Braves kick off road swing in Florida

Baseball Betting Lines

07/23/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Atlanta Braves bring the National League's best record into Florida this evening when they kick off their nine-game road trip with the first of three games against the Marlins at Sun Life Stadium.

Atlanta just took two of three from the San Diego Padres to complete a seven- game homestand that saw it go 4-3. Still and all, the Braves lead the NL East by seven games over three-time defending division champion Philadelphia.

The Braves, though, did not gain any ground on the Phils on Thursday, but picked up a series win over the Padres nonetheless, as Tim Hudson tossed seven strong innings and Alex Gonzalez continued to swing a hot bat with a four-hit, two-RBI performance in the 8-0 win.

Hudson (10-5) shut down the Padres to the tune of four hits and one walk while fanning four.

Gonzalez, meanwhile, has hit safely in six of his seven games since coming to Atlanta in a trade with Toronto and made a pair of defensive gems behind Hudson Thursday, as the Braves took two of three in the series.

Jayson Heyward chipped in two hits and two RBI, while Chipper Jones went 3- for-5 with a run batted in.

Getting the call for the Braves tonight will be right-hander Derek Lowe, who is 10-8 with a 4.39 ERA. Lowe stopped a personal three-game losing streak and won for the first time in five starts on Sunday against Milwaukee, which managed three runs and eight hits in 5 1/3 frames.

Lowe is 6-4 lifetime against the Marlins with a 4.93 ERA in 17 games, 12 of which have been starts.

Florida, meanwhile, will counter with rookie right-hander Alex Sanabia, who is 1-1 with a 2.12 ERA. Sanabia picked up his first big league win on Sunday against the Washington Nationals, as he scattered four hits over 5 1/3 innings. He had thrown 3 1/3 scoreless frames in his previous outing.

This will be the 21-year-old hurler's third start and first against Atlanta.

The Marlins come into tonight's tilt red hot after taking three of four from Colorado. On Thursday, Ronny Paulino knocked in the game-winning run in the bottom of the ninth to give the Marlins a 3-2 win.

Emilio Bonifacio tripled to deep center over the head of Dexter Fowler to start the inning, and Paulino promptly punched the game-winning hit to shallow right as the Marlins won for the fifth time in their last six tries.

Florida, though, sits nine back of the Braves in the division.

Josh Johnson continued his strong run despite receiving a no-decision, striking out 11 in 6 1/3 innings and yielding just one run on five hits with a single walk.

Leo Nunez (4-2) struck out the side in the top of the ninth and received the win, while Gaby Sanchez provided a pair of hits and drove in a run.

Atlanta has won four of its six matchups with the Marlins this season.

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