Diamondbacks send Big Unit to hill to battle Brewers

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06/03/2008 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The last time Randy Johnson took the mound the bullpen blew his solid performance. Tonight, the Big Unit will try again to lead the Arizona Diamondbacks to victory in the second test of a three-game series against the Milwaukee Brewers at Miller Park.

Johnson gave up just two runs and six hits in seven innings against the San Francisco Giants last Thursday before the bullpen imploded in a 4-3 setback. Johnson did not factor in the outcome and is 4-1 with a 3.83 earned run average in nine starts this season.

The 44-year-old lefty is 4-0 with a 3.95 ERA through his previous seven starts, with the Diamondbacks going 5-2 over that span. Johnson is 18-7 with five complete games and a 3.44 ERA in 30 career outings against Milwaukee.

Arizona leads the NL West by 3 1/2 games over the Los Angeles Dodgers despite having dropped six of its last eight games. It had a two-game winning streak come to an end after Monday's 4-3 loss to the Brewers in the series opener, as Chris Snyder homered and knocked in two runs, and Mark Reynolds had the other RBI and two singles in defeat.

D'Backs reliever Doug Slaten gave up Prince Fielder's eventual game-winning homer in the eighth inning to absorb the loss, while starter Doug Davis allowed three runs -- one earned -- in six innings of work. Arizona is 0-1 on a 10-game road trip against the Brewers, Pirates and Mets, and 11-14 away from the desert this season.

Fielder finished with three hits and scored twice for Milwaukee, which has won four straight to improve to 6-1 on a nine-game homestand. Bill Hall had an RBI and scored a run, and relief pitcher Guillermo Mota tossed a perfect eighth inning for the win. Salomon Torres pitched the ninth for his sixth save and starter Jeff Suppan was reached for three runs over seven frames.

Milwaukee is 17-10 at home this season and seven games off the pace in the NL Central standings.

Taking the hill for the Brewers tonight will be Seth McClung, who is 2-2 with a 4.80 ERA in 13 games (two starts) this season.

McClung last toed the rubber on May 29 versus Atlanta, allowing six runs and eight hits over 4 2/3 innings of an 8-1 defeat.

The right-hander has faced Arizona just once in his career on August 21 of last season. In a 7-4 victory at Chase Field, McClung was reached for a pair of runs and three hits in just two-thirds of an inning for the no-decision.

Arizona and Milwaukee are facing off for the first time since the Brewers won five of seven meetings in 2007, with a 3-1 record at Miller Park.

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Colts give the ‘D’ its due

The Indianapolis Colts know that winning the Super Bowl last season put a huge target on their backs, and they expect opponents to go all-out to knock them from the top of the mountain.

They’ll get their first test from the New Orleans Saints this Thursday night. The defending champs had nothing but good things to say about the New Orleans defense this past week, praising their opponents’ pass rush and run-stopping abilities.

"They play very aggressively," head coach Tony Dungy told the New Orleans Times-Picayune. "They play a lot of man-to-man coverage, and they come after you. They have good pass rushers, and they're going to try to pressure us, I'm sure."

Both center Jeff Saturday and quarterback Peyton Manning gave New Orleans’ front four props, admitting keeping guys like Will Smithand Charles Grant contained would be a tall task for the offensive line.

New Orleans ranked second in total defense during the preseason at a sportsbook, allowing just under 233 yards per game. Last season, the defense finished 11th in the league after giving up 307.3 yards and 20.1 points per contest.

Not so sound on the ground

If Indianapolis' efficient offense has a weakness it has to be its running attack. The Colts one-two-punch of Dominic Rhodes and Joseph Addai is no longer, leaving the bulk of the carries to Addai, the second-year back out of LSU.

Former Saskatchewan Roughrider Kenton Keith was named Addai’s backup this week after beating out DeDe Dorsey for the second-string position. Indy has only three backs on the roster right now, including fullback Luke Lawton, and coach Dungy is aware of the thinness of his ground game. Sports Betting lines on the game can be found at BettingExpress.com

“We’ll continue to look. Luke Lawton’s done a good job for us too. So probably getting a third true tailback is something that we’d like to do,” Dungy told the Indiana Tribune-Star.

Last season, Addai rushed for over 1,000 yards in his rookie campaign and scored seven touchdowns on the ground.

Brees says bring it on

Opening the season on the road against the defending Super Bowl champions is not the way most teams would like to kick off their year – unless you’re the New Orleans Saints or their quarterback Drew Brees. This internet Sportsbooks had the Saints as the favorites.

Brees told the New Orleans Times-Picayune that he is excited to get the regular season started and the Colts are a great challenge for him and his teammates. The 28-year-old QB, entering his second season with the Saints, is expecting a wild environment in the RCA Dome this Thursday when the franchise celebrates its 2007-2007 championship.

Brees said he sees the opening game scheduling as an honor and a testament to how well New Orleans did last season. The Saints missed facing the Colts in the Super Bowl by one game, losing to the Chicago Bearsin the NFC Championship game.

"I mean, people think we can hang with these guys," Brees told reporters. "Even if they didn't, it wouldn't matter what they thought because as a team we're very confident. We know what we can do. We're not satisfied where we finished the season last year. And we've been looking forward to this opportunity for a long time."

SportsBooks ready for a shootout

Oddsmakers are preparing for some fireworks this Thursday when the NFL season kicks off. online Sportsbooks have Thursday’s total set at a whopping 52 points, accounting for two of the league’s most explosive offenses.

“This is like must-see TV,” Saints cornerback and former Colt Jason David told the Baton Rouge Advocate. “It’s two exciting offenses with great players. You’ve got a lot of star power on offense. At any given time a big play can happen. If I was a fan, I wouldn’t miss a snap.”

New Orleans, who ranked No.1 in total offense last season, can go blow-for-blow with the Colts’ attack. Head coach Sean Payton’s offensive schemes will get even better production out of Drew Brees, Reggie Bush and receiver Marques Colston now that they’ve each had a season of playing together under their belts.

The Saints and Colts were the top two passing teams in the NFL last year, but while Indianapolis managed to put up almost 27 points per game, New Orleans struggled to capitalize on their efforts. The Saints ranked fifth in points per game.

“Yards are great,” running backDeuce McAllister told reporters, “but to be able to score more touchdowns would be important for us.”

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