Baseball Betting Odds: Arizona Diamondbacks vs. Houston Astros
Sunday, May 29, 2011
by Frank Martin
The streaking Arizona Diamondbacks are breathing down the necks of the defending World Series champion San Francisco Giants and have a chance to move into first place in the National League West when they conclude a three-game series against the host Houston Astros on Sunday.
Arizona pounded the Astros 11-3 on Saturday for its fifth straight victory to move within a half-game of the Giants. Another Arizona triumph combined with a San Francisco loss would elevate the Diamondbacks into the division lead. Houston lefthander J.A. Happ attempts to cool down the Diamondbacks, who have amassed 18 runs and 24 hits while winning the first two games of the series. Justin Collmenter makes his fourth career start for Arizona.
- Arizona Diamondbacks (28-24) vs. Houston Astros (19-33)
When: 2:05 PM ET, Sunday, May 29, 2011
Where: Minute Maid Park, Houston, Texas
TV: 2:05 p.m. ET, FSAZ
The Diamondbacks have opened as 117-moneyline favorites on Bet Online Sportsbook’s Live MLB Baseball Odds.
Diamondbacks RH Justin Collmenter (3-1, 1.19 ERA) vs. Astros LH J.A. Happ (3-6, 4.99 ERA).
Collmenter suffered his first major league loss in his last outing when he gave up five runs –two earned – and five hits in 4 1/3 innings. He pitched 12 scoreless innings while beating Los Angeles and Atlanta in his first two starts. Collmenter has allowed just 17 hits in 30 1/3 innings.
Happ has lost back-to-back starts despite striking out 12 batters in 11 innings. He had a season-high eight strikeouts against St. Louis on May 19 and lost to the Los Angeles Dodgers on Tuesday when he gave up just one earned run and three hits in five innings. Happ is 2-3 at home this season despite a 2.93 ERA at Minute Maid Park. Kelly Johnson is 2-for-10 against Happ with both hits being homers.
The Minnesota Twins (17-33) are the only team in the majors with a worse record. Houston dropped to 11-16 at home with Saturday’s loss. Infielder Clint Barmes and left fielder Carlos Lee each had two hits and right fielder Hunter Pence went 1-for-4 Saturday to extend his hitting streak to nine games. Pence is batting .395 (15-for-38) during the streak.
Lefthander Wandy Rodriguez was placed on the disabled list with elbow soreness after being scratched from his Saturday start. An MRI exam showed Rodriguez had fluid in the elbow joint. Jordan Lyles was recalled from Triple-A Oklahoma City and will make his major league debut on Tuesday against the Chicago Cubs.
Arizona has won 11 of its last 12 games. Catcher Miguel Montero went 3-for-5 with two RBIs in Saturday’s victory and has 14 RBIs in 61 career at-bats against Houston. Montero is batting .342 with five multi-hit contests in his last 10 games. Shortstop Stephen Drew was 4-for-5 and outfielder Gerardo Parra homered and had three RBIs as Arizona racked up 13 hits. Slumping outfielder Justin Upton wasn’t in the starting lineup for the second time all season Saturday – the first occasion was five days earlier. Upton is batting just .129 over his last 31 at-bats to see his average drop to .241.
“It’s been nice but you don’t let your head get too big and you just try to focus on the next game that you have, never get satisfied and understand it’s a long season. We still have four months left so we just have to take it seriously and continue to battle, continue to grind.” – Arizona outfielder Chris Young on Saturday after the Diamondbacks improved to 11-1 over the last dozen games.
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arizona diamondbacks - carlos lee - chris young - clint barmes - gerardo parra - hunter pence - j.a. happ - jordan lyles - justin collmenter - justin upton
