes."

Ricky Nolasco (5-4) surrendered seven runs on 11 hits over 5 2/3 innings and absorbed the loss.

The Braves moved ahead for good on McCann's two-run blast in the bottom of the fifth. Mark Teixeira hit a one-out single before McCann came to the plate and belted a fastball over the wall in left-center field.

Then in the sixth, Jones hit No. 400. Nolasco dealt a hanging slider that Jones buried into the right-field seats to increase the Atlanta lead to two.

"He (Nolasco) showed me early on that we has going to throw a lot of breaking balls," Jones said. "He threw me a 2-0 slider and I was able to get out in front of it."

Royce Ring pitched a perfect seventh for Atlanta before Jeff Bennett escaped trouble in the top of the eighth. Wes Helms hit a pinch-hit double and Ramirez drew a walk, but Bennett settled down and fanned Jeremy Hermida.

Rafael Soriano, who returned to the closer's role after the club lost John Smoltz -- who was headed for the position from the starting rotation -- for the season to shoulder surgery, worked the ninth and earned his third save.

Ramirez hit the first pitch of the game over the wall in right-center field wall for his 12th homer of the year, but the Braves tied it quickly with a run in the bottom of the first inning via Teixeira's RBI single.

In the home third, Escobar hit a deep fly ball to left-center field that caromed off the yellow stripe at the top of the wall and landed in the seats for his sixth home run of 2008 and a 2-1 Atlanta lead. Later in the inning, the Braves had the bases load with one out and Jeff Francoeur's groundout allowed Kelly Johnson to score.

Trailing 3-1, the Marlins scored four runs in the fourth to grab a two-run edge. Uggla singled and stole second before a one-out single by Matt Treanor put runners on the corners. Another base hit by Jones scored Uggla and Nolasco followed with an RBI base hit which saw Treanor cross the plate.

The tie score then because a 5-3 Florida lead. Ramirez reached first on a fielder's choice and with Jones on third base, Ramirez attempted to steal second. The throw by McCann went into center field and Jones trotted home for the Marlins' third run of the frame. The rally was capped on Jorge Cantu's base hit that brought home Ramirez.

In the bottom of the fourth, however, Atlanta cut its deficit to 5-4. Josh Anderson roped a leadoff triple and crossed the plate on an Escobar grounder.

Game Notes

Jones now joins an elite group of active players who have accumulated a career batting average of .300 with 400-plus home runs and more than 1,300 RBI along with Frank Thomas, Manny Ramirez and Alex Rodriguez. Jones now sits ahead of both Andres Galarraga and Al Kaline on the all-time homer list...The Marlins fell to 14-15 on the road this season...Nolasco had won three straight outings and was unbeaten in his last five starts prior to the game...This marked the 19th time in Ramirez' career that he has led off a game with a home run and the fourth time this season...Attendance was 27,238.

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Terrell Owens could return for Cowboys next game
A bye week will allow Terrell Owens broken hand to recover just in time for the next game the Dallas Cowboys are slated to play, according to reports. MySportsbook.com, an football sportsbook, has posted football betting lines on TO playing.

Owens broke the bone leading to his right ring finger Sunday night and had a plate surgically attached to it Monday. Although Owens' hand was swollen and aching Wednesday, Dallas Cowboys coach Bill Parcells said he's optimistic the receiver will be back at work next week and catching passes a week from Sunday against the Tennessee Titans.

MySportsbook.com online sportsbook listed Terrell Owens with odds of 7-2 (or $7 paid out for every $2 bet) to return back for the game against Tennessee.

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Owens did not speak with reporters Wednesday, but said Sunday he'd be out two to four weeks. A return against the Titans would be 13 days after the surgery. The Cowboys were listed as an early -7 1/2 favorite vs. the Tennessee Titans for Week 4 at MySportsbook.com

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MySportsbook.com : Fortune Favors Favorites in March Madness betting?

Just like Day 1 of the “Sweet 16”, Friday’s games are chock full of some of the nation’s elite.  Unlike Thursday’s games, there is a little bit more of a “Cinderella” feel as #7 seed UNLV and #6 seed Vanderbilt will attempt to move on to the Elite Eight.  With powerhouses Florida, UNC and Georgetown looking to continue their momentum against lesser known teams, it isn’t surprising that once again the “betting public” is backing most of the favorites.  As the early coin rolls in, 56% of Sportsbook.com bettors prefer Georgetown (-7.5) as they take on Vanderbilt; 84% of the early money is backing Oregon (-3) as they square off against UNLV; and a slight majority (52%) of the early cash is on Florida (-10.5) against Butler as the Gators continue their quest for another National Title. The only favorite the public don’t seem confident in is UNC, as 59% of the cash is backing the underdog Trojans (+8).

