posted May 21, 2008 at 19:55 EST in MLB Free Picks

BetUS MLB baseball betting odds: San Diego -150, St. Louis +130; Total 7.5

The San Diego Padres (17-30) are letting this season slip away from them. On Wednesday night they will try to muster some offense as they play host to the St. Louis Cardinals (27-21) in National League sports betting action that is set to get underway at 10:05 PM ET at Petco Park (natural turf).

Right-handers take to the mound, as Braden Looper (5-3, 4.25 ERA) of St. Louis goes up against Chris Young (4-3, 4.18 ERA) of San Diego.

At BetUS Sportsbook, San Diego is listed as a -150 favorite (St. Louis is +130), with a total of 7.5 runs (the Under is -125, while the Over is +105).

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

* STL has won three of its last four games

* STL has lost six of its last eight road games

* SD has lost five of its last seven games

* SD has lost eight of its last 12 home games

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

In the HEAD-TO-HEAD sports betting trends:

* STL has won four of the last six meetings

* SD has won three of the last five meetings as the home team

* Six of the last eight meetings have gone UNDER the total

* Three of the last four meetings in San Diego have gone UNDER the total

Even after last night's 3-2 win, the Padres are mired in last place in the National League West, a game behind San Francisco. St. Louis is in second place in the NL Central, two games behind the Cubs.

Braden Looper's last outing ended in defeat, as he surrendered ten hits and three runs in six innings against the Tampa Bay Rays. The Cardinals have not scored very much for him lately, tallying just 19 runs in his last six starts. as a result, four of his last five starts have gone under the total. For what it's worth, in only two of his first six starts did Looper give up more than two runs, but he has yielded three runs or more in each of his last three.

Chris Young has been through a hard time in two of his last three starts. Last time out against Seattle in an interleague game, he gave up four runs in six innings. Yes, that is what is considered a rough start for him. In 51 innings pitched, Young has allowed only 46 hits. And the really good news for him is that San Diego has scored six runs in each of his last two starts.

Unfortunately, the Padres have not been so consistent offensively. And they are on a bad run right now. San Diego, which averages 3.3 runs per game at the moment, has seen that average dip in recent games; the Padres have scored nine runs in their last four contests, and are last in scoring, not to mention last in scoring runs at home (only three per game).

We don't like this scenario for Young and the Padres. It's very difficult for us not to take this kind of price when the favorite is so anemic. So we'll take the +130 with Looper and the second-place Cards in the BetUS Major League Baseball betting odds.

JAY'S PLAY: ST. LOUIS (+130)

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