Braves take hot streak into Pittsburgh

Baseball Betting Lines

05/09/2008 - (Baseball Betting) - The Atlanta Braves will try to stay unbeaten this month as they open a seven-game road trip with tonight's first of four straight games against the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park.

Atlanta is coming off a perfect six-game homestand in which it swept both Cincinnati and San Diego at Turner Field. In Thursday's 5-4 victory over the Padres in the finale of a three-game series, Matt Diaz ripped an RBI single in the ninth inning to score Yunel Escobar, who went 2-for-4 with a walk and three runs scored. Greg Norton drove in two runs for the Braves.

Jo-Jo Reyes started on the mound for Atlanta, but left in the third inning with a blister on the index finger of his left hand. He gave up two runs -- one earned -- on five hits in 2 2/3 innings of work. Buddy Carlyle then took the mound in place of Reyes, but left in the fifth after colliding with Kevin Kouzmanoff. Carlyle had let up one run on one hit with a walk in two innings.

Manny Acosta was credited with the win after getting the final out of the top of the ninth.

The Braves are 4-11 away from home this season and have dropped four straight on the road.

Taking the ball for Atlanta tonight will be veteran Tom Glavine, who is just 0-1 with a 4.50 ERA in five starts this season. Glavine, who hasn't recorded a win since beating Houston last September, made his second start since coming off the disabled list with a hamstring injury Sunday versus Cincinnati. He gave up six runs and seven hits with five walks in 4 2/3 innings of a 14-7 win over the Reds, his second straight no decision.

Glavine faced the Pirates on March 31 of this season and did not factor in his team's 12-11 setback. In that game he allowed two runs -- one earned -- in five frames.

The lefty is 22-12 with a 3.09 earned run average in 44 career starts against Pittsburgh.

Pittsburgh is coming off a three-game sweep of the San Francisco Giants to open a seven-game homestand. Freddy Sanchez went 3-for-5 with two runs scored in Thursday's 5-4 victory, while Jason Bay went 3-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored. Ryan Doumit drove in a pair of runs for the Pirates, who have won four of their last six contests.

Bucs starter Paul Maholm yielded four runs on six hits in six innings of work for the no decision. Franquelis Osoria got the win for pitching one inning of scoreless relief.

The Pirates are 9-7 in the Steel City this season.

Ian Snell gets the call for the Pirates on Friday, and he is 2-2 with a 5.09 ERA in seven starts this season. Snell is 0-2 in his last four trips to the mound, as he was roughed up for four runs and 10 hits in six innings Sunday at Washington.

Snell faced the Braves on March 31 and did not record a decision after surrendering four runs and seven hits in six innings. The right-hander is 1-2 with a 4.96 ERA in six career appearances (five starts) against Atlanta.

Pittsburgh won two of three games against the Braves from March 31-April 3 at Turner Field. Atlanta went 5-1 in last season's series, with a 2-1 record at PNC Park.

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Pacific-10 Conference odds

Teams that should be in: Stanford

Oregon and USC get their tickets punched after taking care of business this weekend. Yes, the Trojans' computer numbers aren't great, but there's no way the third-place team in this league is getting nixed. Grudgingly, I added Arizona after consultation with our Bracketologist. I don't know that Arizona will lose its last three (including a Pac-10 quarterfinal game), and even if the Cats do, I still can't see how they'd be left out, given the overall profile. That said, it bears watching, as three more L's would leave them at 18-12 (9-9) and on a 6-11 skid entering the Dance. It would be nice to see the Wildcats get at least one W in the Bay Area next week, as Cincinnati (albeit without Armein Kirkland and with a worse profile) was axed after a similar slide last season. I just couldn't rationalize having some of the other teams as locks and not having Arizona in that category -- there just aren't enough good teams behind the Cats to threaten their spot, it seems. Stanford has its fate in its own hands with the Arizona schools coming to the Farm to close out the regular season next weekend.

Should be in:

Stanford [17-10 (9-7), RPI: 40, SOS: 21] No shame in not getting a win in L.A., but that makes the home game against Arizona State a must-win ahead of what could be an intriguing meeting with Arizona should the Cats lose at Cal. Getting to 11 Pac-10 wins would make Selection Sunday much more comfortable, but 10's probably more than enough this season. The Cardinal have nonconference wins over Texas Tech and at Virginia to lean on, although they also lost badly to Air Force and Santa Clara at home.

Southeastern Conference odds
Work left to do: Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, Mississippi State

It looks more and more possible that no one from the SEC West will make the NCAAs. How weird is that? Tennessee and Vandy move into the locks category after more good work this weekend. Kentucky stays there, although it would be smart for the Cats to handle Georgia at home Wednesday ahead of a trip to the Swamp. Could a disaster scenario (two more L's and a first-round SEC tourney exit) somehow dislodge the Cats despite their incredible computer numbers? Still unlikely, but not worth chancing it.

Work left to do:

Alabama [19-9 (6-8), RPI: 43, SOS: 47] The tough L at Tennessee was understandable, and even created some hope. Unfortunately, that hope was dashed by a home loss to Auburn, which leaves the Tide in some real trouble. There's still no signature win on the profile (no, Kentucky doesn't count), and the computer profile is weakening rapidly. The Tide conceivably could beat Ole Miss and win at Miss. State to get to 8-8 and clinch at least a share of the West crown, but that's probably not enough right now. The Tide will need to do some work in the SEC tourney.

Georgia [16-10 (8-6), RPI: 52, SOS: 23] This is the team with the best chance to make it from this section right now. The Bulldogs rebounded from a terrible performance at Ole Miss to beat down Miss. State. Now they are at Kentucky (king of the RPI 51-100 win) and home to Tennessee. That would be worth a lot of computer points to get both (which is doable), as both teams are in the top 11 in RPI. Finishing at least 9-7 is an absolute must, and I would feel much better about the Dawgs' chances if they got both to get to 10 SEC wins. They also beat Gonzaga, but lost to ACC bubblers Georgia Tech and Clemson.

Mississippi [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 63, SOS: 79] Like everyone else in this division, Ole Miss gacked up a chance to stake a claim, losing by double figures at South Carolina. Even 9-7 likely is not nearly enough with a nonconference profile devoid of anything notable.

Mississippi State [16-11 (7-7), RPI: 66, SOS: 37] With a chance to get in the mix, these Bulldogs were leashed by their Georgia counterparts. Could they get to 9-7? I guess -- although winning at Arkansas, then beating Alabama is no lock -- but would that mean all that much for a team with this overall profile? Probably not. There's nothing of note (on the good side) in the nonconference profile.

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