Braves send Smoltz to the hill to face Marlins

Baseball Betting Lines

09/17/2007 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Veteran John Smoltz takes the hill against one of his favorite foes tonight as the Atlanta Braves look to keep fleeting playoff hopes alive in the opener of a three-game series with the visiting Florida Marlins at Turner Field.

The Braves are 5 1/2 games behind the San Diego Padres in the NL wild-card race.

Smoltz, who has allowed just seven hits and three runs over 13 innings while going 1-0 in his last two starts, is 13-6 lifetime against Florida with 20 saves in 54 appearances. He's posted a 2.75 earned run average against the Marlins in 193 innings of work.

The 40-year-old right-hander last faced them on August 28 in Florida, getting a no-decision while allowing six hits and three runs over six innings of a 4-3 Atlanta loss.

Right-hander Byung-Hyun Kim was the winner in relief in that matchup, allowing a hit in one scoreless inning, and starts for Florida tonight.

The South Korean export has shifted between bullpen and starting duty while also juggling teams this season. He made one start in three appearances with Colorado, started a pair of games for Arizona and has made 16 starts in 20 overall appearances for the Marlins.

In his last outing, on Wednesday against Washington, he allowed seven hits and four runs in 5 2/3 innings, getting a no-decision in Florida's 5-4 victory.

On Sunday in Colorado, Franklin Morales combined with three relievers on a five-hit shutout as Colorado routed Florida, 13-0, to avoid a sweep in the finale of a three-game set Coors Field.

Scott Olsen (9-14) was touched for six runs on eight hits in just two-plus innings of work en route to the loss for Florida.

In Washington, Tim Hudson tossed his 10th career shutout and first of the season, as the Braves blanked the Nationals, 3-0, in the finale of a three- game set at RFK Stadium.

Hudson (16-8), who entered with a three-game losing streak, yielded seven hits while walking one and striking out six.

Kelly Johnson homered and Mark Teixeira knocked in two runs for the Braves, who had lost four of their previous six games.

Florida has an 8-7 edge in its season series with Atlanta this year, and has won four of six at Turner Field.

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Portland TrailBlazer’s guard, Brandon Roy, is MySportsbook.com’s overwhelming favorite to win the NBA Rookie of the Year odds.

Despite missing 20 games due to an injury earlier this season, Roy has definitely put up the best numbers of his 1st year peers. In 32 games, Roy is averaging 15.3 PPG, 4.2 boards and 3.5 assists in over 33 minutes of play per game. While most rookies breakdown as the season progresses (see Morrison), Roy is only getting stronger as his playing time and scoring average has increased each month.

With 30 or so games left in the regular season, Roy isn’t a lock for the award by any means. Other rookies are putting together some pretty impressive campaigns and a few could give Roy a run for the award with increased playing time. Heading the list is first pick, Andrea Bargnani of the Toronto Raptors. Even though he has started only two games all season, Bargnani is averaging 10.3 PPPG while shooting 35% from deep.

Randy Foye of the Minnesota Timberwolves could be set to give Roy the best competition NBA Rookie of the Year betting lines. With the benching of Mike James, Foye looks like he could be the starter in the T-Wolves backcourt for the rest of the season. So far, Foye has averaged 9 PPG and 2.4 assists in just under 21 minutes per game. With his new role of starter, Foye’s numbers will definitely increase. In his first game as the new starting guard this past Sunday, Foye had 10 points; five rebounds and 8 assists. More importantly, he logged 34 minutes of playing time; his third highest run of the season.

Adam Morrison, of the Charlotte Bobcats, was the favorite early on in the season after averaging 15+ PPG through the first month of the season. Ever since his torrid start, Morrison’s point production has declined each month. This really isn’t surprising, considering at 6’8” he only weighs 205 lbs. Obviously he will need to hit the weights big time during the off-season in order to keep from breaking down in the future.

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