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.

Wtheglobe Baseball Betting News

<< Celtics' Pierce carried off court, but comes back
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Boston Celtics forward Paul Pierce was carried off the court and placed in a wheelchair with a sprained right knee, but incredibly returned to the game later in the third quarter of the opener of the NBA

<< Dukes' 10th-inning HR leads Nats over Cards
Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Elijah Dukes hit his first homer as a member of the Nationals, a dramatic two-run shot in the bottom of the 10th inning, as Washington earned a 10-9 win over St. Louis in the back end of a doubleh

<< Lakers rally to grab lead over Celtics at half of Game 1
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Derek Fisher and Pau Gasol combined for nearly half of the Lakers points in the first two quarters, and Los Angeles rallied from a five-point deficit in the second to take a 51-46 lead at halftime over Boston

<< Sox sweep Rays amid chaos
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Manny Ramirez's home run and five runs batted in finished off Boston's three-game sweep of the Tampa Bay Rays, but those were not the only fireworks in Boston's 7-1 victory that cemented the reigning champio

<< Chipper Jones hits 400th home run
Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Atlanta Braves third baseman Chipper Jones hit the 400th home run of his career during Thursday's game against the Florida Marlins. In the bottom of the sixth inning, Jones turned on a Ricky Nolasco han

Richards, Angel lead Red Bulls over Chivas >>
East Rutherford, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - After a lackluster first half vs. Chivas USA at Giants Stadium on Thursday night, New York coach Juan Carlos Osorio told his team to "express themselves" in the second half and get a litt

Bradley shines as Rangers crush Tribe >>
Arlington, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Milton Bradley finished 3-for-4 with a home run and two RBI, as the Texas Rangers downed the Cleveland Indians, 9-4, in the finale of a four-game series. Kevin Millwood (4-3) gave up four runs on nine

Pirates activate Doumit from DL >>
Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Pittsburgh Pirates activated catcher Ryan Doumit from the 15-day disabled list following Thursday's 4-3 win over Houston. Doumit was placed on the disabled list on May 14 with a fractured left thu

ChiSox complete three-game sweep of Royals >>
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jim Thome hit a solo home run and scored twice, as the Chicago White Sox completed a three-game sweep of the Kansas City Royals with a 6-2 victory. Pablo Ozuna went 2-for-4 with an RBI and a run sc

Piercing Rally: Celtics Take Game 1 >>
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Carried off the court with a sprained right knee in the third quarter, Paul Pierce became the inspirational leader down the stretch as the Celtics beat the Los Angeles Lakers, 98-88, in Game 1 of the NBA Fin

American Idol odds : Blake Lewis the Early Standout

An important American Idol betting lines recap from February 20 Guys episode. The 12 men came out flat overall with Blake Lewis appearing to have the early edge after the first hour and a half.

Rudy - was quite good singing "Free Ride" to start off.  Randy was not impressed though.  Paula thought he started off fantastic.  "Never had anyone stop off so lively" said Paula but Simon (who does not like Rudy) does not feel he has a distinct voice and was not impressed either. 

Brandon was a little pitchy according to Randy and Paula agreed.  Simon said he was a good singer but the song was "too safe" and he needs to make an impact.  He was listed at +1200 odds or $1200 paid out on a $100 bet should he win the competition. 

Big favorite Sundance came in with a flat version of "Knights in White Satin" and the judges let him have it, including Paula.  Randy claimed the song was out of pitch throughout.

Korean American - and a Jenny Woo favorite - Paul Kim was up next.  Another pitchy flat one but Randy said he still liked his potential.  Kim at +3000 odds was said to have sung a "third rate version of that (George Michael) song" according to Simon Cowell.  He sang "Careless Whisper".

22 year old Chris Richardson was up next.  He was listed with +1100 odds coming in.  He got the best response from the judges though Simon did not believe the vocal was that great. 

Nick was boring and pitchy.  Simon didn't think he was that bad though and predicted he would be back next week.  Nick Pedro was a big +3000 dog coming into this competition. 

