McCann's homer caps Atlanta's comeback win over Marlins

Baseball Betting Lines

08/29/2010 - Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Brian McCann hit a game-ending home run to cap off a furious Braves rally, as Atlanta recovered from a five-run deficit in the eighth to stun Florida, 7-6, in the rubber match of a three-game series.

Leo Nunez (4-3) came in to protect a 6-4 lead in the ninth and walked Brooks Conrad on four pitches. Pinch-hitter Matt Diaz worked the count to 2-1 before blasting the game-tying home run to right.

The next two batters were retired by Nunez, but McCann ended the game with a shot that just cleared the right field wall. The umpires initially ruled it a double, but replays showed it clearly bounced back in play after clearing the fence.

The win helped the Braves increase their NL East lead over Philadelphia to 2 1/2 games. The Phillies are currently playing at San Diego.

Eric Hinske drove in two runs for Atlanta, which improved to 18-1-2 in series at home, losing only a series against the Phillies in April. Takashi Saito (2-3) grabbed the win for a scoreless ninth inning.

Hanley Ramirez went 2-for-2 with a three-run homer before leaving due to light-headedness for the Marlins, who have lost two straight following a three-game win streak. Josh Johnson was in line for the win before the bullpen's implosion, having given up just an unearned run, three hits and three walks in six frames while fanning eight.

Just as Atlanta got off to a quick start Saturday, the Marlins' offense grabbed the early lead Sunday.

Derek Lowe walked the leadoff hitter Emilio Bonifacio, and Logan Morrison singled to center, putting runners on the corners. Ramirez followed by belting a middle-in fastball on a line over the wall in left for the 3-0 lead.

Dan Uggla followed with a double, but Lowe limited the damage.

Uggla's throwing error to start the home half allowed Omar Infante to reach base, and Infante later scored on a two-out single by Hinske to cut Atlanta's deficit to two.

The Marlins loaded the bases with nobody out against Lowe in the third and added to their lead on a two-run single by Chad Tracy. Donnie Murphy's RBI triple in the fourth off Cristhian Martinez gave Florida a 6-1 advantage.

Atlanta rallied in the eighth off the Florida bullpen. With runners on first and third and one out, Hinske doubled off Will Ohman to deep center to score a run and cut the deficit to four. Clay Hensley came in to pitch and struck out Alex Gonzalez, but Melky Cabrera reached on an error by first baseman Gaby Sanchez, which allowed both runners to score for a two-run game.

Game Notes

Atlanta leads the season series, 7-5...Lowe lasted just three innings, giving up five runs, six hits and three walks...Ramirez is now 14-for-26 lifetime against Lowe, although he hit his first career home run against him...Marlins rookie Mike Stanton went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts and is now mired in an 0- for-27 stretch with 13 punchouts...The Marlins' bullpen blew a Johnson lead for the seventh time this season and has 23 blown saves, the most in the majors. Nunez blew his eighth save in 2010...McCann recorded his first career game-ending home run.

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Football Betting

NFL Football Betting Online

The San Francisco 49ers (5-11 SU, 5-10-1 ATS in 2007; 1-1 SU & ATS in pre-season) found some offensive life last week, and they will try to build some momentum on Thursday night as they travel to the Windy City to take on the Chicago Bears (7-9 SU & ATS in 2007; 0-2 SU, 0-1-1 ATS in pre-season) in an NFL matchup that is set to get underway at 8 PM ET at Soldier Field (natural turf) in Chicago.

Thursday, August 21

NFL betting odds: CHICAGO -3 (-120), Total 37

NOTABLE STAT: San Francisco was last in points, last in total offense in 2007
KEY NFL BETTING TREND: SF has lost its last seven SU on pre-season road

In the BetUS NFL pre-season football betting odds, the Bears are listed as a three-point favorite (laying -120), with the total posted at 37 points.

Here are some NFL football betting trends as they relate to this matchup (reflecting numbers going into the 2008 season):

* SF has lost 11 of its last 14 games SU
* SF has covered three of its last 11 games
* SF has lost six of its last seven road games SU
* SF has covered one of its last seven road games
* CHI has covered five of its last eight games
* CHI has played five of its last seven games OVER the total
* CHI has covered four of its last 13 home games
* SF has lost its last seven pre-season road games SU
* CHI has covered two of its last seven home pre-season games

Well, I guess we should congratulate the Bears on making their quarterback choice for the season's opening game, as they have designated Kyle Orton the starter against Indianapolis. The Bears obviously have lost patience with Rex Grossman, and what they do with him at this point is anybody's guess. But suffice it to say that there isn't a quarterback competition anymore, at least in training camp.

Meanwhile, the quarterback competition may also be settled in San Francisco, where the Niners bounced back from a lackluster 18-6 loss to the Raiders, in which they turned the ball over four times, to execute a 34-6 rout of the Packers last Saturday. However, coach Mike Nolan has stopped short of saying that, insisting that the job is still open. But J.T. O'Sullivan, the longshot of the trio of Niner signal-callers who opened camp, will start his third straight pre-season game here. Against Green Bay, O'Sullivan was only 8-for-17, and was intercepted, but he also threw for 9.1 yards an attempt, which included a 59-yard TD pass to Josh Morgan. The others struggled.

Some offensive cohesion is badly needed, in light of the Niners' dismal 2007 campaign, in which they were dead last in the NFL in scoring, with just 13.7 points a game. And O'Sullivan is the guy who is most familiar with offensive coordinator Mike Martz's exacting system, because he learned it last year in Detroit. O'Sullivan will go at least the entire first half and may even last longer. He'll be relieved by Alex Smith, with Shawn Hill doing the mop-up work. Three receivers who were out last week - Bryant Johnson, Ashley Lelie and Arnaz Battle - will miss this game too.

That may hurt a little here, especially since the Bears will be using a lot of their defensive starters. And it's the defense that has been keeping the Bears in games thus far. In fact, the defense and special teams were responsible for the first 19 points Chicago scored against Seattle last time out, as the offense really struggled with Grossman at the controls. But maybe the first-team offense has a chance to settle a little bit as it works more with Orton at the helm.

Certainly we have concerns about the Bears' offensive line, but we like the scenario for them here, especially if O'Sullivan doesn't make some bis plays. The Niners may have nowhere else to turn right now, and they have lost seven straight road games in the pre-season. Let's take Chicago, the three-point favorite in the NFL football betting odds.

CHICAGO -3 (-120) **
(Graded on a scale of 1-4 stars)

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