Braves outlast Marlins, rain in Florida

Baseball Betting Lines

05/28/2010 - Miami, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Martin Prado went 3-for-6 with two runs batted in and David Ross knocked in a pair, as the Atlanta Braves handled the Florida Marlins, 8-3, in the rubber match of a three-game series at Sun Life Stadium.

Yunel Escobar contributed two hits, an RBI and two runs scored for the Braves, who took the last two games in the set and have now won 12 of their last 16 overall.

Tim Hudson worked four innings before rain halted play and did not return to the mound after a one hour and 17 minute delay. The right-hander allowed two runs on five hits with a pair of walks and struck out a batter. Peter Moylan (2-0) earned the win for pitching a scoreless fifth inning after play resumed.

Hanley Ramirez went 2-for-4 with an RBI and scored, while Jorge Cantu knocked in a run for Florida, which has dropped five of the last seven.

Ricky Nolasco (4-4), like Hudson worked four frames prior to the stoppage, and yielded eight hits and three runs while fanning three without issuing a walk. Nolasco also chipped in with an RBI single.

Chipper Jones' double off the left-field wall in the top of the first plated Jason Heyward, who tripled to straightaway center.

In the home half, Ramirez was hit by a pitch with two outs, stole second and crossed the plate on Cantu's single to center.

The Braves picked up a pair of two-out runs in the fourth to go back in front. Escobar started things with a single and came around to score on Ross' double into the left-field corner. Hudson reached on an infield single before Prado grounded a base hit through the left side for a 3-1 game.

Through a steady rain in the home half, Nolasco helped his own cause with an RBI single with the bases loaded. Hudson was able to limit the damage by striking out Chris Coghlan and retiring Gaby Sanchez on a line out to center.

The grounds crew put the tarp on the field prior to starting the fifth, and after the lengthy rain delay, Nolasco was pulled in favor of Jay Buente, who tossed a perfect frame in making his major league debut

Buente did give up an RBI single to Prado in the sixth to make it a 4-2 game. Escobar then added a run-scoring double in the seventh off Tim Wood.

Florida got a run back off Eric O'Flaherty in the home seventh on a fielder's choice groundout by Ramirez. After Cantu was hit by a pitch, Takashi Saito came in and struck out Dan Uggla and Cody Ross to end the inning.

However, the Braves tacked on three more in the eighth on Eric Hinske's double-play ground ball, an RBI infield single by Melky Cabrera and bases- loaded walk to David Ross that stretched the lead to 8-3.

In the bottom of the ninth, Billy Wagner surrendered a one-out triple to Ramirez, then fanned Cantu and Uggla to polish off the win.

Game Notes

The Marlins won 10 of the 18 matchups a year ago and are 5-3 in the previous eight contests in this series. Florida made several roster moves prior to the game. The club recalled pitchers Taylor Tankersley, Buente and veteran infielder Mike Lamb from Triple-A New Orleans, optioned pitcher Burke Badenhop to New Orleans and placed reliever Renyel Pinto on the 15-day disabled list with a left hip strain...Braves catcher Brian McCann missed the game with a strained right quadriceps muscle and is day-to-day.

Onlinevasino Baseball Betting News

<< Mets whitewash Phillies again, complete rare shutout sweep
Flushing, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mike Pelfrey gave up just three hits in seven innings and the New York Mets blanked the Philadelphia Phillies again, 3-0, to complete a rare three-game whitewash of the NL East leaders at Citi Field. The Met

<< Kubel's two homers power Twins over Yankees
Minneapolis, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jason Kubel slugged a pair of home runs and drove in five while Nick Blackburn worked effectively over seven innings, as the Twins avoided a three-game sweep at the hands of the Yankees with an 8-2 win at

<< Artest beats buzzer with put back, Lakers steal Game 5
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ron Artest caught Kobe Bryant's air ball and put in the winning shot at the buzzer, lifting the Los Angeles Lakers to a dramatic 103-101 win over Phoenix in the pivotal Game 5 of the Western Confere

<< Report: Two UConn assistants resign
Storrs, CT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The University of Connecticut has called a news conference for 10 a.m. (et) Friday at Gampel Pavilion, when the school is expected to disclose its review of possible recruiting violations in the men's basketb

<< DeJesus helps Royals edge BoSox
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - David DeJesus went 2-for-4 with a pair of RBI, including the eventual game-winner in the sixth, as the Royals slowed down the surging Red Sox, 4-3, in the opener of a four-game set. Boston came into the game

Flyers fans still bullish on their Bullies >>
PHILADELPHIA (AP) -In an era when hockey games may as well have been held inside the squared circle, the Broad Street Bullies spilled enough blood to fill a decade's worth of Stanley Cups.They embraced their moniker as the most despised team in the

Nadal, Djokovic roll into third round at French Open >>
Paris, France (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic were easy straight-set winners Friday in second-round play at the 2010 French Open. Nadal, the four-time champ and second seed, rolled to a 6-2, 6-2, 6-3 win over Horacio

Serena, Henin power into third round at French Open >>
Paris, France (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Serena Williams and Justine Henin were easy winners Friday in the second round of the 2010 French Open. Williams, the top seed and 2002 champ, needed a mere 55 minutes to dispose of Germany's Julia Goerge

Federer, Nadal, Djokovic advance at French Open >>
Paris, France (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic were all straight-set winners Friday at the 2010 French Open. Federer, the top seed and defending champion, made short work of Germany's Julian Reist

Serena, Henin remain on collision course; Venus advances >>
Paris, France (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Serena Williams and Justine Henin were easy winners Friday in the second round of the 2010 French Open, while Venus Williams also moved on with a third-round victory. Serena Williams, the top seed

MySportsbook.com is one of the most efficient and professional online sportsbook today. While some sportsbooks only excel during the busiest seasons, MySportsbook is an excellent choice for the player who wants year-round quality. From their baseball true dime line to their interactive wagering, MySportsbook makes sure their clients would miss them if they went elsewhere.

