Posted on 5/2/2008 2:16:52 PM

MLB Baseball Betting Preview - D-Backs get visit from Mets

By BetUS Staff

How well have the online betting friendly Arizona Diamondbacks been treating those doing MLB betting on them so far this season? Well, Randy Johnson gave up six earned runs on nine hits over four innings of work on Wednesday, and the team still came back to earn an 8-7 win over the Houston Astros. That gave the Diamondbacks 20 wins in the month of April.

And that also makes Arizona the hottest team in the big leagues heading into May. The Diamondbacks had an off-day on Thursday, so their May debut will come on Friday when they play the first of three games against the New York Mets. The Mets got most of the pitching publicity in the offseason when they scooped ace lefthander Johan Santana from the Minnesota Twins, but here’s who the D-Backs will start this weekend:

Friday – Micah Owings (4-0, 3.48 ERA)

Owings won each of his first four starts of the season before running into trouble last time out against the San Diego Padres (five earned runs on five hits over five innings). In his previous four outings Owings gave up just seven earned runs over 26 innings, and the D-Backs will be looking for a return to that form on Friday. Or, they can just rely on Owings’ bat to lead them to a win – he blasted a pinch-hit home run on Wednesday.

Saturday – Brandon Webb (6-0, 1.98 ERA)

Webb was consistently excellent in April, as his absolute worst start saw him give up three earned runs over six innings versus the Giants on April 22 – and he still got the win in that game. The righthander has gone at least six innings and picked up the victory in each of his six starts so far this season, and he’s only allowed one home run in 41 innings of work. Webb has never won 20 games, but he’s well ahead of that pace this year.

Sunday – Dan Haren (4-1, 3.13 ERA)

Haren is the only one of Arizona’s Big Three who has been tagged with a loss this season – he was roughed up for five earned runs on nine hits over 4 2-3 innings of work versus the Dodgers on April 23. Take away that outing and Haren has almost been as good as Webb – he’s allowed three or fewer earned runs in each of his other five outings, and he’s walked just seven batters over his 37 1-3 innings while striking out 29.

The Mets are expected to throw John Maine, Mike Pelfrey, and Santana over the weekend, but while the D-Backs’ trio has combined for 14 wins, the Mets’ projected starters earned just seven wins between them in April. Maine is 2-2 with a 3.58 ERA through five starts, while Pelfrey is 2-1 with a 4.43 ERA. Santana has a 3.12 ERA and 39 strikeouts (with only eight walks) over 40 1-3 innings, but his record is a middling 3-2.

Friday night’s series opener will get underway at 9:40pm ET, while Saturday’s matchup is scheduled to start at 3:45pm ET. Sunday’s finale will have its first pitch at 4:10pm ET.

Other series on tap around the National League this weekend include San Francisco at Philadelphia, San Diego at Florida, Pittsburgh at Washington, Cincinnati at Atlanta, Milwaukee at Houston, and Los Angeles at Colorado. As well, the St. Louis Cardinals will play host to the Chicago Cubs in a battle for the top spot in the NL Central division.

Over in the American League the top series of the weekend might be taking place in Boston, with the Red Sox trying to fend off the hot Tampa Bay Rays at the top of the AL East division. Other Junior Circuit matchups this weekend include Kansas City at Cleveland, Chicago at Toronto, Detroit at Minnesota, Texas at Oakland, and Baltimore at Los Angeles. As well, the Yankees will still be without ARod when they host Seattle.

Check the BetUS MLB lines section for all of the latest futures and daily matchup lines.

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