Beat boxer Blake Lewis was listed with early +1000 odds or $1000 payout on a $100 bet if he were to become the next American Idol winner odds .  These of course were the early odds.  He was considered original for picking an "odd song".  He did not beat box and the judges felt it was the best vocal of the night. 

Sanjaya came in as the second biggest favorite after Chris Sligh but his performance Tuesday night was not very good. 

Chris Sleigh was the early favorite at +450 odds.  Great voice and a great sense of humor.  He's a real standout.  Randy felt it was on point but maybe ahead of the chorus a little bit.  Simon Cowell said he felt like he was in some "sort of weird student gig". 

Jared Cotter followed.  He was listed with +2000 odds early on to win the competition.  The judges felt he needs to take more risks but looked good. 

22-year old AJ Talbado, who has tried out for American Idol five times, was up next.  "Kind of a theme park performance" said Simon.  Though the judges felt he performed okay.  Simon did feel AJ might be better than he originally thought.

Phil - this season's military favorite - came into this competition with +1200 odds to win the competition.  He was the last to perform.  He was certainly strong enough to get through this stage of the competition and perhaps the best one after a shaky start. 

Tomorrow night, the ladies perform and I sure hope they do a better job than the boys.  Check out all the American Idol betting odds here.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.

American Idol odds : Blake Lewis the Early Standout

An important American Idol betting lines recap from February 20 Guys episode. The 12 men came out flat overall with Blake Lewis appearing to have the early edge after the first hour and a half.

Rudy - was quite good singing "Free Ride" to start off.  Randy was not impressed though.  Paula thought he started off fantastic.  "Never had anyone stop off so lively" said Paula but Simon (who does not like Rudy) does not feel he has a distinct voice and was not impressed either. 

Brandon was a little pitchy according to Randy and Paula agreed.  Simon said he was a good singer but the song was "too safe" and he needs to make an impact.  He was listed at +1200 odds or $1200 paid out on a $100 bet should he win the competition. 

Big favorite Sundance came in with a flat version of "Knights in White Satin" and the judges let him have it, including Paula.  Randy claimed the song was out of pitch throughout.

Korean American - and a Jenny Woo favorite - Paul Kim was up next.  Another pitchy flat one but Randy said he still liked his potential.  Kim at +3000 odds was said to have sung a "third rate version of that (George Michael) song" according to Simon Cowell.  He sang "Careless Whisper".

22 year old Chris Richardson was up next.  He was listed with +1100 odds coming in.  He got the best response from the judges though Simon did not believe the vocal was that great. 

Nick was boring and pitchy.  Simon didn't think he was that bad though and predicted he would be back next week.  Nick Pedro was a big +3000 dog coming into this competition. 

Beat boxer Blake Lewis was listed with early +1000 odds or $1000 payout on a $100 bet if he were to become the next American Idol winner odds .  These of course were the early odds.  He was considered original for picking an "odd song".  He did not beat box and the judges felt it was the best vocal of the night. 

Sanjaya came in as the second biggest favorite after Chris Sligh but his performance Tuesday night was not very good. 

Chris Sleigh was the early favorite at +450 odds.  Great voice and a great sense of humor.  He's a real standout.  Randy felt it was on point but maybe ahead of the chorus a little bit.  Simon Cowell said he felt like he was in some "sort of weird student gig". 

Jared Cotter followed.  He was listed with +2000 odds early on to win the competition.  The judges felt he needs to take more risks but looked good. 

22-year old AJ Talbado, who has tried out for American Idol five times, was up next.  "Kind of a theme park performance" said Simon.  Though the judges felt he performed okay.  Simon did feel AJ might be better than he originally thought.

Phil - this season's military favorite - came into this competition with +1200 odds to win the competition.  He was the last to perform.  He was certainly strong enough to get through this stage of the competition and perhaps the best one after a shaky start. 

Tomorrow night, the ladies perform and I sure hope they do a better job than the boys.  Check out all the American Idol betting odds here.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.