Diaz helps Braves slip past slumping Phils
Baseball Betting Lines
07/02/2009 - Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Matt Diaz belted a go-ahead RBI double in a three-run eighth, as the Atlanta Braves recorded their first home sweep of the Phillies since 2005 with a 5-2 victory at Turner Field.
Garret Anderson added a two-run homer in that fateful inning, as the Braves swept Philadelphia for the first time at home since April 22-24, 2005. It was the first sweep of the reigning World Series champs since April 2-5, 2007.
Diaz finished the game 3-for-4 with a pair of runs scored, while Casey Kotchman went 2-for-2 with a two-run homer, as the Braves have now won a season-high four straight games. Mike Gonzalez (3-0) pitched a scoreless eighth to earn the win, and Rafael Soriano earned his seventh save of the season.
Javier Vazquez got a no-decision after yielding two runs on seven hits with five strikeouts in 5 1/3 innings.
Jimmy Rollins snapped a career-worst 0-for-28 skid with a 2-for-4 night, but it was of no use, as the Phillies fell into a virtual tie with the Marlins for first place atop the NL East standings after losing three straight and 14 of 18 overall.
J.A. Happ pitched well in the start, allowing only two runs on seven hits and a pair of walks, with five strikeouts. in seven strong innings.
The Phillies inserted Ryan Madson (2-4) to keep the game tied in the home eighth, but the Braves forged ahead. Brian McCann led off with a single after an 0-2 count, and Yunel Escobar sacrificed pinch-runner Jair Jurrjens to second. Diaz followed with an RBI double to deep center field to give Atlanta a 3-2 lead.
After Diaz stole third, Anderson hit a towering home run to right field for a comfortable 5-2 edge. Soriano set the Phillies down in order to finish the win.
The Braves put runners on first and third with nobody out in the second for the game's first scoring chance. Happ, though, was up to the task, striking out Jeff Francoeur and Vazquez amidst a Kotchman walk to load the bases. A fielder's choice groundout by Gregor Blanco ended the frame.
Vazquez held the Phillies off the board for the first four innings, and Atlanta finally scored in the home half on Kotchman's two-run homer far beyond the wall in right field.
Happ's first career hit in the fifth helped Philadelphia put two runners on base with two outs, but Shane Victorino lined out sharply to shortstop Escobar to end the threat.
The Phillies finally got to Vazquez in the sixth, knocking him out of the game. Chase Utley led off with a single and moved to second two batters later, as Jayson Werth was hit by a pitch. Greg Dobbs followed with a double to deep center, although Utley barely scored after the center fielder Blanco acted as if he would catch the ball before it bounced over his head.
Vazquez was pulled in favor of Peter Moylan, who allowed an the tying RBI groundout by Pedro Feliz before getting out of the inning.
The Braves put runners on the corners with two outs in the seventh for Chipper Jones, who flied out weakly on a 3-1 pitch to help Happ escape from yet another jam.
Philadelphia nearly pushed across the go-ahead run in the eighth. Werth drew a one-out walk, and, with two outs, stole second and moved to third on a throwing error by the catcher McCann. A wild pitch sent Werth scrambling for home, but McCann got the ball as it bounced off the backstop and tossed it to Gonzalez, who was able to tag out Werth in time to end the inning.
Game Notes
After going 14-4 against Atlanta last season, the Phillies are 6-9 against them this year...Philadelphia outfielder Raul Ibanez will not join the team this weekend against the Mets after having his rehab start pushed back to Friday...It was Anderson's first career pinch-hit homer...Atlanta will begin a 10-game road trip on Friday against Washington.
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FOOTBALL BETTING LINES
NFL Football Sports BettingTwo playoff teams from 2007 take center stage on the NFL Network Sunday night in a Week 2 NFL betting match-up when the (0-1) New England Patriots betting head south to Florida for a contest with the (1-0) Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
New England HC Bill Belichick couldn’t care less about the way his team plays in the preseason. With a chance to tie last week’s game with the Baltimore Ravens betting, He elected to go for the two-point conversion and outright victory. The conversion failed, and the Pats ended up falling to the Ravens by a 16-15 final count.
New England rolled off twelve unanswered points to give it a chance at securing the victory, but it never threatened to cover the 3.5-point spread. NFL bettors saw this one coming, as they bet the Ravens down from +6 to +3.5 as the week progressed. QB Tom Brady didn’t take part in the Patriots first preseason clash, but could see action this weekend.