Midwest

#1 Florida vs. #5 Butler

The defending National Champs have been on a mission since last April.  Joakim Noah and Al Horford turned down millions of dollars for one reason, to REPEAT.  After a late season hiccup which saw them lose three out of four, the Gators have won six straight by an average of 20.3 points. More importantly, they covered in five of those six games.  Behind their stymie defense that yields only 56.9 PPG, Butler has been a very pleasant surprise this season.  As their 20-11 ATS record will indicate, “surprise teams” like Butler are often good bets for gamblers.  Playing in an average conference, Butler wasn’t and underdog too often but when they were, they covered (6-0 ATS).  Butler’s defense will have its hands full against a Gators offense which averages 80.1 PPG on an amazing 52.9% shooting from the field.  With Florida’s tournament experience over the last few years, it isn’t surprising that they are 5-1 ATS this season, 20-4 ATS over the last three seasons and 38-20 since 1997 in tournament action.

#3 Oregon vs. #7 UNLV

As a #7 seed, UNLV is the closest thing to a “Cinderella” we have this year.  If you bet on UNLV this season with any regularity, you most likely cashed in. Behind their guard oriented attack, the Rebels are an impressive 20-11 ATS this season.  As an underdog they covered in 8 out of their ten games which isn’t surprising since they are 52-30 ATS as a ‘dog since 1997. The Rebels have been a consistent cover during the month of March as well.  This March they are 6-0 ATS, 11-3 ATS over the last three seasons and 24-11 since 1997. Their impressive ATS trends don’t end there; versus teams with a winning record they are 15-6 ATS this season and 41-21 over the last three seasons.  Although Oregon hasn’t been as generous to gamblers as UNLV this season, they have been covering consistently as of late.  There is no question that they are playing their best ball of the season having won their last 8 straight up (SU) by an average of 14.5 points. Not surprising they covered in 7 of those games.  It is interesting to note how similar these teams are in regards to scoring and scoring defense. UNLV averages 75 PPG while giving up 66.5 PPG and Oregon scores 75.8 PPG while yielding 65.5 PPG.

East

#6 Vanderbilt vs. #2 Georgetown

“Hoya Paranoia” is officially back! After a decent start, Georgetown has rolled through the second half of the season.  Over their last 18 games, they are 17-1 SU.  They have definitely improved ATS as the season has progressed as well. After opening the season 1-4-1 ATS, the Hoyas have covered 78.3% of their games.  With their great interior play of Jeff Green and Roy Hibbert, the Hoyas as a team shoot 50.5% from the field.  Like the Georgetown teams from years ago, they also excel on defense.  Hoya opponents averaged only 56.8 PPG on 38.2% shooting from the field and an extremely low 30.4% from beyond the arc.  The last stat could be of some concern to Vanderbilt considering they shoot 37.7% from long-range.  Ranking second to last in the SEC in rebounding margin, Vanderbilt will have its work cut out for them against the Hoya trees. As far as covering is concerned, Vanderbilt has been almost a “sure thing” (7-1 ATS) versus good defensive teams that allow less than 64 PPG.

#1 UNC vs. # 5 USC

The Tar Heels are as talented and as deep as any team in the country.  Going ten deep and chock full of HS All-Americans, UNC averages 86.1 PPG and scored 100+ seven times.  Led by All-American forward, Tyler Hansbrough (18.6 PPG 7.9 RPG) UNC has a very balanced attack which can kill you on the inside as well as on the perimeter.  UNC only real concern is their youth as eight of their rotation players are either sophomores or freshmen.  UNC was a reliable cover this season going 20-13 ATS.  An intriguing covering trend for the Tar Heels in recent years has been how they fared after non-conference games.  This season they are 11-3 ATS after non-conference games and over the last three seasons they are 31-13 ATS.  USC is also a pretty deep team which is loaded with swingman types.  An match-up to keep an eye on will be freshman forward Taj Gibson (12.1 PPG, 8.6 RPG) as he squares off against the AA Hansbrough.  USC has been a covering machine this season achieving a 21-10 record ATS.  They have thrived in the underdog role, having covered 10 out of 12.  When playing a team with a winning record, the Trojans are an incredible 20-6 ATS. Keep in mind, USC dedicated their season to former star to Ryan Francis who passed away before the season so as they get closer to the ultimate goal, emotion could definitely be on their side.

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 this sportsbook “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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