Kawakami effective in debut as Braves down Nats

Baseball Betting Lines

04/11/2009 - Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kenshin Kawakami tossed six solid innings in his major league debut, as the Atlanta Braves downed Washington, 5-3, to keep the Nationals winless so far this season.

Kawakami (1-0), the first Japanese-born player in Braves history, allowed three runs on four hits and four walks. The 33-year-old also struck out eight in picking up the win.

Kawakami's effort on the mound was backed by Kelly Johnson, who went 3-for-4 with a double, home run and three runs batted in. Jordan Schafer had three hits, including two doubles, for the Braves, who moved to 4-1 this season and have already won their first two series.

Atlanta took two of three games from Philadelphia to begin the 2009 campaign and have now won the first two of this three-game set against the Nationals.

John Lannan (0-2) took the loss after allowing four runs on nine hits and three walks in six innings of work. Lannan also struck out three in the loss, Washington's fifth in a row to open the year. Washington is one of two teams without a win this season, the other being Cleveland, which lost to Toronto earlier Saturday to also fall to 0-5.

Ryan Zimmerman powered Washington's offense with a two-run homer, his first of the season, also drawing a walk in the loss.

Atlanta won only after erasing the 3-0 lead Washington had built up over the first three innings. The Braves got one run in the home third when Johnson smacked a leadoff homer to right field and added three more in the fourth.

With a runner on first, Schafer doubled to put both runners in scoring position. Kawakami grounded out, but Johnson followed with a two-run double to center, tying the game.

Atlanta's rally continued when Yunel Escobar reached on an infield single, leaving runners on the corners. Chipper Jones then lined a single to left to bring home Johnson, giving the Braves a 4-3 lead.

Kawakami settled down after allowing his three runs and, after his six innings, handed the ball off to Peter Moylan, who struck out the side in the seventh.

Rafael Soriano took over on the mound in the top of the eighth for the Braves and held Washington scoreless, despite allowing a leadoff double to Cristian Guzman.

Escobar's RBI single in the bottom half of the eighth provided an extra run for Atlanta, and Mike Gonzalez tossed a perfect ninth to notch his first save of the season.

The Nationals got on the scoreboard in the first, when Nick Johnson singled in a run. Zimmerman's opposite field two-run shot in the third made it a 3-0 Washington lead.

Game Notes

Kawakami spent last season with the Chunichi Dragons, going 9-5 with a 2.30 earned run average in 20 games (16 starts). However, he missed most of September with a strained back. He won 112 games in 11 seasons in Japan, earned MVP honors, as well as the Sawamura Award -- Japan's equivalent to the Cy Young -- in 2004 after going 17-7 with a 3.32 ERA...Lannan entered the game with a 2-0 record at Turner Field and a 0.69 ERA (one run in 13 innings)...The Braves left 10 runners on base, while the Nats stranded five.

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American Idol odds : Blake Lewis the Early Standout

An important American Idol betting lines recap from February 20 Guys episode. The 12 men came out flat overall with Blake Lewis appearing to have the early edge after the first hour and a half.

Rudy - was quite good singing "Free Ride" to start off.  Randy was not impressed though.  Paula thought he started off fantastic.  "Never had anyone stop off so lively" said Paula but Simon (who does not like Rudy) does not feel he has a distinct voice and was not impressed either. 

Brandon was a little pitchy according to Randy and Paula agreed.  Simon said he was a good singer but the song was "too safe" and he needs to make an impact.  He was listed at +1200 odds or $1200 paid out on a $100 bet should he win the competition. 

Big favorite Sundance came in with a flat version of "Knights in White Satin" and the judges let him have it, including Paula.  Randy claimed the song was out of pitch throughout.

Korean American - and a Jenny Woo favorite - Paul Kim was up next.  Another pitchy flat one but Randy said he still liked his potential.  Kim at +3000 odds was said to have sung a "third rate version of that (George Michael) song" according to Simon Cowell.  He sang "Careless Whisper".

22 year old Chris Richardson was up next.  He was listed with +1100 odds coming in.  He got the best response from the judges though Simon did not believe the vocal was that great. 

