Johnson goes the distance to lead Fish past Bravos
Baseball Betting Lines
08/27/2008 -
Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Josh Johnson's brilliant four-hitter marked the
first complete game of his career and Dan Uggla was the offensive catalyst, as
the Florida Marlins defeated the Atlanta Braves, 4-1, and evened their three-
game series at Turner Field.
Johnson (4-0) took a no-hitter into the fifth and allowed one run to go along
with the four hits and eight strikeouts for the Marlins, who rebounded after
blowing a ninth-inning lead in Tuesday's 10-9 series-opening loss. Uggla
homered and scored three runs while Hanley Ramirez knocked in two runs in the
win. Florida, which improved to 68-65, has not been able to string together
consecutive wins since the end of July.
The Mets defeated the Phillies on Wednesday, so the Marlins remained 5 1/2
games out of first place in the NL East.
"These are the games we have to win," said Uggla. "It doesn't matter what the
Phillies and Mets do. We're just concentrating on just getting wins."
Kelly Johnson scored the lone run for the Braves, who have lost eight of their
last 10 games.
Mike Hampton (2-2) produced a solid outing but suffered the loss after he
surrendered three runs on eight hits with five strikeouts and two walks over
eight innings of work.
The Marlins opened the scoring in the top of the third inning. Uggla led off
with a double and scored when Wes Helms followed with a single.
A pair of Florida runs in the fifth gave the visitors a three-run edge as
Ramirez clubbed a two-run single that scored Uggla and Helms.
Johnson yielded his first hit of the game with one out in the fifth. He
induced a groundout by lead off batter Brian McCann, but Johnson then hit a
triple. When Martin Prado grounded out, Johnson crossed the plate to bring
Atlanta within 3-1.
Johnson continued his stellar outing with a scoreless sixth, which was ended
by a 6-4-3 double play, and a 1-2-3 seventh.
"My location was good and I kept the pitches down in the zone," Johnson said.
"In my head, I was thinking 'just finish strong' and I ended up throwing a
good game."
Atlanta threatened in the eighth. A throwing error by Ramirez allowed lead off
batter Prado to reach first base safely and Jeff Francoeur singled to right
field. Brandon Jones followed with a bunt to put runners on second and third
with one out. Johnson settled down and fanned Greg Norton and Gregor Blanco in
succession and the Marlins went into the ninth still holding their lead.
The scoring was capped by Uggla's bomb in the top of the ninth. He turned on a
Blaine Boyer offering and crushed it into the seats in deep left field. The
blast was estimated to have travelled at least 430 feet.
"I got lucky -- he gave me one I could put a good swing on and it felt good,"
said Uggla.
In the ninth, Johnson yielded a one-out single off the bat of Chipper Jones
and issued a two-out walk to Johnson, but Prado grounded out to end the game.
Game Notes
Johnson improved to 3-1 in seven career starts against Atlanta. He threw 113
pitches, 80 for strikes...Hampton's 2008 earned run average is 5.85...Uggla
has 28 homers this season...Francoeur had two of the Braves' four hits...The
contest was completed in a swift 2 hours, 16 minutes...Attendance was 19,755.
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Elite 8 NCAA Tournament Betting at online sportsbook MySportsbook.com
In what should be an outstanding Saturday of March Madness betting action, the top four teams in the South and West Regions square off in what should be extremely close match-ups. Three of the four teams are coming off extremely close games on Thursday evening, only UCLA won semi comfortably over Pitt 64-55.
Ohio State is coming off their second game in a row where in all reality they should have lost. Of course that doesn’t matter now since the name of the game is “survive and advance” but as the tournament continues, they can’t afford to keep getting down to their opponents early. Kansas also avoided a scare by holding off a scrappy Southern Illinois squad. In the third thrilling game of the evening Memphis pulled off the minor upset (+3.5) despite being the higher seed to Texas A&M.
Although the spreads are fairly small for Saturday’s games, MySportsbook.com continue to bet against the underdogs. Despite OSU’s two scares, 86% of the “betting public” feels the Buckeyes (-1.5) have what it takes to make the Final Four. In fact, so much of the early money is on OSU that the line has already moved from -1 to -1.5. In the second game of the doubleheader, Kansas and their high-powered offense are 2 point favorites as they take on UCLA and their effective defense. About 63% of the early money thus far is once again backing the favorites. If those percentages stay that high, don’t be surprised if this line moves as well. If you like Kansas (-2) you might want to jump on it early.
Memphis vs. Ohio State
Both squads were involved in thrillers on Thursday evening and should come out fired up. OSU can ill afford to get behind early like they did versus their previous two opponents (Xavier, Tennessee). Greg Oden needs to stay out of foul trouble; the Buckeyes are a completely different team when he is on the court. Memphis definitely has the athleticism and length to match-up with OSU. Of Memphis’ five leading minute earners, the shortest of the bunch is 6’5”. Each team has a very effective defense; Memphis surrenders 62.3 PPG whereas the Buckeyes give up only 61 PPG. With those type of numbers, it isn’t surprising that Memphis covered the UNDER almost 69% of the time this season. As a favorite, OSU has covered the UNDER almost 66% of the time over the last three seasons. The major concern for Memphis which is magnifies this time of the year is their brutal foul shooting (62%). This season, OSU is 17-11 ATS versus teams with a winning record and 7-2 ATS in all tournament games. Memphis has been an extremely reliable cover in tournament play in recent years with a 23-8 ATS record over the last three seasons.
UCLA vs. Kansas
In the second game of Saturday’s doubleheader, UCLA will play in a role which they are very unfamiliar with that of the underdog. Only twice this season have they been getting points from the handicappers and both times they covered. Over the last three seasons UCLA is a reliable 23-7 ATS in this unfamiliar role. UCLA has not fared well against Big 12 opponents recently going 1-7 ATS since 1997. Giving up only 59.6 PPG, UCLA will definitely look to do what they do best: keep this game as low scoring as possible. Their defense has been especially tough during the tournament. UCLA opponents have been able to muster up only 48.7 PPG while shooting a combined 34.5% from the field. UCLA definitely has a challenge at hand with a Kansas team that is capable of putting points on the board in bunches. As a team, they average 79 PPG and shoot an impressive 49.6% from the field and 39.4% from beyond the arc. During the tournament Kansas has been “lights out” from the field having shot 56.2%.
With Friday -105 juice on Basketball betting, MySportsbook.com is the place to bet on all of the “March Madness” action. Don’t forget to monitor who the public is backing at MySportsbook.com’s “Betting Trends”. By doing so, you have the best chance of predicting a possible line change, thus getting the best value for your wager.
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