Cabrera, Infante hit back-to-back HRs as Braves top Mets

Baseball Betting Lines

07/09/2010 - Flushing, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Melky Cabrera and Omar Infante clubbed back- to-back home runs with two outs in the top of the seventh inning, and the Atlanta Braves beat the New York Mets, 4-2, in the opener of a critical three- game series at Citi Field.

With the score even at two, Cabrera hit the first pitch he saw from Mets starter R.A. Dickey (6-2) over the right-field wall. The right-hander's first pitch to Infante was in there for a called strike, but the next offering wound up bouncing off the top of the towering wall in left field.

Atlanta reliever Takashi Saito escaped a jam in the eighth and Billy Wagner pitched a perfect ninth for his 20th save of the season.

Infante finished with four hits for the National League East-leading Braves, who are four games ahead of the second-place Mets.

The Braves picked up a run in the first when New York shortstop Jose Reyes failed to turn a routine force play that would have ended the inning. Cabrera and Infante hit consecutive one-out singles. After a Brian McCann fly out left men on the corners, Troy Glaus hit a grounder that Reyes mishandled, producing the game's first run.

New York tied the game in the third. Dickey led off with a single, then the speedy Angel Pagan reached on a bunt base hit. Dickey advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt by Reyes and came home on a David Wright sac fly to the warning track in right.

The clubs traded runs in the fifth inning. Infante stroked a two-out single and McCann drew a walk before Glaus singled to right-center, driving in Infante with the go-ahead run. McCann was thrown out by Jeff Francoeur trying to advance to third.

The knuckleballer started a rally with a one-out single in the bottom of the frame, taking second base on a wild pitch. Atlanta starter Tommy Hanson struck out Pagan, but Reyes hit a line drive over left fielder Eric Hinske's head for an RBI double, knotting the game at two.

An opportunity to seize the lead was squandered by the Mets in the sixth. Atlanta shortstop Yunel Escobar let an Ike Davis pop-up fall for a leadoff double. Jason Bay walked and Josh Thole dropped down a bunt, but Davis was erased on the play. After Francoeur grounded out, putting runners on second and third, Eric O'Flaherty (3-1) replaced Hanson and induced a 4-3 groundout from pinch-hitter Jesus Feliciano to end the threat.

Saito threw two wild pitches in the eighth inning, allowing Davis to take third with two outs. Thole walked, but Francoeur lined out to finish the inning.

Game Notes

Infante recorded his second four-hit game of the season...Dickey had allowed just two home runs all year...Hanson and Dickey both had six strikeouts...Atlanta third baseman Chipper Jones was a late scratch because of back spasms...The Mets optioned right-handed reliever Ryota Igarashi to St. Lucie of the Florida State League and recalled infielder/outfielder Nick Evans from Double-A Binghamton.

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Mayweather picked to beat De La Hoya
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA -- Golden Boy Oscar De La Hoya and his rival Floyd Mayweather Jr. arrived at the MGM Grand here Wednesday amid the pomp and pandemonium befitting two of the biggest stars in the sport who are about to duke it out for the WBC super welterweight crown this Saturday (Sunday in Manila).

As of Wednesday, MySportsbook.com closed its book with Mayweather a favorite to defeat De La Hoya at -170 (a $100 bet wins $70), while De La Hoya is a +140 underdog (a $100 bet wins $140).

Mayweather arrived at about 11:30 a.m. on a big truck with his face and a big "World's Best Pound-for-Pound" sign scribbled across the vehicle. He was accompanied by his entourage made up of rappers and his training team.

A crowd of close to 3,000 eager fans packed the MGM Grand lobby, with their cameras in tow, all trying to vie for position to get a good angle at Mayweather, who is acknowledged as the world's best fighter pound-for-pound.

Eric Gomez, Golden Boy Promotions vice-president, described the fan turnout as "amazing" and swore he had never seen anything quite like this event.

"The crowd was fantastic. Everybody was just too eager to see the two fighters," said ALA manager Michael Aldeguer, who was among those who waited at the lobby together with his ward Rey "Boom Boom" Bautista and AJ Banal.

De La Hoya made his own grand entrance at the hotel lobby at around 12:30 p.m. accompanied by GBP chief executive officer Richard Schaefer and trainer Freddie Roach.

The same group of fans who trooped to see Mayweather also lingered around to get a close look at De La Hoya, who has been secretly working out at a Las Vegas gym for days after arriving from his main training camp in Puerto Rico.

The golden boy then took part in a closed-door afternoon workout with Bautista and Banal. The two, along with Aldeguer and wife Christine, as well as an HBO crew were the only ones allowed inside the gym.

De La Hoya and Mayweather take part in today's final press conference before the official weigh-in this Friday.

Ring Magazine, the acknowledged bible of boxing, reported in its June 2007 issue that 12 out of 20 boxing experts it interviewed have favored Mayweather to defeat De la Hoya, with only 8 favoring the latter.

But Filipino ring icon Manny Pacquiao said in a recent interview with The Freeman's Emmanuel Villaruel that De La Hoya will win by unanimous decision over Mayweather.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your bet on boxing needs.