posted May 14, 2008 at 18:22 in MLB Betting Trends

BetUS MLB baseball betting odds: Arizona -160, Colorado +140; Total 10 (Under -115, Over -105)

The Colorado Rockies (15-24) are floundering right now. And they had better get things together quickly. They can take a step on that road in a Wednesday night sports betting contest with the Arizona Diamondbacks (24-15), the National League West leaders, in NL online betting action that is set to get underway at 9:40 PM ET at Chase Field (natural turf) in Phoenix.

Southpaw Jorge De La Rosa (1-1, 10.24 ERA) will take the mound for the Rockies, while the D-Backs counter with right-hander Micah Owings (4-1, 4.53 ERA).

At BetUS Sportsbook, Arizona is listed as a -160 favorite (Colorado is +140), with a total of ten runs (the Under is -115, the Over is -105).

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

* COL has lost 16 of its last 22 games

* COL has played four of its last six games UNDER the total

* COL has lost nine of its last 11 road games

* COL has played seven of its last eight road games UNDER the total

* ARIZ has lost four of its last six games

* ARIZ has played four of its last five games OVER the total

* ARIZ has won 15 of its last 22 home games

In the HEAD-TO-HEAD baseball betting trends:

* ARIZ has won six of the last seven meetings

* Five of the last six meetings have gone OVER the total

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

Colorado, which went to the World Series last season, has done a great job of playing itself out of this race, falling nine games behind the Diamondbacks. The team ERA is 4.80, and the ERA of the starting staff is 5.47, which is the worst in the major leagues. Shortstop Troy Tulowitzki, possibly the best all-around player on this team, is out of action, and they can't even win games at home (7-10).

Arizona has not been hot, but the D-Backs have had the best record in the majors for most of the year, and maintain a lead of 4-1/2 games over the Dodgers in the West. they are the only team over .500 in the division, as it would seem it's theirs to lose. The D-Backs have averaged 5.54 runs per game, but they need better pitching performances out of Micah Owings, who has a 7.65 ERA in his last three starts after starting the 2008 campaign with four outstanding efforts. One of those was against Colorado on April 4, when he held the Rockies to two hits over 6-2/3 innings.

Jorge De La Rosa has made only two starts; the first was a disaster, as the Dodgers banged him around for nine earned runs in four innings. He came back five days later (April 8) to allow two runs in 5-2/3 against St. Louis, but the jury is still out. De La Rosa has a career ERA of 6.00; in his brief stint this season, he's thrown only 45% first-pitch strikes.

We usually don't like to lay a big price, but under the circumstances, this number is pretty inviting. So we will lay the -160 with the Arizona Diamondbacks, the favorite in the BetUS Major League Baseball betting odds.

JAY'S PLAY: ARIZONA (-160)

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