MLB Betting – Braves Attempt To Keep Pace Ahead Of Phillies, Mets

After winning nine straight games through the end of May and in to June, the Atlanta Braves have lost three of their last five to allow the Philadelphia Phillies and the New York Mets to gain some ground on them atop the National League East division standings. A 7-5 win to split the first two of a four-game set in Arizona against the Diamondbacks was a good start to keeping ahead of their division rivals, one that the Braves will try to build on tonight when starting pitcher Kenshin Kawakami takes to the mound still looking for his first win of the season.

MLB Betting Odds:

Atlanta Braves +105
Kenshin Kawakami – R

Arizona Diamondbacks -125
Ian Kennedy – R

Total:

9.5 O -120
9.5 U EVEN

Run Line:

Braves – 1.5 +165
Diamondbacks +1.5 -195

Location: Chase Field, Phoenix, Arizona
Game Time: Wednesday June 9, 2010 – 9:40 PM ET
TV: SPSO, FSAZ

The Week That Was: Braves

While the Braves have carried over their excellent hitting in to the month of June, the struggles from the mound have been what had hurt them recently. Atlanta has allowed three runs or more in five straight contests, including 17 in three losses over that span. The Braves still have five games left on the road during this current trip, including three in Minnesota, where the top team in the American League Central is 19-9 this season, making it that much more crucial to earn maximum results against the last place Diamondbacks.

The Week That Was: Diamondbacks

It hasn’t gotten any easier for Arizona recently despite taking two of three against the Colorado Rockies this past weekend for their first series win since taking two of three from the Toronto Blue Jays in mid-May. The last time the Diamondbacks clinched a series, they followed it up with ten straight losses, and a look to their upcoming schedule offers little in the way of comfort that a similar streak won’t happen again, as Arizona has dates with the Cardinals, Red Sox, Tigers, Yankees, and Devil Rays following the completion of the final two games against Atlanta.

The Match Up:

Kawakami has struggled mightily this season for Atlanta, failing to complete seven innings of work in any of his starts, while posting an 0-8 record complimented by a 4.91 ERA. The 35-year old became the first Braves’ pitcher in the last 85 years to lose his first eight decisions of a season, despite striking out twice as many batters as he has walked. Their might not be a better opponent for Kawakami to get his first win against than the Diamondbacks, who send 25-year old Ian Kennedy to the mound. Kennedy will be attempting to bounce back from a terrible start of his own, after allowing six runs against the Colorado Rockies last week.

MLB Betting Pick: Braves +105