His three replacements all put up embarrassing numbers. They went a combined 17 for 33, and threw three interceptions and no touchdowns. The New England defense was encouraging, as they held the Ravens to 2/12 third down conversions and surrendered just ten first downs. That ‘D’ should be bolstered with the addition of former Bucs and Denver Broncos betting safety John Lynch, who could make his Patriots debut on Sunday against his former mates.
HC Jon Gruden had to be impressed with the way his Bucs played on both sides of the ball in their dominating 17-6 victory over the Miami Dolphins in Week 1’s NFL pre-season betting action. Bucs bettors were quite happy with the effort, as they made a mockery of the fact that they were underdogs in the game.
The logjam at the quarterback position didn’t get any easier to separate for Gruden, as all four of his QBs had positive experiences in the first exhibition of 2008. The four combined to complete 28 of their 40 passes for 204 yards and a touchdown, and that was without starting QB Jeff Garcia in the lineup.
RB Michael Bennett had 19 carries and four receptions, totaling 90 yards and a touchdown. Expect to see more of Bennett, Kenneth Darby, and Earnest Graham, as they all compete for playing time with Warrick Dunn in the backfield this season. Defensively, the Bucs recorded four sacks and held the Fins offense in check all day.
First round draft pick Aqib Talib was impressive in the secondary, recording a tackle and two pass defenses in his debut. Don’t be surprised to see Talib in the starting lineup opposite Ronde Barber for the Bucs in ’08.
The betting trends suggest that NFL bettors should be backing the Bucs in this intra-conference exhibition.
These two teams hooked up last year in Tampa Bay, with the Bucs winning that game 13-10. The Buccaneers have only lost one preseason game at home dating back to the beginning of the ’05 preseason. The Patriots have had a mixed bag of results in their recent exhibitions. They have gone 2-2 ATS and SU each of the last three years.
New England currently sits as modest 1-point favorites in this preseason showdown with the ‘total’ now sitting at 34.5.
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Mayweather picked to beat De La Hoya
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA -- Golden Boy Oscar De La Hoya and his rival Floyd Mayweather Jr. arrived at the MGM Grand here Wednesday amid the pomp and pandemonium befitting two of the biggest stars in the sport who are about to duke it out for the WBC super welterweight crown this Saturday (Sunday in Manila).
As of Wednesday, MySportsbook.com closed its book with Mayweather a favorite to defeat De La Hoya at -170 (a $100 bet wins $70), while De La Hoya is a +140 underdog (a $100 bet wins $140).
Mayweather arrived at about 11:30 a.m. on a big truck with his face and a big "World's Best Pound-for-Pound" sign scribbled across the vehicle. He was accompanied by his entourage made up of rappers and his training team.
A crowd of close to 3,000 eager fans packed the MGM Grand lobby, with their cameras in tow, all trying to vie for position to get a good angle at Mayweather, who is acknowledged as the world's best fighter pound-for-pound.
Eric Gomez, Golden Boy Promotions vice-president, described the fan turnout as "amazing" and swore he had never seen anything quite like this event.
"The crowd was fantastic. Everybody was just too eager to see the two fighters," said ALA manager Michael Aldeguer, who was among those who waited at the lobby together with his ward Rey "Boom Boom" Bautista and AJ Banal.
De La Hoya made his own grand entrance at the hotel lobby at around 12:30 p.m. accompanied by GBP chief executive officer Richard Schaefer and trainer Freddie Roach.
The same group of fans who trooped to see Mayweather also lingered around to get a close look at De La Hoya, who has been secretly working out at a Las Vegas gym for days after arriving from his main training camp in Puerto Rico.
The golden boy then took part in a closed-door afternoon workout with Bautista and Banal. The two, along with Aldeguer and wife Christine, as well as an HBO crew were the only ones allowed inside the gym.
De La Hoya and Mayweather take part in today's final press conference before the official weigh-in this Friday.
Ring Magazine, the acknowledged bible of boxing, reported in its June 2007 issue that 12 out of 20 boxing experts it interviewed have favored Mayweather to defeat De la Hoya, with only 8 favoring the latter.
But Filipino ring icon Manny Pacquiao said in a recent interview with The Freeman's Emmanuel Villaruel that De La Hoya will win by unanimous decision over Mayweather.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your bet on boxing needs.