Marlins continue road trip with another test in Arizona

Baseball Betting Lines

07/10/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Former first-round draft pick Ian Kennedy tries again to snap a nearly two-month free-fall when the Arizona Diamondbacks host the Florida Marlins tonight in the third game of their four-game series at Chase Field.

The teams have split the initial two meetings of this set. On Friday, Ricky Nolasco pitched seven strong innings to win his fourth straight start and Florida edged Arizona, 3-2.

Nolasco (9-6) allowed six hits and two runs, walked three and had six strikeouts as the Marlins bounced back from a 10-4 defeat on Thursday. He moved to 5-1 lifetime against the Diamondbacks.

Dan Uggla drove in two runs to lead the Marlins offensively.

Arizona starter Dan Haren (7-7) yielded 10 hits and three runs over 6 2/3 innings in losing his third straight decision. The right-hander hasn't won since June 12 against St. Louis.

Chris Young and Gerardo Parra each knocked in a run for Arizona, which lost for the sixth time in seven games under the guidance of new manager Kirk Gibson.

The 21st overall selection by the New York Yankees in the 2006 draft, Kennedy opened his first season with the Diamondbacks with three wins in his initial five starts, the most recent of which came May 19 against San Francisco.

He's 0-5 with three no-decisions in eight starts since, including losses in four straight outings where he's allowed 26 hits and 20 runs in 23 2/3 innings.

He was raked for nine hits and seven runs in just 5 2/3 innings of his most recent effort, a 9-4 loss to the Chicago Cubs on July 5 in Phoenix.

Kennedy, who's never faced the Marlins, is 1-2 at Chase Field in 2010 with a 3.47 earned run average in 46 2/3 innings.

Florida goes with fellow ex-American Leaguer Nate Robertson, who was drafted by the Marlins in 1999 and reached the majors with them in 2002 before spending 2003-09 in the AL with the Detroit Tigers.

Robertson won a career-high 13 games with the Tigers en route to a World Series appearance in 2006, then returned to the National League and the Marlins to begin this season.

He was a 6-5 winner over the Los Angeles Dodgers in his last start, scattering seven hits and allowing three earned runs in six innings.

Robertson is 0-1 in two lifetime starts against the Diamondbacks, and 4-4 in nine road appearances this season.

These two clubs split a quick two-game set in Florida from May 17-18, as well as four games held at Chase Field last year. Arizona has won seven of the last 12 overall meetings in the series.

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Pacific-10 Conference odds

Teams that should be in: Stanford

Oregon and USC get their tickets punched after taking care of business this weekend. Yes, the Trojans' computer numbers aren't great, but there's no way the third-place team in this league is getting nixed. Grudgingly, I added Arizona after consultation with our Bracketologist. I don't know that Arizona will lose its last three (including a Pac-10 quarterfinal game), and even if the Cats do, I still can't see how they'd be left out, given the overall profile. That said, it bears watching, as three more L's would leave them at 18-12 (9-9) and on a 6-11 skid entering the Dance. It would be nice to see the Wildcats get at least one W in the Bay Area next week, as Cincinnati (albeit without Armein Kirkland and with a worse profile) was axed after a similar slide last season. I just couldn't rationalize having some of the other teams as locks and not having Arizona in that category -- there just aren't enough good teams behind the Cats to threaten their spot, it seems. Stanford has its fate in its own hands with the Arizona schools coming to the Farm to close out the regular season next weekend.

Should be in:

Stanford [17-10 (9-7), RPI: 40, SOS: 21] No shame in not getting a win in L.A., but that makes the home game against Arizona State a must-win ahead of what could be an intriguing meeting with Arizona should the Cats lose at Cal. Getting to 11 Pac-10 wins would make Selection Sunday much more comfortable, but 10's probably more than enough this season. The Cardinal have nonconference wins over Texas Tech and at Virginia to lean on, although they also lost badly to Air Force and Santa Clara at home.

Southeastern Conference odds
Work left to do: Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, Mississippi State

It looks more and more possible that no one from the SEC West will make the NCAAs. How weird is that? Tennessee and Vandy move into the locks category after more good work this weekend. Kentucky stays there, although it would be smart for the Cats to handle Georgia at home Wednesday ahead of a trip to the Swamp. Could a disaster scenario (two more L's and a first-round SEC tourney exit) somehow dislodge the Cats despite their incredible computer numbers? Still unlikely, but not worth chancing it.

Work left to do:

Alabama [19-9 (6-8), RPI: 43, SOS: 47] The tough L at Tennessee was understandable, and even created some hope. Unfortunately, that hope was dashed by a home loss to Auburn, which leaves the Tide in some real trouble. There's still no signature win on the profile (no, Kentucky doesn't count), and the computer profile is weakening rapidly. The Tide conceivably could beat Ole Miss and win at Miss. State to get to 8-8 and clinch at least a share of the West crown, but that's probably not enough right now. The Tide will need to do some work in the SEC tourney.

Georgia [16-10 (8-6), RPI: 52, SOS: 23] This is the team with the best chance to make it from this section right now. The Bulldogs rebounded from a terrible performance at Ole Miss to beat down Miss. State. Now they are at Kentucky (king of the RPI 51-100 win) and home to Tennessee. That would be worth a lot of computer points to get both (which is doable), as both teams are in the top 11 in RPI. Finishing at least 9-7 is an absolute must, and I would feel much better about the Dawgs' chances if they got both to get to 10 SEC wins. They also beat Gonzaga, but lost to ACC bubblers Georgia Tech and Clemson.

Mississippi [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 63, SOS: 79] Like everyone else in this division, Ole Miss gacked up a chance to stake a claim, losing by double figures at South Carolina. Even 9-7 likely is not nearly enough with a nonconference profile devoid of anything notable.

Mississippi State [16-11 (7-7), RPI: 66, SOS: 37] With a chance to get in the mix, these Bulldogs were leashed by their Georgia counterparts. Could they get to 9-7? I guess -- although winning at Arkansas, then beating Alabama is no lock -- but would that mean all that much for a team with this overall profile? Probably not. There's nothing of note (on the good side) in the nonconference profile.

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