D'Backs try to get closer to NL West title against Bucs

Baseball Betting Lines

09/20/2011 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ian Kennedy and Daniel Hudson have formed a great 1-2 punch at the top of the Diamondbacks' rotation, one reason the club is closing in on its first National League West title since 2007.

After a dominating performance by the former in last night's opener of a three-game set with the Pittsburgh Pirates, Hudson seeks to get Arizona closer to its goal tonight.

Kennedy became the NL's first 20-game winner after hurling eight innings of one-hit ball in last night's 1-0 victory. He matched a career high in strikeouts with 12 and is the fourth player in club history to reach the 20- win mark in a season.

"We had a nice little ceremony in there (locker room) for Ian," Diamondbacks manager Kirk Gibson said. "He deserved the win."

The victory also lowered Arizona's magic number to clinch the division to four as the club pushed its edge over idle San Francisco to 5 1/2 games. The Diamondbacks will host the Giants this weekend and are trying to make that a meaningless series from their side of things.

Justin Upton hit a sixth-inning homer in Arizona's second straight win for all of the offense, while Paul Goldschmidt and Miguel Montero added hits. Upton's 31st homer of the season just cleared the wall in left.

"I thought it was going to hang up and I was going to catch it like normal," Pirates left fielder Alex Presley said. "I got back there in time and thought I was going to be able to make a play on it, but it didn't work out."

Jeff Karstens pitched well in defeat, giving up five hits. He also collected one of two hits for the Pirates, who have been outscored 29-4 over a four-game slide and have also dropped nine of 11.

Hudson will look to keep the Pirates' bats on ice after he had a four-game win streak end on Wednesday despite a quality start versus the Dodgers. The right- hander, coming off his third complete game of the season, allowed a pair of runs on five hits and three walks over seven innings of a 3-2 setback.

"They got two runs in the first off four infield singles, that's baseball," Hudson said. "I had better command overall and got locked in after that."

Hudson is 16-10 with a 3.39 earned run average this season and is a solid 9-4 with a 2.93 ERA in 15 games at home. The 24-year-old has posted a 1.35 ERA over two career starts versus the Pirates without a decision.

Though he pitched well, nine days of rest could not help Charlie Morton avoid a fourth straight loss last time out and the Pirates righty hopes to find the win column tonight for the first time since Aug. 8.

Morton gave up three runs and six hits over seven innings of a 3-2 loss to the Cardinals. Despite his longest outing in five appearances, he has just two victories since June 15 and fell to 9-10 with a 3.81 ERA this year.

The 27-year-old will be facing the Diamondbacks for the fourth time in his career and is 1-1 with a 7.20 ERA over the previous three encounters.

The Diamondbacks have won two straight over the Pirates following a five-game series losing streak.

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Owens broke the bone leading to his right ring finger Sunday night and had a plate surgically attached to it Monday. Although Owens' hand was swollen and aching Wednesday, Dallas Cowboys coach Bill Parcells said he's optimistic the receiver will be back at work next week and catching passes a week from Sunday against the Tennessee Titans.

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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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