Kawakami effective in debut as Braves down Nats

Baseball Betting Lines

04/11/2009 - Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kenshin Kawakami tossed six solid innings in his major league debut, as the Atlanta Braves downed Washington, 5-3, to keep the Nationals winless so far this season.

Kawakami (1-0), the first Japanese-born player in Braves history, allowed three runs on four hits and four walks. The 33-year-old also struck out eight in picking up the win.

Kawakami's effort on the mound was backed by Kelly Johnson, who went 3-for-4 with a double, home run and three runs batted in. Jordan Schafer had three hits, including two doubles, for the Braves, who moved to 4-1 this season and have already won their first two series.

Atlanta took two of three games from Philadelphia to begin the 2009 campaign and have now won the first two of this three-game set against the Nationals.

John Lannan (0-2) took the loss after allowing four runs on nine hits and three walks in six innings of work. Lannan also struck out three in the loss, Washington's fifth in a row to open the year. Washington is one of two teams without a win this season, the other being Cleveland, which lost to Toronto earlier Saturday to also fall to 0-5.

Ryan Zimmerman powered Washington's offense with a two-run homer, his first of the season, also drawing a walk in the loss.

Atlanta won only after erasing the 3-0 lead Washington had built up over the first three innings. The Braves got one run in the home third when Johnson smacked a leadoff homer to right field and added three more in the fourth.

With a runner on first, Schafer doubled to put both runners in scoring position. Kawakami grounded out, but Johnson followed with a two-run double to center, tying the game.

Atlanta's rally continued when Yunel Escobar reached on an infield single, leaving runners on the corners. Chipper Jones then lined a single to left to bring home Johnson, giving the Braves a 4-3 lead.

Kawakami settled down after allowing his three runs and, after his six innings, handed the ball off to Peter Moylan, who struck out the side in the seventh.

Rafael Soriano took over on the mound in the top of the eighth for the Braves and held Washington scoreless, despite allowing a leadoff double to Cristian Guzman.

Escobar's RBI single in the bottom half of the eighth provided an extra run for Atlanta, and Mike Gonzalez tossed a perfect ninth to notch his first save of the season.

The Nationals got on the scoreboard in the first, when Nick Johnson singled in a run. Zimmerman's opposite field two-run shot in the third made it a 3-0 Washington lead.

Game Notes

Kawakami spent last season with the Chunichi Dragons, going 9-5 with a 2.30 earned run average in 20 games (16 starts). However, he missed most of September with a strained back. He won 112 games in 11 seasons in Japan, earned MVP honors, as well as the Sawamura Award -- Japan's equivalent to the Cy Young -- in 2004 after going 17-7 with a 3.32 ERA...Lannan entered the game with a 2-0 record at Turner Field and a 0.69 ERA (one run in 13 innings)...The Braves left 10 runners on base, while the Nats stranded five.

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MySportsbook.com : Fortune Favors Favorites in March Madness betting?

Just like Day 1 of the “Sweet 16”, Friday’s games are chock full of some of the nation’s elite.  Unlike Thursday’s games, there is a little bit more of a “Cinderella” feel as #7 seed UNLV and #6 seed Vanderbilt will attempt to move on to the Elite Eight.  With powerhouses Florida, UNC and Georgetown looking to continue their momentum against lesser known teams, it isn’t surprising that once again the “betting public” is backing most of the favorites.  As the early coin rolls in, 56% of Sportsbook.com bettors prefer Georgetown (-7.5) as they take on Vanderbilt; 84% of the early money is backing Oregon (-3) as they square off against UNLV; and a slight majority (52%) of the early cash is on Florida (-10.5) against Butler as the Gators continue their quest for another National Title. The only favorite the public don’t seem confident in is UNC, as 59% of the cash is backing the underdog Trojans (+8).

