Braves beat Nats on Heyward single in ninth

Baseball Betting Lines

08/18/2010 - Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jason Heyward's line drive base hit up the middle plated Rick Ankiel with the game-winning run in the ninth, giving the Atlanta Braves a dramatic 3-2 victory over the Washington Nationals.

In Atlanta's final at-bat, Ankiel posted a one-out single off Sean Burnett (0-7) and moved to second when Tyler Clippard walked David Ross. Clippard struck out Omar Infante for the second out but fell behind 3-0 to Heyward, who had the green light and ripped a single past a diving Ian Desmond at short to secure the Braves' 21st victory in their final at-bat.

Billy Wagner (7-2) struck out the side in the top of the ninth to get credit for the win, the club's seventh in eight games to remain 2 1/2 games ahead of the Phillies atop the NL East Division.

Neither starter factored in the decision despite each allowing only two runs in seven innings of work. Atlanta's Tim Hudson, attempting to win a sixth straight start, gave up eight hits and two walks, while Livan Hernandez scattered nine hits and a pair of bases on balls for Washington.

The Nats ended Hudson's 19 straight scoreless innings streak in the third when Mike Morse and Willie Harris each singled to begin the frame and came around to score on base hits from Roger Bernadina and Ryan Zimmerman, respectively.

The Braves tied it in the fourth, getting their first run on Melky Cabrera's double-play ground ball with the bases loaded. Alex Gonzalez then hit a high fly that somehow landed between Morse in right and second baseman Adam Kennedy, allowing Brian McCann to score the tying run on the single.

Atlanta had the bases loaded with one out in the seventh and failed to score, as Infante lined right back to Hernandez and Heyward flied out.

Game Notes

Before the game, the Braves placed Troy Glaus (knee) on the 15-day disabled list but filled that loss by acquiring first baseman Derrek Lee from the Chicago Cubs in exchange for three pitching prospects...Zimmerman was thrown out of the game by home plate umpire Scott Barry for throwing his bat and helmet after striking out swinging in the eighth inning. Nationals manager Jim Riggleman was also tossed by Barry for arguing the ejection...Hudson came into the game 10-1 with a 1.49 earned-run average in 16 career starts versus the Nationals franchise, while Hernandez had struggled to a 6-16 mark versus Atlanta...Zimmerman, Morse, Gonzalez, Ankiel and Atlanta's Martin Prado each had two hits for their respective club...The Braves will go for the three-game series sweep on Thursday with Derek Lowe slated to start opposite Washington lefty John Lannan.

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Pacific-10 Conference odds

Teams that should be in: Stanford

Oregon and USC get their tickets punched after taking care of business this weekend. Yes, the Trojans' computer numbers aren't great, but there's no way the third-place team in this league is getting nixed. Grudgingly, I added Arizona after consultation with our Bracketologist. I don't know that Arizona will lose its last three (including a Pac-10 quarterfinal game), and even if the Cats do, I still can't see how they'd be left out, given the overall profile. That said, it bears watching, as three more L's would leave them at 18-12 (9-9) and on a 6-11 skid entering the Dance. It would be nice to see the Wildcats get at least one W in the Bay Area next week, as Cincinnati (albeit without Armein Kirkland and with a worse profile) was axed after a similar slide last season. I just couldn't rationalize having some of the other teams as locks and not having Arizona in that category -- there just aren't enough good teams behind the Cats to threaten their spot, it seems. Stanford has its fate in its own hands with the Arizona schools coming to the Farm to close out the regular season next weekend.

Should be in:

Stanford [17-10 (9-7), RPI: 40, SOS: 21] No shame in not getting a win in L.A., but that makes the home game against Arizona State a must-win ahead of what could be an intriguing meeting with Arizona should the Cats lose at Cal. Getting to 11 Pac-10 wins would make Selection Sunday much more comfortable, but 10's probably more than enough this season. The Cardinal have nonconference wins over Texas Tech and at Virginia to lean on, although they also lost badly to Air Force and Santa Clara at home.

Southeastern Conference odds
Work left to do: Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, Mississippi State

It looks more and more possible that no one from the SEC West will make the NCAAs. How weird is that? Tennessee and Vandy move into the locks category after more good work this weekend. Kentucky stays there, although it would be smart for the Cats to handle Georgia at home Wednesday ahead of a trip to the Swamp. Could a disaster scenario (two more L's and a first-round SEC tourney exit) somehow dislodge the Cats despite their incredible computer numbers? Still unlikely, but not worth chancing it.

Work left to do:

Alabama [19-9 (6-8), RPI: 43, SOS: 47] The tough L at Tennessee was understandable, and even created some hope. Unfortunately, that hope was dashed by a home loss to Auburn, which leaves the Tide in some real trouble. There's still no signature win on the profile (no, Kentucky doesn't count), and the computer profile is weakening rapidly. The Tide conceivably could beat Ole Miss and win at Miss. State to get to 8-8 and clinch at least a share of the West crown, but that's probably not enough right now. The Tide will need to do some work in the SEC tourney.

Georgia [16-10 (8-6), RPI: 52, SOS: 23] This is the team with the best chance to make it from this section right now. The Bulldogs rebounded from a terrible performance at Ole Miss to beat down Miss. State. Now they are at Kentucky (king of the RPI 51-100 win) and home to Tennessee. That would be worth a lot of computer points to get both (which is doable), as both teams are in the top 11 in RPI. Finishing at least 9-7 is an absolute must, and I would feel much better about the Dawgs' chances if they got both to get to 10 SEC wins. They also beat Gonzaga, but lost to ACC bubblers Georgia Tech and Clemson.

Mississippi [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 63, SOS: 79] Like everyone else in this division, Ole Miss gacked up a chance to stake a claim, losing by double figures at South Carolina. Even 9-7 likely is not nearly enough with a nonconference profile devoid of anything notable.

Mississippi State [16-11 (7-7), RPI: 66, SOS: 37] With a chance to get in the mix, these Bulldogs were leashed by their Georgia counterparts. Could they get to 9-7? I guess -- although winning at Arkansas, then beating Alabama is no lock -- but would that mean all that much for a team with this overall profile? Probably not. There's nothing of note (on the good side) in the nonconference profile.

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