Posted on 4/16/2008 1:48:23 PM

MLB Baseball Betting - Arizona at San Francisco

By Charles Jay

BetUS MLB betting odds: Arizona -200, San Francisco +170, Total 8 (Under -115, Over -105)

The Arizona Diamondbacks (10-4), occupying first place in the National League's West Division, will play the third of a three-game set on Wednesday afternoon when they take on the San Francisco Giants (6-9) in a National League game that gets started at 3:45 PM ET at AT&T Park in "The City."

Former Cy Young winners oppose each other, with right-hander Brandon Webb (3-0, 2.14 ERA) of Arizona going up against southpaw Barry Zito (0-3, 4.50 ERA) of San Francisco.

At BetUS MLB Sportsbook, Arizona is listed as a -200 favorite (San Francisco is +170), with a total of eight runs (Under is -115, the Over is -105).

Here are some of the MLB betting trends as they relate to this matchup:

(NOTE: These trends may also revert back to the 2007 season)

* ARIZ has won nine of its last 11 games

* ARIZ has won four of its last five road games

* ARIZ has played six of its last seven games OVER the total

* ARIZ has won six of its last seven games as a favorite

* SF has won five of its last eight games

* SF has played its last four games OVER the total

* SF has lost eight of its 12 games as an underdog

In the HEAD-TO-HEAD baseball betting trends:

* ARIZ has won four of the last six meetings

* SF has won 14 of the last 21 meetings as the home team

* Four of the last five meetings have gone OVER the total

Brandon Webb, who won the National League's Cy Young award two years ago and finished second last season, has gotten off to a great start, winning all three of his appearances. He has always been the type of hurler who allowed less hits than innings pitched (1000 in 1110 innings to this date), but this year he is taking it to the extreme, yielding only 12 hits in 21 innings, good for an 0.86 WHIP that is putting him on track again for another run at the top trophy in pitching. It's obviously early in the year, but we have come to expect great production from him.

Barry Zito, who was the AL's Cy Young winner in 2002, has gotten off to a rough start, which can be attributed to many things, not the least of which is the Giants' lack of offense. He's compiled an 0-3 record and a WHIP of 1.69, but has a 4.50 ERA, not a lot more than the league average ERA, which indicates that he has gotten himself out of a few jams. Zito's value has diminished since his Cy Young season; in his first four years, he had no worse than a 3.49 ERA. In his last four years (not including this one), he has done no better than a 3.83 ERA.

We don't like to lay 2/1 on a game, but we wonder if there's really any other side here. Arizona has a 5-1 record against southpaws; the D-Backs have scored more than twice as many runs (6.36 a game) than the Giants (3.2), and San Francisco has scored a grand total of two runs in Zito's three starts. In addition, Webb has allowed just 24 hits in his last 28 innings (spread over four starts) against the Giants.

So it's Arizona, the -200 favorite in the BetUS Major League Baseball betting odds.

JAY'S PLAY: ARIZONA (-200)

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(Charles Jay of http://www.eBookies.com touches all the bases as a regular contributor to the BetUS Locker Room)