Midwest

#1 Florida vs. #5 Butler

The defending National Champs have been on a mission since last April.  Joakim Noah and Al Horford turned down millions of dollars for one reason, to REPEAT.  After a late season hiccup which saw them lose three out of four, the Gators have won six straight by an average of 20.3 points. More importantly, they covered in five of those six games.  Behind their stymie defense that yields only 56.9 PPG, Butler has been a very pleasant surprise this season.  As their 20-11 ATS record will indicate, “surprise teams” like Butler are often good bets for gamblers.  Playing in an average conference, Butler wasn’t and underdog too often but when they were, they covered (6-0 ATS).  Butler’s defense will have its hands full against a Gators offense which averages 80.1 PPG on an amazing 52.9% shooting from the field.  With Florida’s tournament experience over the last few years, it isn’t surprising that they are 5-1 ATS this season, 20-4 ATS over the last three seasons and 38-20 since 1997 in tournament action.

#3 Oregon vs. #7 UNLV

As a #7 seed, UNLV is the closest thing to a “Cinderella” we have this year.  If you bet on UNLV this season with any regularity, you most likely cashed in. Behind their guard oriented attack, the Rebels are an impressive 20-11 ATS this season.  As an underdog they covered in 8 out of their ten games which isn’t surprising since they are 52-30 ATS as a ‘dog since 1997. The Rebels have been a consistent cover during the month of March as well.  This March they are 6-0 ATS, 11-3 ATS over the last three seasons and 24-11 since 1997. Their impressive ATS trends don’t end there; versus teams with a winning record they are 15-6 ATS this season and 41-21 over the last three seasons.  Although Oregon hasn’t been as generous to gamblers as UNLV this season, they have been covering consistently as of late.  There is no question that they are playing their best ball of the season having won their last 8 straight up (SU) by an average of 14.5 points. Not surprising they covered in 7 of those games.  It is interesting to note how similar these teams are in regards to scoring and scoring defense. UNLV averages 75 PPG while giving up 66.5 PPG and Oregon scores 75.8 PPG while yielding 65.5 PPG.

East

#6 Vanderbilt vs. #2 Georgetown

“Hoya Paranoia” is officially back! After a decent start, Georgetown has rolled through the second half of the season.  Over their last 18 games, they are 17-1 SU.  They have definitely improved ATS as the season has progressed as well. After opening the season 1-4-1 ATS, the Hoyas have covered 78.3% of their games.  With their great interior play of Jeff Green and Roy Hibbert, the Hoyas as a team shoot 50.5% from the field.  Like the Georgetown teams from years ago, they also excel on defense.  Hoya opponents averaged only 56.8 PPG on 38.2% shooting from the field and an extremely low 30.4% from beyond the arc.  The last stat could be of some concern to Vanderbilt considering they shoot 37.7% from long-range.  Ranking second to last in the SEC in rebounding margin, Vanderbilt will have its work cut out for them against the Hoya trees. As far as covering is concerned, Vanderbilt has been almost a “sure thing” (7-1 ATS) versus good defensive teams that allow less than 64 PPG.

#1 UNC vs. # 5 USC

The Tar Heels are as talented and as deep as any team in the country.  Going ten deep and chock full of HS All-Americans, UNC averages 86.1 PPG and scored 100+ seven times.  Led by All-American forward, Tyler Hansbrough (18.6 PPG 7.9 RPG) UNC has a very balanced attack which can kill you on the inside as well as on the perimeter.  UNC only real concern is their youth as eight of their rotation players are either sophomores or freshmen.  UNC was a reliable cover this season going 20-13 ATS.  An intriguing covering trend for the Tar Heels in recent years has been how they fared after non-conference games.  This season they are 11-3 ATS after non-conference games and over the last three seasons they are 31-13 ATS.  USC is also a pretty deep team which is loaded with swingman types.  An match-up to keep an eye on will be freshman forward Taj Gibson (12.1 PPG, 8.6 RPG) as he squares off against the AA Hansbrough.  USC has been a covering machine this season achieving a 21-10 record ATS.  They have thrived in the underdog role, having covered 10 out of 12.  When playing a team with a winning record, the Trojans are an incredible 20-6 ATS. Keep in mind, USC dedicated their season to former star to Ryan Francis who passed away before the season so as they get closer to the ultimate goal, emotion could definitely be on their side.

With Friday -105 juice on Basketball betting, MySportsbook.com is the place to bet on all of the “March Madness” action.  Don’t forget to monitor who the public is backing at this sportsbook “Betting Trends”.  By doing so, you have the best chance of predicting a possible line change, thus getting the best value for your wager.

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