Braves carry momentum into opener with Mets

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08/30/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Count the Braves as fans of instant replay.

After a reversed call helped Atlanta maintain a two-game edge for first place in the National League East, the Braves look to make it three victories in a row this evening in the opener of a four-game set versus the New York Mets at Turner Field.

Atlanta's slim edge over second-place Philadelphia was maintained on Sunday on Brian McCann's walk-off home run versus Florida that gave his club a 7-6 victory.

Atlanta trailed by five runs heading into the eighth inning, but plated three runs in that frame before tying the game on Matt Diaz's pinch-hit two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth. After the next two Braves hitters were retired, McCann blasted a pitch that just cleared the right-field wall. The hit was initially ruled a double, but was reversed after a review.

"I heard it hit the back of that tin [past the fence], and I knew it was over," McCann said. "It was just a great feeling, big team win. It was a team win today, and it was awesome."

Not only did McCann's hit -- the first walk-off of his career -- give the Braves a second straight win after dropping four straight, but it marked the first time that replay was used on a deciding homer.

The home run also improved Atlanta to 18-1-2 in home series this year, which is bad news for a New York team that has lost nine of its past 12 at Turner Field.

The Mets, who hold a slim 6-5 margin over the Braves in the 2010 season series, begin a 10-game road trip this evening after splitting six games at home. New York managed the .500 mark after Sunday's 5-1 triumph over Houston in the rubber match of a three-game set.

R.A. Dickey gave up just the run over seven-plus innings and also had two hits at the plate, one a two-run single.

"Being consistent with what I have to offer," said Dickey, who also scored a run. "I think I have a collective body of work here over the last 20 starts."

Josh Thole went 2-for-3 with a solo homer and scored twice for the Mets, who were again without shortstop Jose Reyes due to a strained right oblique muscle. Reyes, who hasn't played since Thursday, is unlikely to play tonight and his return date is unknown.

New York could use Reyes' speed as it tries to hand Atlanta starter Jair Jurrjens his first home loss of 2010.

The right-hander is 5-0 with a 1.81 earned run average in seven home starts, and 5-4 with a 4.36 ERA overall this year. He has allowed 10 runs over his last two starts, both no-decisions on the road, and the bulk of that damage came on Wednesday in Colorado. Jurrjens gave up seven runs over 5 1/3 innings of his club's 12-10 setback.

Jurrjens, 24, has faced the Mets just once this year, taking a loss in New York on April 24 after he gave up three runs over 6 2/3 innings. He fell to 6-2 lifetime versus the Mets with a 2.62 ERA.

While Jurrjens aims to maintain his perfect mark at Turner Field, Mets starter Pat Misch will try again for his first victory of the year.

The 29-year-old lefty has lost his first three starts of 2010, posting a 3.50 ERA. His latest setback came on Wednesday as Misch allowed four runs -- three earned -- on nine hits over six innings of work.

Misch, who was 3-4 with a 4.12 ERA in 22 games (seven starts) with the Mets last year, is 0-2 with a 10.22 ERA in six career games versus Atlanta, including two starts. He has yielded 14 runs over 12 1/3 innings against the club.

Misch will likely have to face Atlanta's Derrek Lee after he was rested on Sunday. Lee left Saturday's contest in the third inning due to a mild strain on his right side.

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Michael Vick is back, Brett Favre isn't and the NFC East remains the best division in the NFC, maybe in all of football.

As players start to gather for the start of another season, some things change and some stay the same in the world of the NFL.

Bet 2010 Super Bowl Odds

The NFC East has been the dominant division in the National Conference for a while, despite limited playoff success, save for the New York Giants surprise Super Bowl win two seasons ago.

Hell, there's a generation of kids in Texas who have never seen the Cowboys win a playoff game (last win was in 1996).

But collectively, the Giants, Eagles, Cowboys and Redskins (well, maybe not so much the Redskins) are as good as a division gets in an NFC conference that has struggled to stay competitive with the AFC side.

Sports bettors have both acknowledged the NFC East's dominance, as one glance at the NFL future odds menu will show.

Looking over the NFL betting odds at online sports book MySportsbook.com we see the top three teams listed to win the NFC Championship are all from the NFC East:

Dallas Cowboys - 7 - 1

Philadelphia Eagles - 13 - 2

New York Giants - 9 - 2

Slotting in behind these three are two teams from the NFC North: the Minnesota Vikings (15-2) and the Chicago Bears (10-1).

Again, despite the lack of recent playoff success, the Dallas Cowboys are popular with the sports betting community, as they hold 14% of all the money wagered on who will win the NFC Championship.

So far, the New York Giants are the bettors' favorite to represent their conference in the Super Bowl, as they have 24% of the overall NFC Championship betting volume.

And what about the Philadelphia Eagles? For the most part, the Eagles had a very productive offseason, the kind that could bring them back to the top.

They had a good draft adding the likes of WR Jeremy Maclin and RB LeSean McCoy.

Unfortunately, the team received a blow when long-time defensive coordinator Jim Johnson passed away on Tuesday.

But this team will make a real run at the division title this year. Going into the regular season, Philly is listed at +240 to win the division.

Last season the Eagles were 9-6-1 SU and 10-6 ATS.

Teams from the NFC East will play teams from the AFC West in the regular season and the Eagles haven't really been a good bet in the last 20 games against the likes of San Diego, Oakland, K.C. and Denver, only going 8-12 ATS.

Two seasons removed from that Super Bowl title, the New York Giants see themselves listed as the odds-on favorite in NFC East championship futures at +162.

Plaxico Burress is gone and with him all the bad publicity surrounding the gun in the sweatpants incident, but can they replace him in the offense?

Last season the Giants were a very reliable bet going 12-4 ATS.

In the Giants' last 20 games against fellow teams from the NFC East; they are 13-7 ATS.

Dallas is listed at +240 to win the division.

Dallas went 9-7 SU and 7-9 ATS last season and with the amount of talent the Cowboys have, a similar performance won't do.

The Cowboys have been atrocious against divisional rivals, going 6-14 ATS in their last 20.

The Washington Redskins are longshots to win the division at +550.

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