Braves try to stay ahead of Padres in clash of division leaders

Baseball Betting Lines

07/21/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - By drawing first blood in this three-game series with the San Diego Padres last night, the National League East-leading Atlanta Braves again own the league's best record.

Atlanta will try to keep its grip on that accolade and record a fourth straight victory over NL West-leading San Diego tonight at Turner Field.

The Braves claimed a 4-1 victory on Monday to up their season record to 55-38. That has them just ahead of the Padres (54-38) for the top mark in the league and 6 1/2 games up on the second-place New York Mets in the NL East standings.

Atlanta got contributions from across the board last night, as Matt Diaz homered for a third straight game, Jason Heyward finished with three hits and starter Jair Jurrjens gave up just a run on five hits over seven innings of work. That helped the Braves win for the seventh time in their last 10 games overall, and the club has also won 23 of its last 28 at home.

"He worked us pretty good," San Diego's Chris Denorfia said of Jurrjens. "He got ahead most of the time. He didn't give in. He made his pitches."

Denorfia did homer off Jurrjens, his third long ball in two games. All five of his home runs this season have come in his last seven games.

The rest of San Diego's lineup was shut down, leading to Wade LeBlanc taking the loss event though he allowed just five hits and two runs over his six- inning start. LeBlanc hasn't won since June 12 and the Padres had a four-game win streak halted last night. They lead San Francisco by three games for the top spot in the NL West.

The Padres go tonight with Jon Garland, who has won three of his last four decisions after besting the Diamondbacks on Friday. He held them to a run on three hits and two walks over six innings, striking out five while improving to 9-6 with a 3.45 earned run average on the season.

The 30-year-old right hander has struggled in two career starts versus the Braves, allowing 13 earned runs over just 8 1/3 innings. He last faced them on May 29, 2009 while with Arizona and was tagged for eight earned runs over just 2 2/3 innings of work.

While San Diego second baseman David Eckstein is likely headed to the disabled list after suffering a right calf strain running the bases last night, the Braves are expected to activate center fielder Nate McLouth from the DL today. McLouth has been out since June 9 after suffering a concussion during a collision with Heyward.

Chipper Jones, who pinch hit on Monday, was also held out of Atlanta's starting lineup for a third consecutive game due to a left hamstring strain, but he could also return to the field tonight.

Diaz should remain in the outfield along with McLouth tonight, seeing as he is hitting .432 (16-for-37) with four homers and 11 RBI over his last 10 games played after missing time with a right thumb infection.

"I feel like I have a real good approach [at the plate] right now," said Diaz, who also had an RBI single last night.

Braves starter Tommy Hanson will seek some consistency in tonight's outing, as he is 8-6 with a 4.19 ERA on the season. The 23-year-old lost to the Brewers on Friday after giving up four runs -- three earned -- on six hits over just five innings of a 9-3 setback.

Hanson has won both of career starts against the Padres, with the right-hander pitching to a 2.25 ERA. That includes a win on April 14 in which Hanson gave up one run over six innings while striking out seven.

The Braves took two of three from the Padres in San Diego from April 12-15 and have won eight of the last 10 played at Turner Field in the series.

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Big East Conference odds

Work left to do: Villanova, Syracuse, DePaul, West Virginia, Providence

Notre Dame and Louisville appear to have done enough to make the move, so we'll make them locks. The Cardinals, despite a modest RPI, are trending way up and have clinched at least a tie for third in the Big East, which should be more than enough with their pair of big road wins. Villanova got back to .500 and gets back to more solid footing. Syracuse got a very important road win and crippled a fellow contender in the process. West Virginia's fate could be in its hands Tuesday at Pitt.

Work left to do:

Villanova [18-9 (7-7), RPI: 21, SOS: 5] Pounded Rutgers to get back to .500. If Cats can get their last two (at UConn, vs. Syracuse), that should be enough with strong computer numbers and a host of wins away from The Pavilion. The Cats have beaten Texas and swept the Big 5 (never easy in Philly), but have a couple of losses to bubble teams (Xavier, Drexel), too. I still think they'll be OK, possibly even at 8-8.

Syracuse [20-8 (9-5), RPI: 53, SOS: 62] History says 10 wins will be plenty, but it might be hard for the Orange to get that last one with a final two vs. G'town, which is trying to win the league title, and at Villanova, which will be desperate for a W. The relative lack of nonconference heft and the weak computer numbers are still concerns, but the Orange have won four in a row and got a very, very big win at Providence on Saturday.

DePaul [16-12 (8-7), RPI: 54, SOS: 18] Beat Cincy and should get past South Florida to get to 9-7, but then what? They have beaten Kansas and Cal (right after the DeVon Hardin injury) earlier this season, but also have lost to Bradley and Purdue, among others. They'll likely need a couple of BE tourney wins, too, but we'll see ...

West Virginia [19-7 (8-6), RPI: 58, SOS: 125] The game at Pitt on Tuesday night could decide the Mountaineers' fate (barring a deep tournament run). They can still get to 9-7 in the Big East without it by beating Cincinnati, but the nine wins would be against UConn, Villanova, St. John's, South Florida, DePaul, Rutgers, Seton Hall twice and the Bearcats. Beating bubble foes is fine, but where's the beef? Outside of beating PG-less UCLA in nonconference play (still a top quality win), there's not a lot to fall back on (besides maybe NC State). WVU vs. Syracuse would be an interesting debate, as the teams don't play in the Big East regular season. WVU has the best win, but Cuse has played the much better schedule.

Providence [17-10 (7-7), RPI: 70, SOS: 33] The Friars likely saw their at-large hopes die at home in the four-point loss to Syracuse, barring an unexpected run to the Big East semis or more. The RPI, bad already, won't be helped by playing St. John's and South Florida in the final two league games.

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