Reds hope to reclaim first place in test with Braves

Baseball Betting Lines

07/31/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Cincinnati Reds try to once again reverse their standing in the National League's Central Division today when they host the Atlanta Braves in game two of a three-game series at Great American Ball Park.

The Reds entered Friday's opener in first place in the Central, but their 6-4 loss to the Braves while the St. Louis Cardinals were beating Pittsburgh, 1-0, allowed the Cardinals to reclaim the top spot with a half-game advantage.

Jayson Heyward delivered the game-winning two-run double in the 10th inning as Atlanta upended Cincinnati.

Brian McCann homered and Chipper Jones added two hits, a run scored and a run batted in for the Braves, who have won all three meetings between the teams this season.

Jesse Chavez (3-2) earned the win with a scoreless ninth inning and Billy Wagner stranded two runners in the 10th to earn his 24th save of the season for Atlanta, which has won two out of three.

Francisco Cordero (3-4) suffered the loss after giving up the decisive runs on one hit and a pair of walks over 1 1/3 innings for the Reds, who have lost three of five.

Veteran right-hander Bronson Arroyo tries to get back on the winning track for the Reds after dropping two straight decisions in late July.

The Florida native was 10-4 on the season after a 3-2 defeat of Colorado on July 16, but has since fallen to 10-6 while losing to Washington and Milwaukee on July 21 and 26, respectively.

In the losses, Arroyo has allowed nine hits and 10 runs in 13 2/3 innings.

The 33-year-old, a 15-game winner in each of the last two seasons, is 4-3 in 10 home starts in 2010 and 5-3 lifetime against the Braves in 12 appearances.

Atlanta goes with righty Jair Jurrjens, who'll aim for his first win of the season on the road and the first of his career against the Reds.

The 24-year-old from Curacao lost three straight decisions to begin the season before he was shelved with injury for May and most of June.

He returned to defeat Washington on June 30 and has since taken three in a row, beating the Nationals, Milwaukee and San Diego while improving his overall mark to 3-3 and lowering his earned run average from 6.38 to 4.37.

Jurrjens is 0-3 with a 7.88 in five 2010 road outings and 0-2 with a 6.75 ERA against the Reds in three career matchups.

Atlanta swept a two-game set from the Reds earlier in the year after the Reds won six of the nine matchups in 2009.

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Despite missing 20 games due to an injury earlier this season, Roy has definitely put up the best numbers of his 1st year peers. In 32 games, Roy is averaging 15.3 PPG, 4.2 boards and 3.5 assists in over 33 minutes of play per game. While most rookies breakdown as the season progresses (see Morrison), Roy is only getting stronger as his playing time and scoring average has increased each month.

With 30 or so games left in the regular season, Roy isn’t a lock for the award by any means. Other rookies are putting together some pretty impressive campaigns and a few could give Roy a run for the award with increased playing time. Heading the list is first pick, Andrea Bargnani of the Toronto Raptors. Even though he has started only two games all season, Bargnani is averaging 10.3 PPPG while shooting 35% from deep.

Randy Foye of the Minnesota Timberwolves could be set to give Roy the best competition NBA Rookie of the Year betting lines. With the benching of Mike James, Foye looks like he could be the starter in the T-Wolves backcourt for the rest of the season. So far, Foye has averaged 9 PPG and 2.4 assists in just under 21 minutes per game. With his new role of starter, Foye’s numbers will definitely increase. In his first game as the new starting guard this past Sunday, Foye had 10 points; five rebounds and 8 assists. More importantly, he logged 34 minutes of playing time; his third highest run of the season.

Adam Morrison, of the Charlotte Bobcats, was the favorite early on in the season after averaging 15+ PPG through the first month of the season. Ever since his torrid start, Morrison’s point production has declined each month. This really isn’t surprising, considering at 6’8” he only weighs 205 lbs. Obviously he will need to hit the weights big time during the off-season in order to keep from breaking down in the future.

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