Posted on
4/24/2008 4:54:38 PM
MLB Online Baseball Betting Action - Florida at Atlanta
By Charles Jay
BetUS MLB baseball betting odds: Atlanta -150, Florida +130, Total 10 (Over -120, Under - Even)
The Florida Marlins (13-8) cling to a lead in the National League East, and after a win in the opener of this two-game series, they will look for the mini-sweep on Thursday, as they take on the Atlanta Braves (10-11) in National League play that will begin at 7:10 PM ET at Turner Field in Atlanta.
Right-hander Burke Badenhop (0-1, 7.88 ERA) will go for Florida, while southpaw Chuck James (1-1, 7.88 ERA) is the starter for the Braves.
At BetUS Sportsbook, Atlanta is listed as a -150 favorite (Florida is +130), with a total of ten runs (Over is -120, Under is even money).
Here are some of the MLB Baseball betting trends as they relate to this matchup:
(NOTE: These trends may also revert back to the 2007 season)
* FLA has won six of its last nine games
* FLA has won seven of its last ten road games
* ATL has won five of its last seven games
* ATL has played eight of its last ten games UNDER the total
* ATL has won six of its last eight home games
* ATL has played six of its last seven home games UNDER the total
In the HEAD-TO-HEAD MLB betting trends:
* ATL has won five of the last eight meetings
* Five of the last six meetings have gone UNDER the total
* ATL has won three of the last four meetings as the home team
* Five of the last seven meetings in Atlanta have gone UNDER the total
Burke Badenhop has made a couple of starts this season, and has not performed particularly well in either one. He walked five batters and gave up four hits in three innings against Washington five days ago, and he was saved only by the Florida offense, which registered a 6-5 win against the lowly Nationals. That was only his second start in the major leagues. Teams have a .297 average and .409 on-base percentage against him.
Chuck James was slapped around in his first start against Colorado (six runs in three innings) but came back nicely last Saturday against the Dodgers, going five innings and yielding just one run. In four starts against the Marlins over the last couple of seasons, he's posted a nice 1.34 ERA, so he's had success against this opponent.
Florida, of course, is hitting a lot better than it has in the recent past, particularly in the power department, where its 32 home runs is second in the major leagues. Mike Jacobs and Hanley Ramirez, both of whom came in that big rookie wave to Miami a couple of seasons ago, seem to be vying for the MVP award, with seven HR's and 17 RBI's apiece.
We are impressed with the bullpen work of Kevin Gregg and Kenyel Pinto as well. But we don't trust Badenhop just yet, and James' degree of mastery over these Florida bats (allowing just 11 hits in 19-2/3 innings over the last three meetings) is a little too sizzling to pass up. With the Braves looking to avoid this mini-sweep, we'll lay the price with Atlanta, the -150 favorite in the BetUS Major League baseball betting odds.
JAY'S PLAY: ATLANTA (-150)
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(Charles Jay of http://www.eBookies.com touches all the bases as a regular contributor to the BetUS Locker Room)