Braves get first look at Strasburg

Baseball Betting Lines

06/28/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Nationals drafted Stephen Strasburg with the hopes that he could one day headline a rotation that would make Washington a contender in the National League East.

The 21-year-old phenom gets his first crack at division play this evening when the Nats visit the first-place Atlanta Braves for the opener of a three-game series at Turner Field.

Strasburg has gone 2-1 with a 1.78 earned run average over his first four starts, striking out 41 batters over 25 1/3 innings since making his debut on June 8 versus the Pirates. His last three starts have all come against American League opponents and the right-hander will be trying tonight to rebound from his first career loss.

Despite allowing just one earned run for a third straight outing, Strasburg suffered a 1-0 setback to the Royals on Wednesday. He allowed a career-high nine hits, but didn't walk a batter and struck out nine to pass former Cleveland hurler Herb Score for the most strikeouts through the first four starts of a big league career.

"For the most part, I went out there and threw strikes," said Strasburg, who threw 75 of his 95 pitches for strikes. "Couple mistakes by me. They really didn't hit the ball hard, except for a couple times they found holes, but that's baseball."

The Nationals hope that the San Diego State product can go deep into this contest after Washington blew leads in all three games of its weekend series with Baltimore. The Orioles recorded the winning run in Sunday's 4-3 contest on Miguel Tejada's two-out single in the eighth inning that handed Nats reliever Tyler Clippard his second loss in as many days.

"It feels devastating," Clippard said of the three losses. "We're battling our butts off, we're playing good but we're coming up short and it's not fun."

Washington, which got a two-run homer by Roger Bernadina, has lost four straight and 12 of its last 15 to fall 11 games back of the Braves in the NL East.

The Nats have also lost 20 of their last 24 road contests and tonight face a team with the best home record in baseball. The Braves are 26-8 at Turner Field this year despite Sunday's 10-4 loss to the Tigers that halted the club's seven-game home winning streak.

Troy Glaus and Brian McCann notched RBI doubles for the Braves, who have lost four of their last six and lead the Mets by just a half-game for the top spot in the NL East. Starter Tommy Hanson lasted just 3 2/3 innings, yielding six runs -- five earned -- on eight hits.

"I felt pretty good until that fourth inning," Hanson said. "The wheels just came off. Just a frustrating inning."

Atlanta rookie Jason Heyward did not play on Sunday due to a left thumb injury and he is slated to have an MRI today. He is batting .251 this year with 11 homers and 45 RBI, but his hitting just .172 over his last 25 games.

While the Nationals are turning to their young star, the Braves counter with a veteran in Tim Hudson, who is an outstanding 7-3 this year with a 2.54 ERA. The 34-year-old, though, allowed more than three earned runs for the first time this year in Wednesday's loss to the White Sox, getting charged with four runs on six hits and three walks over seven innings of a 4-2 setback.

Hudson, who has pitched at least seven innings in each of his last four starts, is 4-1 with a 1.87 ERA in five home starts this season and has won his last seven decisions versus the Nats franchise since his lone loss to them on June 5, 2006.

In 14 career starts against them, the right-hander is 8-1 with a 1.62 ERA and got a no-decision in a May 6 meeting that saw him allow two runs over seven frames of work.

Atlanta lost two of three in that set at Washington, and the Nationals have won six of the last seven matchups between the two clubs.

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Super Bowl XLIV Odds

Super Bowl XLIII isn't even a week old yet and oddsmakers have already released Super Bowl XLIV odds.

Despite the Pittsburgh Steelers winning Super Bowl 43, the New England Patriots are 8/1 favorites to win Super Bowl 44.

Bet Super Bowl XLIV Future Odds

With their 27-23 victory over the Arizona Cardinals in Super Bowl XLIII, the Steelers became the latest NFL champion. But believe it or not, oddsmakers from online sports book MySportsbook.com don't have the Steelers the favorites to win Super Bowl XLIV next season.

That honor belongs to the New England Patriots, who are 8/1 favorites to win despite not even qualify for the postseason in 2008. The Pats also have a major decision to make regarding what to do with Matt Cassel, who played well in Tom Brady's (knee surgery) absence last year but is also a free agent this offseason.

Ironically, the Steelers aren't even oddsmakers second choice to win Super Bowl 44, as the Dallas Cowboys are listed right behind the Patriots at 9/1 despite not making the playoffs themselves. Clearly oddsmakers think the public will hop back on the Cowboys' bandwagon considering the immense talent they have and the opening of a brand new stadium.

After Dallas, then comes Pittsburgh at 10/1, but they share those odds with the New York Giants, who won Super Bowl XLII. The Indianapolis Colts and San Diego Chargers round out the top six teams at 12/1, while the Baltimore Ravens (14/1), Tennessee Titans (16/1), Carolina Panthers (18/1) and Philadelphia Eagles (18/1) complete the top 10.

The NFC Champion Arizona Cardinals got no love from oddsmakers as they were established as a 30/1 long shot to win next year's Super Bowl. They share those same odds with the Chicago Bears and Tampa Bay Buccaneers – two teams that didn't even qualify for the postseason. Other long shots are the Kansas City Chiefs (100/1), Detroit Lions (100/1), St. Louis Rams (75/1) and Oakland Raiders (75/1).

To see a complete list of all the team's odds to win Super Bowl XLIV, check below.

NFL TEAM FUTURE ODDS TO WIN SUPER BOWL XLIV

New England Patriots 8/1

Dallas Cowboys 9/1

New York Giants 10/1

Pittsburgh Steelers 10/1

Indianapolis Colts 12/1

San Diego Chargers 12/1

Baltimore Ravens 14/1

Tennessee Titans 16/1

Carolina Panthers 18/1

Philadelphia Eagles 18/1

New Orleans Saints 20/1

Atlanta Falcons 25/1

Denver Broncos 25/1

Green Bay Packers 25/1

Jacksonville Jaguars 25/1

Minnesota Vikings 25/1

New York Jets 25/1

Arizona Cardinals 30/1

Chicago BearS 30/1

Tampa Bay Buccaneers 30/1

Buffalo Bills 35/1

Houston TexaNS 35/1

Miami Dolphins 35/1

Washington Redskins 35/1

Seattle SeahawkS 50/1

Cleveland Browns 55/1

Cincinnati Bengals 60/1

San Francisco 49ers 60/1

Oakland Raiders 75/1

St. Louis Rams 75/1

Detroit Lions 100/1

Kansas City Chiefs 100/1

Odds as of: 2/2/09

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