Surprising Start
After losing 91 games a year ago, the Florida Marlins are off to a surprising start in 2008. To keep it up they’ll try and beat a pitcher that has continuously frustrated them.
The Marlins look for a rare win over Atlanta’s Tim Hudson as the Marlins and Braves continue their three-game series Wednesday at Dolphin Stadium.
Oddsmakers from Sportsbook.com have made Atlanta -143 money line favorites (MLB Odds) for tonight’s game, the over/under has been set at 9 total runs (Matchup). Current public betting information shows that 67% of bets for this game have been placed on Atlanta -143 (View MLB Bet Percentages). Bet this game.
Florida (8-5) defeated Atlanta 4-0 in Tuesday’s series opener, winning for the fifth time in seven games.
Marlins pitcher Scott Olsen shut down the Braves offense for seven innings, while first baseman Mike Jacobs was 2-for-3 with two doubles and a RBI.
"It was really a good win for this team," said Jacobs, who is 11-for-22 with three home runs, three doubles and six RBIs during a five-game hit streak.
Left fielder Josh Willingham went 2-for-3 with an RBI triple and two stolen bases on Tuesday. He came in with 10 stolen bases in 326 career games.
Willingham, though, is hitless in 13 career at-bats against Hudson (2-0, 2.14 ERA), and Jacobs is just 2-for-20 with a solo homer against the Braves (5-8) staff ace.
In 21 innings over three starts, Hudson has allowed just five runs and two walks. He is 5-0 with a 1.53 ERA in eight April starts since the start of last season.
On Friday, Hudson gave up three hits, two walks and struck out five in eight innings of a 3-0 victory over Washington. The right-hander improved to 6-1 with a 1.11 ERA in 10 career starts against the Washington franchise.
"There are some teams you feel more confident against," Hudson told the team’s official Web site. "But I’m not going to assume it’s going to last all of the time."
Hudson has had similar success against the Marlins while pitching for Atlanta. Since joining the Braves in 2005, he is 6-1 with a 2.28 ERA in 10 starts against Florida, and 4-0 with a 1.87 ERA in five starts at Dolphin Stadium.
Atlanta is just 2-5 on its nine-game road trip.
Chipper Jones went 2-for-4 on Tuesday, and leads the NL with a .415 batting average (22-for-53). Jones is hitting .381 (16-for-42) with three home runs and 11 RBIs in 10 games at Dolphin Stadium since the start of last season.
Mark Hendrickson (2-1, 4.15) – Florida’s starter on opening day – looks to win three straight starts for the first time in nearly three years when he takes the ball Wednesday.
After allowing three runs in 5 1-3 innings of a 7-3 victory over Pittsburgh on April 5, Hendrickson gave up one run and three hits in seven innings of a 4-3 win over Washington on Thursday. The left-hander has not won three consecutive starts since July 31-Aug. 12, 2005, with Tampa Bay.
Hendrickson has not had any success against the Braves in his career, though. In two starts versus Atlanta, he is 0-2 with a 4.15 ERA.
by: Dave Michaels – thespread.com – Email Us
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