Braves conclude homestand versus Cardinals

Baseball Betting Lines

07/22/2007 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Atlanta Braves will attempt to wrap their 10-game homestand with a winning record tonight when they conclude a four-game series with the St. Louis Cardinals at Turner Field.

Atlanta has taken two of the first three games of this set, including a 14-6 rout on Saturday, to improve to 5-4 on its current residency.

Willie Harris sparked yesterday's offensive explosion as he became just the second player in Atlanta history to have six hits in a game, matching Felix Millan, who turned the trick in 1970.

Harris went 6-for-6, including two triples, drove in a career-high six runs, and also scored four times for the Braves, who trail the New York Mets by 2 1/2 games for the lead in the National League East.

Chipper Jones added three hits, one a two-run homer, and knocked in four runs for the Braves. The run support was more than enough for starter Buddy Carlyle (5-2), who won his fourth straight decision after allowing three runs on seven hits over six innings.

Braden Looper (7-8) on the other hand, was victimized for seven runs and 10 hits in just 2 2/3 innings for St. Louis, which has dropped two of three and fell to 4-5 on a 10-game road trip.

Chris Duncan had three hits, including a two-run homer, and Aaron Miles knocked in two runs in the setback.

Cardinals third baseman Scott Rolen (shoulder) missed his fourth straight game due to a shoulder injury, but took batting practice yesterday and could be in the starting lineup tonight.

Brad Thompson earns the starting assignment this evening for the Cardinals. Thompson has jumped around this year as a starter and a reliever, but was on the hill to start St. Louis' game on Tuesday against Florida. The right- hander walked away with a loss, however, after allowing three runs on seven hits over six innings of a 4-0 loss.

Thompson is 4-3 with a 4.88 earned run average in 11 starts this season and 2-1 with a 5.55 ERA in 18 relief appearances.

The 25-year-old has faced the Braves just once in his career, coming out of the bullpen, and tossed two scoreless innings, yielding one hit in an 8-1 setback on August 6, 2005.

Atlanta's Jo-Jo Reyes will try again for his first major league win when he makes just his third career start tonight. Reyes earned a no-decision after a three inning debut on July 7 that saw him allow five runs in three innings at San Diego. However, his offense took him off the hook in the 8-5 loss.

He wasn't so lucky in his home debut against the Reds on Tuesday, as the left- hander was blitzed for four runs and eight hits over 6 1/3 innings of a 6-5 loss, his first in the big leagues.

This series marks the first 2007 meeting between these teams. Atlanta won four of six matchups with St. Louis last season and is 6-2 in its last seven games against the Cardinals at Turner Field.

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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.