First-place Braves open second half against Brewers

Baseball Betting Lines

07/15/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Atlanta Braves have done everything possible in this season's first half to potentially make Bobby Cox's last year as manager a special one.

Seeking to give their manager one more championship before he retires at season's end, first-place Atlanta will hope to get its second half off to a good start this evening in the opener of a four-game series versus the disappointing Milwaukee Brewers at Turner Field.

The Braves own the top home record in baseball (30-10), currently lead the National League East by four games over the New York Mets and are 4 1/2 games up on the three-time defending division champion Philadelphia Phillies. They have won 15 of their last 23 games and had won four in a row before suffering a loss to the Mets on Sunday.

Atlanta also helped secure the NL home-field advantage in the World Series in Tuesday's All-Star Game, as catcher Brian McCann's three-run double with two outs in the seventh inning helped lift the Senior Circuit to a 3-1 victory, its first over the AL since 1996.

"It'd be big for any NL team that gets there," McCann said of home-field advantage. "Being in first place at the break, we've had a lot of guys on our team step up and play big. It was nice just to come out here and be a part of this All-Star Game."

McCann, who hit .267 with 10 homers and 37 RBI in the first half, became the first Braves player to earn All-Star Game MVP honors since Fred McGriff in 1994. He was joined in Anaheim by teammates Martin Prado, Omar Infante, Jason Heyward and Tim Hudson.

Prado, who started at second base due to an injury to Philadelphia's Chase Utley, went 0-for-3, while Infante and Hudson did not get into the game. Heyward missed the game due to an injured left thumb, and the Braves hope the rookie can still flash his power when he returns some time in the second half. He hit 11 homers and drove in 45 runs in 71 first-half games.

Atlanta added some power on Wednesday, when it swapped Yunel Escobar to Toronto for fellow shortstop Alex Gonzalez in a five-player trade. The Braves also dealt pitcher Jo-Jo Reyes to the Blue Jays while getting back a pair of minor leaguers.

The 33-year-old Gonzalez is hitting .259 with 17 homers, six off his career high, and 50 RBI in 85 games this year. Escobar, meanwhile, was hitting just .238 with zero homers and 19 RBI.

Atlanta should also get a boost with the healthy return of Jair Jurrjens, who makes his third start tonight since missing two months of action due to a hamstring injury.

The 24-year-old made his return on June 30 and beat Washington with five innings of one-run ball, then got a no-decision versus Philadelphia on July 6 after yielding three runs on two hits and three walks over six innings. Jurrjens is 1-3 with a 5.40 earned run average on the season, but 1-0 with a 2.00 ERA in three starts at home.

Jurrjens has faced Milwaukee just once before, getting a loss to them on June 5, 2009 after the right-hander allowed four runs on nine hits over seven frames.

The Brewers counter with the red-hot Dave Bush, who has won three of his last four decisions and hasn't allowed more than two runs in any of his past five outings. He closed out the first half with a victory over the Pittsburgh on Saturday, yielding two runs on six hits and striking out five over 6 1/3 innings, while improving to 4-6 with a 4.14 ERA this year.

"My last month or so, I've had good command...I'm feeling stronger and gotten in decent rhythm," said Bush after the game.

The 30-year-old righty lost to the Braves on May 11, getting charged with three runs on seven hits over six innings of an 11-3 setback. Bush fell to 1-1 with a 2.33 ERA in four career starts versus Atlanta.

Bush's win over the Pirates was part of a three-game sweep for the Brewers to close out the first half and followed five straight losses. Still, Milwaukee is 8 1/2 games back of first place in the NL Central and begins an eight-game road trip tonight.

"It's nice to come back and sweep and go into the break with some momentum," said All-Star Corey Hart, who hit a game-winning two-run homer in the ninth inning of Sunday's 6-5 finale.

Hart started Tuesday's All-Star Game in right field, while teammate Ryan Braun was in left. However, the duo combined to go 0-for-4 with three strikeouts, though Hart finished third in Monday's Home Run Derby.

Braun went 6-for-12 with two homers, three RBI and five runs scored in the Pittsburgh series, while Hart is tied for the NL lead with 65 RBI and comes out of the break with a five-game hitting streak.

The Braves have won four straight and six of their last seven versus the Brewers, including a three-game sweep at Milwaukee from May 10-12.