posted June 6, 2008 at 12:06 in MLB Betting Trends

MLB Baseball Betting Preview - D-Backs Limp Into Weekend

Doing any MLB betting on the Arizona Diamondbacks hasn’t been a great idea lately. The D-Backs surged through April and the beginning of May, but since then have fallen on some hard times. Arizona lost nine of their last 12 sports betting contests of May, and they got their hats handed to them in a three-game sweep by the Brewers earlier in the week.

The Brewers won that online wagering series in increments – they topped the Diamondbacks 4-3 on Monday, then 7-1 on Tuesday, and then 10-1 on Wednesday. Wednesday’s drubbing saw D-Backs’ starter Micah Owings get roughed up for five runs (four earned) on eight hits over three innings pitched, with reliever Edgar Gonzalez surrendering the other five runs.

Arizona, though, still holds down top spot in the NL West division (they had a 3.5-game lead on the Dodgers heading into play on Thursday night), and they’ll be looking to get back on track this weekend when they take on the Pirates in a lengthy four-game series.

And the Diamondbacks probably have the right guy on the mound in the series opener on Friday night – ace Brandon Webb. The righthander dominated the Nationals in his last outing, tossing a complete-game shutout and allowing just six hits (while fanning eight batters). That improved Webb’s record to 10-2 on the season, and dropped his ERA to 2.69. As well, that outing put an end to Webb’s personal two-game losing skid.

Countering Webb on Friday will be Ian Snell, who has had a rough couple of months. Snell hasn’t managed to earn a win since April 12, and he has surrendered 13 earned runs over just nine innings in his past two starts alone. Snell has a 2-5 record on the season, and his ERA is up to 5.94 after those poor outings vs. the Cards and the Reds.

Saturday’s projected starters are Dan Haren (6-4, 3.40 ERA) and Tom Gorzelanny (4-5, 7.22 ERA), while Sunday should feature Doug Davis (2-2, 3.90 ERA) and Phil Dumatrait (2-3, 3.47 ERA). Monday’s finale is scheduled to be a matchup of Randy Johnson (4-2, 3.88 ERA) and Zach Duke (3-4, 4.19 ERA), with that game getting going at 12:35pm ET.

The Dodgers, meanwhile, began a four-game set against the Cubs on Thursday night. Elsewhere around the National League this weekend it’s Cincinnati at Florida, Philadelphia at Atlanta, San Francisco at Washington, St. Louis at Houston, and the Mets at San Diego. The Brewers will play a road series in Colorado against the Rockies.

The top series over in the American League this weekend sees the Los Angeles Angels travelling to Oakland for a set against the rival Athletics. Los Angeles and Oakland are both currently on winning streaks (the Angels have won five games in a row, the Athletics have won four in a row) as they jockey for position near the top of the AL West.

The other two AL West teams will take on eastern counterparts this weekend, with Seattle at Boston and Texas in Tampa Bay. Disappointing AL Central teams will clash with Cleveland at Detroit, while Minnesota will be looking to move closer to first place in that division when they visit the White Sox. As well, the Yankees will host a series against the Royals, and the Orioles will cross the border for a set against the Blue Jays.

Check the BetUS MLB lines section for all of the latest odds and totals for this weekend.

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