Nick was boring and pitchy.  Simon didn't think he was that bad though and predicted he would be back next week.  Nick Pedro was a big +3000 dog coming into this competition. 

Beat boxer Blake Lewis was listed with early +1000 odds or $1000 payout on a $100 bet if he were to become the next American Idol winner odds .  These of course were the early odds.  He was considered original for picking an "odd song".  He did not beat box and the judges felt it was the best vocal of the night. 

Sanjaya came in as the second biggest favorite after Chris Sligh but his performance Tuesday night was not very good. 

Chris Sleigh was the early favorite at +450 odds.  Great voice and a great sense of humor.  He's a real standout.  Randy felt it was on point but maybe ahead of the chorus a little bit.  Simon Cowell said he felt like he was in some "sort of weird student gig". 

Jared Cotter followed.  He was listed with +2000 odds early on to win the competition.  The judges felt he needs to take more risks but looked good. 

22-year old AJ Talbado, who has tried out for American Idol five times, was up next.  "Kind of a theme park performance" said Simon.  Though the judges felt he performed okay.  Simon did feel AJ might be better than he originally thought.

Phil - this season's military favorite - came into this competition with +1200 odds to win the competition.  He was the last to perform.  He was certainly strong enough to get through this stage of the competition and perhaps the best one after a shaky start. 

Tomorrow night, the ladies perform and I sure hope they do a better job than the boys.  Check out all the American Idol betting odds here.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.

Albert Pujols to be This Year's Home Run Champ Says Online Sportsbook

Barry Bonds is a 50-1 long shot to be this year's home run champ odds.  The favorite to be this year's home run champ is none other than Albert Pujols, however.

Now that Barry Bonds is signed and in Giants camp, it is on to his pursuit of all of sports most prestigious records: the all-time home run mark. Bonds sits just 21 homers shy of tying Hank Aaron for the career mark at 755. Word out of Giants’ camp is that Bonds is the healthiest he has been in a few years. Bonds is just two seasons removed from his injury riddled 2005 campaign where he played in only 14 games and hit only 5 home runs. He did come back last year and had a solid season hitting .270 with 26 bombs. All eyes will be on Bonds this spring and summer not only because of his home run chase but his highly publicized steroid abuse allegations. If and when Bonds breaks the record, he surely will not get the positive attention one should for breaking a record that was once thought of as “unbreakable”. Despite Bonds decent season last year, he is just 50-1 at MySportsbook.com to lead the MLB in long balls this season.

Not surprisingly, the favorites to go deep the most times this season are Albert Pujols 5-1, Ryan Howard 6-1, David Ortiz 8-1 and Alex Rodriguez 12-1. With 49 homers, Pujols finished second in the National League behind Howard (58). Pujols is considered the favorite due to the consistent power numbers that he has posted since breaking into the league in 2001. Also one must consider the fact that he played in 16 fewer games then Howard did due to an injury. Howard smashed 58 homers in his first complete season of big league play en route to the National League MVP odds award. He silenced his critics by successfully hitting left-handed pitching. Howard also displayed the ability to use his power to the opposite field. Two attributes which should keep Howard amongst the league leaders in long balls for years to come. From the American League representatives, David Ortiz leads the field. Ortiz was second in the majors last year with 54 home runs. Except for 1999 when he only played in 10 games, Ortiz has improved on his home run numbers each year he has been in the majors (1997).

Be sure to log onto online sports betting site MySportsbook.com to check out the odds for who will lead the MLB in home runs this season. Below is just a sample of the players listed. With the highest credit card rates in the industry, MySportsbook.com is the place to bet on baseball this summer.

World Series odds

Adam Dunn 15-1

Albert Pujols 5-1

Alex Rodriguez 12-1

Alfonso Soriano 15-1

Andruw Jones 25-1

Barry Bonds 50-1

Carlos Delgado 40-1

David Ortiz 8-1

Jermaine Dye 40-1

Ken Griffey Jr. 100-1

Lance Berkman 40-1

Manny Ramirez 20-1

Richie Sexson 40-1

Ryan Howard 6-1

Travis Hafner 20-1

Vladimir Guerrero 40-1

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.