[tinfw17]

BIG AL's SUNDAY NIGHT BASEBALL TOTAL OF THE MONTH!

Matchup: Braves at Phillies
Pitchers: Jurrjens vs. Blanton
Time: 8:05pm ET

Pick: UNDER 9 (-115)

Analysis: At 8:05pm our selection is on the Atlanta Braves and Philadelphia Phillies 'under' the total. With the acquisition of lefthanded ace Cliff Lee from the Cleveland Indians, tonight's starter, righthander Joe Blanton has been able to move to the # 4 spot in the rotation, a place where he no doubt feels less pressure and is more comfortable pitching every five days. And Blanton has responded with quality starts in each outing since Lee was acquired. After the Phillies lost Blanton's last five starts in the month of June, they have now won six of his nine since the beginning of July. The Phillies must also have breathed a big sigh of relief on Friday night when Brad Lidge came in and pitched a perfect ninth inning for the save against this Atlanta team as Lidge had been struggling mightily recently with his ERA getting up over seven runs. Atlanta's young righthanded ace Jair Jurrjens has allowed two or fewer runs in 19 of his 27 starts this year and has gone win-less in 11 of those outings. He experienced this bad luck again on Tuesday, when he was damaged only by Adrian Gonzalez's solo homer during a seven-inning effort. Jurrjens continues to be a finalist for the "Rodney Dangerfield" award this season, getting very little respect from his own hitters. Jurrjens would be happy to reproduce his first outing of the season when he shut out the Phillies at Citizens Bank Ballpark by a 4-0 tally. Finally, Atlanta is 49-35 'under' the total at night this season, and 24 of Blanton's last 33 nighttime starts at home have gone 'under' as well. Sunday Night Total of the Month on the 'under.' As always, good luck...Al McMordie.