**Marlins at Braves**

--Atlanta (29-28, -428) continues to be the most predictable team in baseball for gamblers. On the road, the Braves are atrocious with a 7-21 record. On the flip side, they are sensational at home with a 22-7 ledger.

--Atlanta returns home after another disastrous road trip. The Braves lost two of three at Milwaukee before getting swept in three games at Cincinnati. The Reds won a 6-2 decision Sunday as plus 120 underdogs. Not only did the Braves take broom treatment, but Tim Hudson had to leave the game in the seventh inning with a strained left hamstring. Six batters after Hudson’s departure, reliever Blaine Boyer left the game with an undisclosed injury.

--Florida (31-24, +1,275) fell out of first place Sunday, losing a 7-5 decision against the Phillies. The Marlins failed to take the money as plus 130 road underdogs. They are one-half game behind the Phillies, while Atlanta is in third place in the NL East, 3 1/2 games back of the division leaders.

--Florida LHP Scott Olsen (4-2, 3.65 ERA) is 2-4 with a 7.03 ERA in eight career starts against Atlanta. However, the southpaw threw seven scoreless innings in a 4-0 home win over the Braves on April 15. Olsen is 1-0 with a 3.81 ERA in four road assignments this year.

--Olsen has had control problems in his last three starts (0-1, 7.83), walking 10 batters in just 14 1/3 innings of work.

--Chipper Jones has feasted on Olsen with 10 hits in 16 at-bats for a .625 average. Jones has two doubles, one triple and two homers off Olsen. Brian McCann is 5-for-16 (.313) against the lefty with a pair of homers.

--Jones went 0-for-4 with a pair of strikeouts in Sunday’s loss. Nevertheless, he still leads the majors with a .405 batting average.

--Jo-Jo Reyes (2-3, 4.83) is coming off one of the best outings of his career, working seven strong innings in a 1-0 loss at Milwaukee. Even though Reyes took the loss in the low-scoring affair, he fanned a career-high nine batters.

--Reyes is 1-0 with a 1.80 ERA in one career start against Florida. This season, the southpaw is 2-1 with a 5.50 ERA in four home outings.

--The Braves are just 10-11 against southpaws this season. As for the Marlins, they are 7-8 versus lefties. The Fish are 13-12 on the road.

--Bobby Cox’s club has seen the ‘under’ cash at an MLB-best 36-22 clip. However, the ‘under’ hasn’t been quite as prevalent in Atlanta home games (17-15).

--Florida is the second-best ‘over’ team in baseball, seeing it hit a 36-21 overall pace. The ‘over’ is 16-9 for the Marlins in their road games. They have seen the ‘over’ hit in each of their last four games.

--John Smoltz threw one scoreless inning for the Rome Braves on Saturday night in a minor-league rehab assignment. Smoltz is expected to be activated today and return to the bullpen rather than the starting rotation.

--Las Vegas Sports Consultants opened Atlanta as a minus 130 ‘chalk’ with a total of 9 ½ ‘under’ (minus 120). Gamblers can pick up a huge payout by backing the Braves on the run line (minus 1 ½ runs) at plus 160.

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**Red Sox at Orioles**

--LVSC opened Boston (35-24, +841) as a minus 125 favorite with a total of nine flat (minus 110 either way). The Red Sox are plus 135 on the run line (risk $100 to win $135).

--Terry Francona’s club has won three in a row, including Sunday’s 9-4 triumph at Baltimore. The Red Sox go for the sweep of the four-game series in this spot. They are in second place in the AL East, one game back of the surprising Rays.

--Baltimore (26-29, +105) is 16-11 at home, while Boston is just 14-19 on the road.

--Tim Wakefield (3-4, 4.70) will take the bump for the Red Sox. The veteran knuckleballer has a 14-13 record and 4.24 career ERA against the O’s.

--Baltimore’s Kevin Millar has enjoyed plenty of success against Wakefield, a former teammate. Millar is 10-for-21 (.476) off Wakefield with three doubles and three homers. On the flip side, O’s slugger Nick Markakis is just 3-for-14 (.214) against Wakefield with a pair of doubles.

--Jeremy Guthrie (2-6, 3.64) will toe the rubber for Baltimore. The right-hander is 1-0 with a 2.70 lifetime ERA against Boston.

--The ‘over’ is 29-27 overall for Boston, 16-14 in its road games.

--Baltimore has seen the ‘under’ go 33-25 overall, 15-12 in its home games.

**B.E.’s Bonus Nuggets**

--The ‘over’ is an MLB-best 38-18 for the Pirates.

--After wrapping up a series against the Dodgers at Shea Stadium on Sunday night, the Mets head west to San Francisco. They will give the starting nod to Oliver Perez in the series opener against the Giants. Perez has an 0-4 record and 5.83 ERA in eight lifetime starts against San Francisco.

--Detroit LHP Kenny Rogers owns a 21-7 record and 4.33 career ERA against Oakland.

--Cubs ace Carlos Zambrano will take the mound Monday night at San Diego. The righty has a 5-1 record and 2.19 career ERA against the Padres.