Braves try to stay ahead of Padres in clash of division leaders

Baseball Betting Lines

07/21/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - By drawing first blood in this three-game series with the San Diego Padres last night, the National League East-leading Atlanta Braves again own the league's best record.

Atlanta will try to keep its grip on that accolade and record a fourth straight victory over NL West-leading San Diego tonight at Turner Field.

The Braves claimed a 4-1 victory on Monday to up their season record to 55-38. That has them just ahead of the Padres (54-38) for the top mark in the league and 6 1/2 games up on the second-place New York Mets in the NL East standings.

Atlanta got contributions from across the board last night, as Matt Diaz homered for a third straight game, Jason Heyward finished with three hits and starter Jair Jurrjens gave up just a run on five hits over seven innings of work. That helped the Braves win for the seventh time in their last 10 games overall, and the club has also won 23 of its last 28 at home.

"He worked us pretty good," San Diego's Chris Denorfia said of Jurrjens. "He got ahead most of the time. He didn't give in. He made his pitches."

Denorfia did homer off Jurrjens, his third long ball in two games. All five of his home runs this season have come in his last seven games.

The rest of San Diego's lineup was shut down, leading to Wade LeBlanc taking the loss event though he allowed just five hits and two runs over his six- inning start. LeBlanc hasn't won since June 12 and the Padres had a four-game win streak halted last night. They lead San Francisco by three games for the top spot in the NL West.

The Padres go tonight with Jon Garland, who has won three of his last four decisions after besting the Diamondbacks on Friday. He held them to a run on three hits and two walks over six innings, striking out five while improving to 9-6 with a 3.45 earned run average on the season.

The 30-year-old right hander has struggled in two career starts versus the Braves, allowing 13 earned runs over just 8 1/3 innings. He last faced them on May 29, 2009 while with Arizona and was tagged for eight earned runs over just 2 2/3 innings of work.

While San Diego second baseman David Eckstein is likely headed to the disabled list after suffering a right calf strain running the bases last night, the Braves are expected to activate center fielder Nate McLouth from the DL today. McLouth has been out since June 9 after suffering a concussion during a collision with Heyward.

Chipper Jones, who pinch hit on Monday, was also held out of Atlanta's starting lineup for a third consecutive game due to a left hamstring strain, but he could also return to the field tonight.

Diaz should remain in the outfield along with McLouth tonight, seeing as he is hitting .432 (16-for-37) with four homers and 11 RBI over his last 10 games played after missing time with a right thumb infection.

"I feel like I have a real good approach [at the plate] right now," said Diaz, who also had an RBI single last night.

Braves starter Tommy Hanson will seek some consistency in tonight's outing, as he is 8-6 with a 4.19 ERA on the season. The 23-year-old lost to the Brewers on Friday after giving up four runs -- three earned -- on six hits over just five innings of a 9-3 setback.

Hanson has won both of career starts against the Padres, with the right-hander pitching to a 2.25 ERA. That includes a win on April 14 in which Hanson gave up one run over six innings while striking out seven.

The Braves took two of three from the Padres in San Diego from April 12-15 and have won eight of the last 10 played at Turner Field in the series.

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MySportsbook.com: NBA Championship Odds

With the playoffs about two months away, the top two teams in the Western Conference are the clear cut leaders to win the NBA Championship. The Dallas Mavericks have the best record in the NBA (44-9) and have been absolutely scorching since the second week of the season.  What makes the Mavs’ record more impressive is the fact that they dropped their first four games of the season.  Currently they have won 17 out of their last 18 and are MySportsbook.com’s favorite (2-1) to win it all.  Right behind the Mavs are the Pacific leading Phoenix Suns (39-13).  Last season, the Suns lost in the Conference Finals to non-other then the Mavericks four games to two.  Of course the Suns were without center Amare Stoudemire who has is averaging 19.9 PPG and 9.5 RPG since coming back from his knee injury.  Unlike the Mavs, the Suns have struggled a bit lately having lost their last three and four out of their last seven.  Of course the main reason for their three straight loses is due to the absence of two time MVP Steve Nash, who is out with a shoulder injury.  Heads-up, the Mavs have beaten the Suns in both of their meetings this season.

In the Eastern Conference, the Pistons (32-19) are the favorites to win it all at 6-1. The addition of Chris Webber seems to have been a good move for the Pistons.  Since coming over from the 76ers, Webber has averaged 13.1 PPG and 7.3 RPG and the Pistons are 11-4.  Even though the defending champion Heat are currently on the playoff making cusp, they are the Eastern Conference team that is getting the most action to win it all (9-1).  The fact that Shaquille O’Neal is back in the starting lineup after missing 39 games probably has something to do with this.  No doubt, Shaq makes a difference when in the lineup as their winning six out of their last seven would indicate.

Just because it is the All-Star break doesn’t mean that you can’t bet on NBA hoops this weekend.  Be sure to log onto MySportsbook.com to bet on who you think will cut down the nets this July. Also, be sure to check out all of the lines and props for All-Star weekend.  With the highest credit card acceptance rate in the industry, there are plenty of ways to cash in on the NBA this weekend.

MySportsbook.com’s NBA Championship odds:

Atlanta Hawks 1000-1

Boston Celtics 5000-1

Charlotte Bobcats 5000-1

Chicago Bulls 20-1

Cleveland Cavaliers 20-1

Dallas Mavericks 2-1

Denver Nuggets 25-1

Detroit Pistons 6-1

Golden State Warriors 250-1

Houston Rockets 12-1

Indiana Pacers 60-1

Los Angeles Clippers 45-1

Memphis Grizzlies 5000-1

Miami Heat 9-1

Milwaukee Bucks 1000-1

Minnesota T-Wolves 200-1

New Jersey Nets 50-1

New Orleans Hornets 150-1

New York Knicks 150-1

Orlando Magic 75-1

Philadelphia 76ers 1000-1

Phoenix Suns 5-2

Portland TrailBlazers 1000-1

Sacramento Kings 250-1

San Antonio Spurs 9-1

Seattle Sonics 5000-1

Toronto Raptors 35-1

Utah Jazz 20-1

Washington Wizards 25-1

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