Posted on 4/1/2008 7:46:58 PM

MLB Baseball Betting - Houston at San Diego

By Charles Jay

BetUS MLB baseball betting odds: San Diego -200, Houston +170, Total 7.5 (Under -120, Over - Even)

The Houston Astros (0-1) try to respond to their Opening Day shutout loss on Tuesday as they take on the San Diego Padres (1-0) in a National League game that is set to begin at 10 PM ET at PetCo park in San Diego (natural turf).

Right-handers oppose each other here, as Brandon Backe of the Astros faces off against big Chris Young of the Padres.

At BetUS Sportsbook, San Diego is listed as a -200 favorite (Houston is +170), with a total of 7.5 runs (Under is -120, with the Over at even money).

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

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

* HOU has won five of its last seven games

* SD has won 14 of its last 19 home games

In the HEAD-TO-HEAD baseball betting trends:

* SD has won six of the last ten meetings

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

* The road team has won four of the last seven meetings

San Diego got 14 hits in the opener, winning by a 4-0 score as Jake Peavy had an extremely strong outing, giving up just three hits in seven innings. He also did the job at the plate, with two RBI's. On Tuesday, Houston's Brandon Backe hopes for a better fate than Roy Oswalt, who gave up 11 hits. Backe won 10 games in 2005, but has started just 13 games over the last couple of seasons as he has dealt with a number of injuries, in addition to recovery from Tommy John surgery (rotator cuff).

The 6'10' Chris Young, a former basketball star at Princeton, is potentially dominating. He struck out almost a batter an inning last year (167 in 173 IP) and posted just below a 1.1 WHIP ratio. However, his ERA was almost 6.00 over August and September, and he went more than six innings only once after July 19. If Young continues his year-to-year progress, at least on paper, he looks like someone who could be pitching in the All-Star game. But we may be taking a "wait-and-see" attitude until we see him in action.

Laying 2/1 is shaky as far as we're concerned. Backe hasn't pitched against the Padres since the 2006 season, but he was more than serviceable in those outings, going 12-2/3 innings and permitting only four earned runs.

While the middle of the Houston lineup has the potential to be very productive this season, with the likes of Miguel Tejada, Lance Berkman, Ty Wigginton and Carlos Lee on board, some questions will persist about San Diego's ability to produce runs, especially with outfielders Jim Edmonds and Brian Giles getting long in the tooth.

We'll take a shot with Backe and the Astros, the +170 underdog in the BetUS Major League Baseball betting odds.

JAY'S PLAY: HOUSTON

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