Hudson tries to get Braves back on track in Washington

Baseball Betting Lines

07/28/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - If the Atlanta Braves want to hold onto first place in the National League East, they must find a way to consistently beat teams like the Washington Nationals. Lucky for them, that is Tim Hudson's specialty.

Hudson will try to improve on his stellar career record versus Washington this evening and help Atlanta even a three-game series at Nationals Park.

The 35-year-old All-Star threw seven scoreless innings to beat the Nationals the last time he faced them on June 28, upping his career mark against the franchise to 9-1 with an outstanding 1.51 earned run average in 15 starts. He has won eight straight decisions against them since his lone loss on June 5, 2006.

Hudson, though, has been a bit inconsistent himself for the Braves. He has alternated wins and losses over his last eight starts, giving up just one run in the four victories -- including none in the last three -- while yielding 15 runs in the four losses.

The right-hander is coming off a victory over the Padres in which he threw seven scoreless innings on Thursday, improving to 10-5 with a 2.47 ERA on the season.

Hudson will try to get the Braves back on track after they lost last night's opener to Washington, 3-0, even though the Nationals were forced to scratch phenom Stephen Strasburg late due to right shoulder inflammation that leaves the young hurler day-to-day.

Miguel Batista stepped up in an emergency role and threw five scoreless innings, with three Washington relievers combining to hold Atlanta to just two hits the rest of the way. Matt Capps pitched a perfect ninth to earn his 25th save.

"Miguel has been a staff saver for us," Nationals manager Jim Riggleman said. "And [Tuesday] he was more than that. He was outstanding."

Ian Desmond had two hits and drove in two runs for the Nationals, who snapped a three-game slide and won for the third time in 10 games. They have won four of seven overall versus the Braves this year, including three of four at home.

Eric Hinske had two of Atlanta's five hits and Tommy Hanson allowed three runs -- just one earned -- over six innings to take the loss, his team's third in four games to start a nine-game road trip.

"We didn't have many chances," said Braves manager Bobby Cox, whose club will try to avoid dropping three in a row since getting swept by the Chicago White Sox from June 22-24.

The Braves, who have seen their lead over the second-place Philadelphia Phillies fall to 3 1/2 games, were without Nate McLouth after sending the struggling center fielder to Triple-A Gwinnett before the game. McLouth had just six hits in his last 63 at-bats and is hitting .168 with three homers and 14 RBI on the year.

The Nationals will turn tonight to Livan Hernandez, who snapped a five-start winless drought (0-2) with a victory in Cincinnati on Thursday.

The 35-year-old righty picked up his first win since June 21 after allowing a run on seven hits in a complete-game effort, his second of the season and 49th of his career. He didn't walk a batter and struck out five.

Hernandez improved to 7-6 with a 3.12 ERA this year and is 6-15 with a 5.16 ERA in his career versus the Braves, whom he beat on May 4 after giving up just two runs -- one earned -- over 5 1/3 frames.

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Betting the NFL preseason

Rule No. 1 in the gamblers' handbook states, "Avoid sports betting on meaningless games."

When you're drowning in a sea of baseball monotony, however, things change. Even a hint of pro football betting can persuade the most disciplined bettor to break a few rules. 

The NFL preseason is around the corner, with a tempting Hall of Fame match kicking off on Sunday. But bettors must stay vigilant. Wagering on NFL exhibition games is an entirely different beast than the regular season. Most fans don't recognize the players on the field because starters get as much action in August as Warcraft fans get on Prom night.

The only certainty about the NFL this time of year is uncertainty – and yet there are some who say betting in August can be a gold mine.

“I actually feel the NFL preseason presents solid profit opportunities for sharp bettors and handicappers,” Sports Expert Steve Merril explains. “My experience has been that the sportsbooks fear the preseason, which is evident by lower limits and massive moves.”

The line moves are attributed to the limited knowledge available regarding playing-time distribution. One team’s top unit out on the field for one more series has an impact on the pointspread. Setting lines in the preseason often is a shot in the dark.

“We base the betting lines mostly on public perception,” Pete Korner, founder of the Sports Club in Las Vegas, says. “It’s very tough to predict, almost a guessing game.”

The preseason is all about figuring out who’s in and for how long.

“It becomes a race between bettors and oddsmakers to find out how long the quarterbacks are going to stay in,” Korner admits. “If a sharp gets the information first, he could exploit an early line. I’m a full believer in moving the line in the preseason if the books find out something late in the week.”

Determining what each team’s motive is can help bettors handicap. To do this you must pay close attention to the philosophies head coaches employ in exhibition play.

“You need to know what a coach is trying to accomplish,” says Covers Expert Bryan Leonard. “Sometimes a new coach will want to instill a winning attitude. Others just want to make sure their starters don’t get hurt."

So how do you distinguish who’s playing scared and who’s playing for keeps?

“Head coaches on the hot seat or new coaches trying to implement a winning attitude usually try harder to win in the preseason,” Merril says.

Cleveland Browns head coach Romeo Crennel fits this criteria. He’s entering his third season as the sideline boss and has yet to lead the Browns to more than six wins.

Cleveland is an enticing bet as well because of the unresolved quarterback situation. General manager Phil Savage sacrificed the Browns’ first-round pick in next year’s draft for Brady Quinn, but the former Notre Dame quarterback hasn’t signed or reported to training camp yet.

Charlie Frye and Derek Anderson split time at QB last season and it looks like either player (or even Quinn) could be the opening-day starter.

“If a team has quarterback depth and the pecking order hasn’t been decided, it’s a big advantage,” Leonard says.

Even in the third week of the preseason when starters generally play the most, the final outcome of the game is in the hands of fringe players. A team's talent, all the way down to the last man on the roster, is something to consider.

The New England Patriots have long been considered one of the deeper teams in the NFL and coach Bill Belichick has said in the past he’s unafraid of stars getting hurt in games with nothing on the line. He shocked his colleagues in 2003 by playing some of his starters on special teams in the preseason.

“We want to have the team ready to play a tough, physical game and preparation has to go into that and I imagine a certain amount of injuries go with it,” Belichick told the Providence Journal in August 2003.

Bettors can only hope to find more teams that share the Pats' business-like approach to the preseason (New England is 17-9-3 against the spread since 2000) and take advantage of teams who detest the exhibition schedule.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your bet on football needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.