Richard, Padres resume series vs. D'Backs

Baseball Betting Lines

07/17/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Clayton Richard was bailed out by his offense the last time he took the mound. The San Diego Padres hope that Richard won't need the help when he gets the nod tonight in the second installment of a three-game series versus the Arizona Diamondbacks at Petco Park.

Richard was on the hill in Sunday's 9-7 victory and luckily did not post a decision after getting rocked for six runs on six hits and three walks over 5 2/3 innings. He remained at 6-4 in 18 starts and saw his earned run average go from 3.00 to 3.33.

The left-hander, who is 2-0 in his last four starts with back-to-back no- decisions, has never faced Arizona in his career. Richard hopes his first appearance in this series will push his home record over the .500 mark. He is 3-3 with a 3.02 ERA in 10 starts on the Petco Park mound.

San Diego will try to make sure it won't have a drought in run scoring after posting a 12-1 beating of the D'Backs last night, as Chase Headley finished 3- for-4 with a home run and runs scored to lead the way. Adrian Gonzalez hit a two-run homer for the National League West-leading Padres, who are three games ahead Colorado and 3 1/2 games in front of both Los Angeles and San Francisco in the division standings.

Jon Garland gave up just one run in six innings to take the win. He allowed three hits, walked two and struck out five.

"I was able to throw all the pitches for strikes," Garland said on the team's site. "That first inning, it just seemed like every guy was on every pitch and putting it in play [and] the pitch count was getting up there. But after that, I started getting ahead of guys, making the pitches I wanted to make and kept them off balance."

The Padres have won two straight and six of their last 10 games.

Arizona, however, has lost eight of its last nine games and looked awful in last night's beat down. Kelly Johnson had two of the D'Backs' four hits and Justin Upton doubled in the only run in defeat.

Diamondbacks starter Dan Haren continued to struggle and fell to 7-8 this season after yielding six runs and eight hits in five innings. Blaine Boyer gave up two runs and Jordan Norberto was reached for three in relief.

"Not a good way to start the second half," Haren said on Arizona's official website. "Hopefully we can bounce back."

Taking the hill for the D'Backs tonight will be Rodrigo Lopez, who is 3-1 with a 3.28 ERA in his last four starts. Lopez last pitched in a 10-4 rout of the Florida Marlins on July 8 and allowed four runs -- three earned -- on five hits through seven innings of work.

Lopez, who improved to 5-7 in 18 starts and lowered his ERA to 4.40, will face the Padres for the second time in his career. The right-hander was a member of the Baltimore Orioles the first and only time he pitched against San Diego back on June 12, 2002 in a 2-0 loss. Lopez went the distance that day but was dealt the loss for allowing both runs and five hits with five K's.

San Diego has won five of seven meetings with Arizona this season and seven of the previous 11 contests between the NL West foes.

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Super Bowl 2009 Betting

Super Bowl 2009 Betting propositions

Underdog bettors love the Super Bowl and, history suggests, the underdogs love them back. And the big dogs bite harder.

Even so, there is a warning in store for Super Bowl gamblers who must love dogs: The Arizona Cardinals Super Bowl betting lines might not be enough of a Cinderella to make it worth your while.

Although the Cardinals were widely panned as one of the worst division winners and least playoff-worthy teams in recent memory, their trip to Super Bowl XLIII Jan. 31 in Tampa against the Pittsburgh Steelers Super Bowl betting lines comes with a little more respect from the oddsmakers than you might imagine. They are a 7-point underdog at most sports books.

If you count yourself among those who covet the big dog in the big game, this isn’t exactly great news. You should have been hoping for more points. This is because the facts show that the bigger the dog, the better the bet in the Super Bowl.

Case in point: Over the past 13 seasons, double-figure underdogs in the Super Bowl are 4-0-1 ATS and have won the past three outright. In fact, the last double-digit chalk to do the deed for bettors was the 1995 San Francisco 49ers, who managed to beat the astounding 19-point spot afforded backers of the San Diego Chargers in the 49-26 romp in Super Bowl XXIX.

By contrast, 7-point favorites are 2-1-1 ATS in the same span, the last such contest resulting a cover grinded out by the Colts in their 29-17 win over the Bears two seasons ago in Super Bowl XLI.

In 2004, the Patriots failed to cover the number in their 32-29 triumph over the Carolina Panthers in Super Bowl props while the Rams and Titans gave everyone a refund in 2000 after the Rams posted a 23-16 win as a seven-point favorite.

So while Arizona’s run has included impressive upsets as a 10-point road underdog to the Carolina Panthers and Sunday’s 32-25 win in the NFC championship game to the 4-point favored Philadelphia Eagles, their long-shot story lacks a bit of the David vs. Goliath storyline of past Super Bowl underdogs.

While the seven-point spread represents a significant gap in the perception of strength between the two teams, it is far from monumental. For example, last season the Giants were the wild-card afterthought turned road-warrior buzzsaw, with stunning wins over the Buccaneers, Cowboys and Packers to earn their place in the Super Bowl.

There, they played spoiler to New England’s bid to become the first 19-0 team in NFL history and cemented their place in sports betting lore with a 17-14 win as a 12.5-point underdog.

In other words, the Cardinals appear to have their work cut out for them as a mid-range underdog. But in homage to the spread beaters who have come before them, here is a brief look back at recent colossal upsets in the Super Bowl:

SB XLII -- 2008 -- New York Giants 17, New England Patriots 14 (Giants +12.5) – Eli Manning’s 13-yard touchdown pass to Plaxico Burress in the final minute clinched the historic upset for the Giants, who used a masterful defensive plan to slow down Tom Brady and the previously undefeated New England Patriots.

XXXVI -- 2002 -- Patriots 20, Rams 17 (Patriots +14) – This was the coming out party for the aforementioned Brady, who went from obscure sixth-round draft pick to Super Bowl hero in one fell swoop. He led the game-winning drive in the final minute – eschewing analyst John Madden’s advice to take a knee and play for overtime – leading to Adam Vinatieri’s memorable 48-yard field goal that split the uprights as time expired.

XXXII 1998 Broncos 31, Packers 24 (Denver +12) – The first of John Elway’s two consecutive Super Bowl titles to put an end to his Hall of Fame career was an upset for the ages. The Broncos used the determination of Elway and a 157-yard, three-touchdown performance from Terrell Davis to turn back Brett Favre and the heavily favored Packers.

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