Lowe tries to lead Braves to series win in D.C.
Baseball Betting Lines
07/29/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Atlanta Braves shoot for a series win this afternoon when they play the rubber match of their three-game series with the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park.
A 3-0 loser in Tuesday's opener, Atlanta bounced back to even the set on Wednesday night when Chipper Jones drove in two runs and Tim Hudson was solid in 7 2/3 innings on the mound in a 3-1 triumph.
Hudson (11-5) gave up one run on seven hits to improve to 10-1 lifetime against the Nationals. He has won nine straight decisions against them since his lone loss on June 5, 2006. The right-hander also struck out seven and walked one.
Martin Prado went 3-for-5 with two runs scored for the Braves.
Mike Morse knocked in the lone run for Washington, which has lost four of five. Livan Hernandez (7-7) lasted just 4 1/3 frames in the start, allowing three runs on six hits.
The Braves hold a 3 1/2-game edge over Philadelphia in the National League's East Division, a bulge that's been trimmed significantly as of late with the Phillies' seven-game win streak.
Atlanta sends 37-year-old Derek Lowe to the mound for the starting assignment, as he tries to add on to what became his ninth career double-digit win season when he beat Milwaukee on July 18.
Lowe, who is 6-5 lifetime against the Nationals picked up one of the losses on June 29 in Atlanta when he dropped a 7-2 decision after allowing eight hits and four runs in 5 2/3 innings.
The defeat started a three-game skid that ended when Lowe allowed eight hits and three runs in 5 1/3 innings while beating the Brewers. That win was No. 10 on the season and continued a streak that began when he won 21 games for the Boston Red Sox in 2002.
For the Nationals, lefty Scott Olsen returns to the majors for his first start since May 21.
The 26-year-old Michigan native fell to 2-2 on the season with a 5-3 loss to Baltimore that night, then subsequently went on the 15-day disabled list with left shoulder tightness.
He made four rehabilitation starts in the minor leagues to prepare for his return and posted a 3.21 ERA.
Olsen is 3-5 in 14 lifetime appearances against the Braves, including a no- decision on May 6 in which he allowed two hits and one earned run in 7 1/3 innings of Washington's 3-2 win.
These teams have split eight overall meetings this year, with the Nationals winning three of the four matchups held in Washington.
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In his only seas
Big 12 Conference betting odds
Work left to do: Texas Tech, Oklahoma State, Kansas State
Texas joins Texas A&M and Kansas as locks after getting league win No. 11. Texas Tech greatly helped its own hopes and crippled OK State's with the two-point win Saturday. Is K-State the last reasonable hopeful? Could be an elimination match in Stillwater on Tuesday, at least for the Cowboys.
Work left to do:
Texas Tech [18-11 (7-7), RPI: 44, SOS: 12] A critical two-point win over OK State leaves the Red Raiders with Baylor and at Iowa State left. Get both and the Red Raiders likely are good to go. Get one and there could be some interesting comparisons with a K-State team that could finish two or three games "ahead" of them in the standings but doesn't have any of the quality wins Texas Tech has. Not a lot in nonconference play (against Arkansas in Little Rock being the best win, by far) to lean on.
Oklahoma State [18-9 (5-8), RPI: 50, SOS: 35] Still without a road win, the Cowboys now need to win two on the road just to get to .500 in conference play. It's hard to recall a team (OK, other than Clemson) falling so precipitously from lock status to almost certainly out of the NCAAs at this point. There are wins to be had in the last three, including a very big home game against K-State on Tuesday, but this team is reeling. Can you tell the pressure to win is getting to them with the way the final possession played out at Texas Tech? There are some good nonconference performances to lean on, specifically beating Missouri State and Syracuse on neutral floors and Pitt in OK City, but if the Pokes don't right this very, very soon, that won't be enough.
Kansas State [20-9 (9-5), RPI: 56, SOS: 96] It pays to be in the Big 12 North. The nine league wins are Colorado (twice), Missouri (twice), Iowa State (twice), Baylor, Nebraska and (a good one against) Texas. That helps explain the middling computer profile. The win over USC is nice, but the nonconference leaves a lot to be desired. The game at OK State in Stillwater on Tuesday is huge, as it could KO the Cowboys and leave K-State with a home date against Oklahoma with which to work.