Braves promote Minor, option Kawakami

Baseball Betting Lines

08/07/2010 - Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Atlanta Braves purchased the contract of highly-touted left-hander Mike Minor from Triple-A Gwinnett Saturday and optioned pitcher Kenshin Kawakami to the minors.

Minor, the Braves' No. 1 pick (seventh overall) in the 2009 draft out of Vanderbilt, will get the starting assignment Monday to open a three-game series in Houston. He'll be making his major league debut in place of the injured Kris Medlen, who landed on the disabled list Thursday with a partial tear of the ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow.

The 22-year-old Minor is 4-1 with a 1.89 earned run average in six starts since being promoted to Gwinnett from Double-A Rome. In a combined 21 starts this season, he is 6-7 with a 3.44 ERA while holding opponents to a .217 average. Minor has 146 strikeouts compared with 46 walks in 120 1/3 innings.

It remains to be seen whether he will stick with the big league club, as Medlen is trying to avoid Tommy John Surgery with rest and rehabilitation. Medlen took over the fifth starters spot for Kawakami earlier this season and the Japanese right-hander's demotion is seen as a way for him to get stretched out for a possible return to the rotation.

Kawakami made 15 starts for Atlanta before dropping out of the rotation following a June 26 outing against the Tigers where he picked up his first win of 2010. He's made just one relief appearance since then and holds a 4.75 ERA and 1-9 record.

Cbssportskine Baseball Betting News

<< Crisp, Gonzalez helps A's top Texas
Oakland, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Coco Crisp homered and drove in three runs, and Gio Gonzalez tossed seven shutout innings to lead Oakland over American League West-leading Texas, 6-2, in the middle installment of a three-game series. Gonzalez

<< Yankees drop Red Sox minus A-Rod
Bronx, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ramiro Pena starred as a fill-in for the injured Alex Rodriguez, knocking in a pair of runs as the New York Yankees posted a 5-2 victory over rival Boston in the second of a four-game set from Yankee Stadium

<< Bodine takes Nashville truck pole
Lebanon, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Todd Bodine claimed the pole for Saturday's Nashville 200 Camping World Truck Series race after topping the charts in qualifying at Nashville Superspeedway. Bodine, the current points leader, posted

<< Dirty Angel: Hunter suspended four games, fined for Friday tirade
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Major League Baseball handed down a four-game suspension plus an undisclosed fine Saturday against Angels outfielder Torii Hunter, for actions in Friday's contest in Detroit. Hunter was ejected in the top

<< Blame upsets Quality Road in Whitney Invitational
Saratoga Springs, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Blame, ridden by Garrett Gomez, overtook odds-on favorite Quality Road late in the stretch to win Saturday's $750,000 Whitney Invitational at Saratoga Race Course. The victory gives the four-ye

Baghdatis to battle Nalbandian for title in D.C. >>
Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Eighth-seeded Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis and Argentine David Nalbandian each won their respective semifinal matches on Saturday at the $1.402 million Legg Mason Tennis Classic, a hardcourt U.S. Open Se

Rays scratch Niemann; Sonnanstine to make first start Sunday >>
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Tampa Bay Rays announced Andy Sonnanstine will make his first start of the season on Sunday after scheduled starter Jeff Niemann was scratched due to shoulder soreness. Sonnanstine was on th

49ers LB Brooks out with lacerated kidney >>
SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) -San Francisco 49ers outside linebacker Ahmad Brooks is out at least two weeks because of a lacerated kidney.Brooks was hurt during Friday's morning practice. The injury originally was diagnosed as a bruised rib before tests

Havili returns to USC practice after fighting ban >>
LOS ANGELES (AP) -Southern California fullback Stanley Havili is back at practice after a one-day ban for a pre-training camp fight with teammate T.J. Bryant.Coach Lane Kiffin allowed Havili to return to practice Saturday after telling the senior te

Hudson masterful on the mound as Braves shut down Giants >>
Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tim Hudson worked masterfully through eight innings and Troy Glaus provided enough offense with a two-run single, as Atlanta notched a 3-0 victory against the Giants in the continuation of a four-ga

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.