Braves try to bounce back in key series with Marlins

Baseball Betting Lines

09/04/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Josh Johnson hopes for a better result than the last time he faced Atlanta when he and the Florida Marlins continue their three-game set with the Braves tonight at Sun Life Stadium.

Johnson surrendered just three hits and an unearned run in six innings against the Braves on Sunday, but received a no-decision in his team's 7-6 loss. It was the seventh time this season that he left with a lead only to settle for a no-decision.

"I would have liked to get a little bit deeper," said Johnson, who is 11-5 with a 2.28 earned run average on the year and has struck out 174 batters in 177 2/3 innings, after the game. "I just didn't."

Johnson has faced the Braves 14 times (13 starts) and is 4-2 with a 2.44 ERA against them.

The Marlins kept their fleeting postseason hopes alive in the opener of this set on Friday, as Logan Morrison tripled twice, scored two times and drove in a run in support of five solid innings from Andrew Miller to post a 6-1 win.

"The story is Andrew Miller and how he is gaining confidence," said Florida acting manager Brandon Hyde. "It was awesome to see. He was throwing strikes, working ahead and putting away guys. It was an impressive performance."

Chad Tracy had a key two-run double and Hanley Ramirez went 1-for-2 with a pair of runs scored, two walks, a stolen base and an RBI for the Marlins, who claimed their third win in a row and have now alternated three-game winning and losing streaks over their last nine games.

However, they still trail the Braves by nine games in the National League East and are eight back of the Philadelphia Phillies in the Wild Card race.

Miller (1-0) allowed the lone run on seven hits while walking three and fanning six to pick up his first win since July 4 of last season. Four different hurlers came out of the bullpen to blank the Braves over the final four frames.

Kenshin Kawakami (1-10) took the loss after lasting only three innings in his first start since June 26. The right-hander yielded five runs on five hits and four walks while fanning two for the Braves, who lost their second straight and saw their lead over Philadelphia in the division trimmed to a single game after the Phillies blanked Milwaukee, 1-0, earlier in the night.

"It was the worst ballgame I've ever seen him pitch," said Braves skipper Bobby Cox about his struggling starter. "He just couldn't get his stuff going, couldn't get his location going. He just never got into a good rhythm."

Hoping for a better effort tonight, Atlanta will turn to righty Jair Jurrjens, who has won his last three decisions and is 6-4 with a 4.38 ERA on the year. Jurrjens overcame six walks to beat the New York Mets on Monday, as he allowed three runs and six hits in 5 2/3 innings.

Jurrjens is 3-1 with a 4.50 ERA in seven starts against the Marlins.

Atlanta has won seven of its 13 matchups with the Marlins this season.

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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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