Posted on 4/24/2008 6:09:32 PM

MLB Baseball Betting - San Francisco at San Diego

By Charles Jay

BetUS MLB betting odds: San Diego -140, San Francisco +120, Total 7 (Under -130, Over +110)

The San Francisco Giants (9-13), looking to climb their way up the ranks in the National League West, take on the San Diego Padres (9-13), who are now losers of seven of their last eight games, in an NL game that will get underway at 10:05 PM ET at Petco Park in San Diego.

The game is a battle of right-handers, as San Francisco's promising Tim Lincecum (2-0, 1.42 ERA) squares off against San Diego's Chris Young (1-1, 4.57 ERA)

At BetUS Sportsbook, San Diego is listed as a -140 favorite (San Francisco is +120) with a total of seven runs (Under is -130, while the Over is +110)

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)

* SF has lost five of its last eight games

* SF has played eight of its last 12 games OVER the total

* SF has lost 19 of its last 26 road games

* SD has lost seven of its last eight games

* SD has played five of its last eight games OVER the total

* SD has lost four of its last five home games

In the HEAD-TO-HEAD baseball betting trends:

* SD has won 11 of the last 15 meetings

* The last three meetings have gone UNDER the total

* SD has won seven of the last eight meetings as the home team

* Five of the last seven meetings in San Diego have gone UNDER the total

Chris Young, the big right-hander for the Padres, has been very serviceable but has not gotten any run support. His team has been outscored by a 25-8 margin in the games he's started. What you have to remember with Young is that he has allowed less hits per nine innings than any other pitcher in the majors in each of the last two years, and that he's also allowed the opponent to hit just .206 and .192 over those last two years, which also led the big leagues. So when you see opponents hitting .238 against him, with a slugging percentage of .429 (132 points more than last year), you know he's off to a comparatively slow start.

At this point, we love Tim Lincecum. The little Giant righty has compiled a 3-to-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio (27-9) and even though he's giving up a .271 batting average, the opponent is only slugging .329 against him. So he stays out of the big inning, and in fact has retired the opposition in order in nine of his 23 innings. The Giants have won all three of his starts, and he hasn't really needed much in the way of offense behind him.

We like both pitchers, and should be tempted by the total here. Since it is clear that both teams have had trouble crafting runs (averaging just 6.54 runs between them), and each averages less than a hit per inning, we would tend to think this game will go under. But we don't necessarily like that price (-130), so we'll afford an edge to Lincecum and the Giants at +120 in the BetUS Major League baseball betting odds.

JAY'S PLAY: SAN FRANCISCO (+120)

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