Players won’t find any novelties at this sportsbook. The site is clean and simple and most importantly, fast. Customer Service handles matters in an expedient manner and accounting does everything possible to assure players that they have full control of their funds. The online banking center is open 24/7 in which time Neteller payouts are processed.

Management’s background and understanding of sports gambling has helped make them pioneers in the online betting market. MySportsbook was the first betting site to offer sports wagering in the best form. Interactive wagering was first offered in 1997. Players who don’t stop wagering when the game begins consider this sportsbook a true asset.

Players who are looking for outstanding value, extensive wagering options and inexpensive payouts will appreciate what MySportsbook.com offers. Those who are looking for perks and high bonuses would be best suited in a sportsbook geared towards the regular player.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your sports betting needs.

SPORTS BETTING - Tennis is an underrated and under-utilized bettors' sport.

Ten years ago, at just about this time, I called Alan Boston in Vegas and left him a voicemail that went something like this (abridged version): "Hey Alan, Chad Millman from ESPN The Magazine calling. I want to do a book about wise guys, you in?"

A couple weeks later I got a message back (abridged version): "I don't know, maybe," Boston said. "Call me and we'll talk about it. But not later today. I got $1,000 on Andre Agassi to win the French Open at 40-1, and he's in the finals."

Here's what happened next (abridged version): Agassi won his tourney. Boston won his $40,000. I wrote sportsbook.

In the ten years since, how much has been wagered on the big-time tennis events? Put it this way: The Nevada Gaming Commission doesn't even track the number year by year because it's so small.

"Tennis makes up about one-tenth of one percent of our take," says Lucky's bookmaking boss Jimmy Vaccaro. "The last big golf major we probably had $100,000 worth of bets. In tennis, we might have written two big tickets."

Tennis' lack of popularity amongst the American bettoratti is no surprise, really. For starters, the biggest sports betting holidays -- the Super Bowl, the NCAA tourney -- are must see TV. People, at least the degenerates I know, plan vacations around watching those events in Vegas sports books.

But Wimbledon? Doesn't exactly reel in the whales. "Seriously, it's the nuts as an event," says Boston. "But who even knows when it's on?"

Here's another reason that helps explain why golf gets traction, something I call "The Bubbe Theory." My Bubbe is pushing 95 and has cataracts so bad that, to her, even the most crystalline Chicago day is mostly cloudy. But she still listens to the Cubs games, and she still calls me in a fit if she disagrees with something Rick Telander writes in the Chicago Sun Times. She's a sports fan. If she doesn't know you, you're just filling a niche. And niche players, even historically good ones like Roger and Raf, don't drive betting volume. Only the highest profile names attract square money, which inflates wagering totals like a shot of saline to the lips. Bubbe, and the public, loved Agassi, tennis' last cross-the-rubicon, mainstream draw. She also has a crush on Tiger. She's given me standing orders to put a sawbuck on the big cat whenever I walk through a sports book (or mistakenly tap into one via my Internet machine.) That explains why the Masters is getting $100K in action at some books while the four tennis majors might not get that combined this year.

This isn't a case of tennis being a difficult sport to bet. In fact, in Europe, it's probably the second most popular sport for gambling after soccer. Granted, as the WSJ football betting last week and The Mag's Shaun Assael examined in even greater depth last year, that might be because gamblers across the pond see it as an easy game to fix. But it could also be because, over there it holds the kind of sway the big two do over here.

Street corners in Spain are peppered with public courts and kids doing their best Raffy impressions. In some war torn parts of Eastern Europe poverty-stricken kids view tennis as an escape route, like football or basketball here. A couple years ago The Mag's Lindsay Berra wrote a great piece about Belgrade's Jelena Jankovic, Ana Ivanovic and Novak Djokovic. They learned the game as kids while bombs were raining down on their homeland. They practiced in drained swimming pools. Not exactly Nick Bolletierri conditions.

In the United States, casual fans think tennis is played four times a year. But on the tightly packed European continent, national interest in homegrown talent runs deep every weekend. Of the ATP's current top 20 players, only two, tennis betting and James Blake, are American. Fourteen are from Europe, representing six different countries.

No wonder fans from Lisbon to Bhudapest get jacked up for the net game, whether it's Wimbledon or a low-level tourney like the Estoril Open in Portugal (congrats to Spain's Albert Montanes for winning that one, btw). Chances are good that someone representing their flag will not only be playing, but have a shot at winning.

And that's all any bettor can ask for.

To visit this sports book go to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs.