Braves use big seventh inning to beat Dodgers

Baseball Betting Lines

06/06/2010 - Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Troy Glaus' two-run homer and a two-run double by Brian McCann keyed a seven-run seventh inning, as the Braves came away with a 9-3 win over the Dodgers in the third of four games from Chavez Ravine.

Omar Infante had a two-run base hit and Brooks Conrad a pinch-hit single to open the scoring for Atlanta, which batted around in the frame. McCann added a two-RBI hit in the eighth to finish with four driven in.

Tommy Hanson (6-3) won his third straight start, allowing a pair of runs on eight hits with six strikeouts and two walks over six innings for the Braves, who had a nine-game winning streak halted via a 5-4 verdict on Friday.

Chad Billingsley (6-3) pitched into the seventh but was pulled after allowing the first three batters to reach base. Each came around to score with the right-hander ending with a line of three runs, seven hits, two walks and five strikeouts. He had won his previous four decisions and helped himself early on with a run-scoring double.

Los Angeles had won five of its last six coming in.

Three consecutive singles to start the fateful seventh got Atlanta its first run on Conrad's poke into center. That brought out Ramon Troncoso from the bullpen, but the carnage continued.

A sacrifice bunt by Martin Prado moved up the runners and Infante brought in both with a base hit to left. Jason Heyward walked and was quickly crossing the plate along with Infante courtesy of a double off the base of the left- field wall from McCann.

Manny Ramirez took a curious line toward the ball and watched it one-hop out of his reach as McCann took third on the eventual throw in. Ronald Belisario took over pitching duties and promptly served up Glaus' two-run homer to center field for a sudden 7-2 difference.

McCann made it a seven-run game with his two-out single an inning later, and LA went in order facing Peter Moylan in the bottom half. Craig Kimbrel worked the ninth and was touched for a Rafael Furcal infield hit that scored a run before finishing out the frame.

The Dodgers manufactured single runs in the second and third innings to secure an early advantage. After a Jamey Carroll double-play ball in the second, Blake DeWitt singled and Billingsley lifted a double to center field to forge a 1-0 edge.

Matt Kemp tripled to deep center just over the outstretched glove of Nate McLouth leading off the third and scored to make it a two-run affair when Andre Ethier hit a sacrifice fly.

Game Notes

Furcal had three hits, while DeWitt had two and scored two of the three Dodger runs. Ethier stole his first base of the season...Glaus' home run was his 11th on the year. He has 44 RBI in 56 games this season...Prado collected a pair of hits to extend his hitting streak to 10 games...The Dodgers had a 24-1 record when leading after six innings entering play Saturday...Hanson has won five of his last six decisions overall.

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Pacific-10 Conference odds

Teams that should be in: Stanford

Oregon and USC get their tickets punched after taking care of business this weekend. Yes, the Trojans' computer numbers aren't great, but there's no way the third-place team in this league is getting nixed. Grudgingly, I added Arizona after consultation with our Bracketologist. I don't know that Arizona will lose its last three (including a Pac-10 quarterfinal game), and even if the Cats do, I still can't see how they'd be left out, given the overall profile. That said, it bears watching, as three more L's would leave them at 18-12 (9-9) and on a 6-11 skid entering the Dance. It would be nice to see the Wildcats get at least one W in the Bay Area next week, as Cincinnati (albeit without Armein Kirkland and with a worse profile) was axed after a similar slide last season. I just couldn't rationalize having some of the other teams as locks and not having Arizona in that category -- there just aren't enough good teams behind the Cats to threaten their spot, it seems. Stanford has its fate in its own hands with the Arizona schools coming to the Farm to close out the regular season next weekend.

Should be in:

Stanford [17-10 (9-7), RPI: 40, SOS: 21] No shame in not getting a win in L.A., but that makes the home game against Arizona State a must-win ahead of what could be an intriguing meeting with Arizona should the Cats lose at Cal. Getting to 11 Pac-10 wins would make Selection Sunday much more comfortable, but 10's probably more than enough this season. The Cardinal have nonconference wins over Texas Tech and at Virginia to lean on, although they also lost badly to Air Force and Santa Clara at home.

Southeastern Conference odds
Work left to do: Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, Mississippi State

It looks more and more possible that no one from the SEC West will make the NCAAs. How weird is that? Tennessee and Vandy move into the locks category after more good work this weekend. Kentucky stays there, although it would be smart for the Cats to handle Georgia at home Wednesday ahead of a trip to the Swamp. Could a disaster scenario (two more L's and a first-round SEC tourney exit) somehow dislodge the Cats despite their incredible computer numbers? Still unlikely, but not worth chancing it.

Work left to do:

Alabama [19-9 (6-8), RPI: 43, SOS: 47] The tough L at Tennessee was understandable, and even created some hope. Unfortunately, that hope was dashed by a home loss to Auburn, which leaves the Tide in some real trouble. There's still no signature win on the profile (no, Kentucky doesn't count), and the computer profile is weakening rapidly. The Tide conceivably could beat Ole Miss and win at Miss. State to get to 8-8 and clinch at least a share of the West crown, but that's probably not enough right now. The Tide will need to do some work in the SEC tourney.

Georgia [16-10 (8-6), RPI: 52, SOS: 23] This is the team with the best chance to make it from this section right now. The Bulldogs rebounded from a terrible performance at Ole Miss to beat down Miss. State. Now they are at Kentucky (king of the RPI 51-100 win) and home to Tennessee. That would be worth a lot of computer points to get both (which is doable), as both teams are in the top 11 in RPI. Finishing at least 9-7 is an absolute must, and I would feel much better about the Dawgs' chances if they got both to get to 10 SEC wins. They also beat Gonzaga, but lost to ACC bubblers Georgia Tech and Clemson.

Mississippi [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 63, SOS: 79] Like everyone else in this division, Ole Miss gacked up a chance to stake a claim, losing by double figures at South Carolina. Even 9-7 likely is not nearly enough with a nonconference profile devoid of anything notable.

Mississippi State [16-11 (7-7), RPI: 66, SOS: 37] With a chance to get in the mix, these Bulldogs were leashed by their Georgia counterparts. Could they get to 9-7? I guess -- although winning at Arkansas, then beating Alabama is no lock -- but would that mean all that much for a team with this overall profile? Probably not. There's nothing of note (on the good side) in the nonconference profile.

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