The pitching matchup of the night Thursday in Major League Baseball is definitely in Arizona, when the NL West-leading Diamondbacks host the struggling Colorado Rockies.
Arizona trots out early NL Cy Young favorite Brandon Webb. Webb, coming off a complete-game victory, looks for his ninth win in as many starts as Arizona - which has the best record in baseball - look to complete a three-game sweep of Colorado at Chase Field. The Diamondbacks are -167 money line betting favorites (over/under: 8) on WagerWeb.com.
Webb (8-0, 2.41 ERA) is the first NL pitcher to win his first eight starts since Pedro Martinez in 1997 with Montreal; Jon Garland of the 2005 White Sox is the last AL pitcher to do it.
"To do that, you've got to have help, and I've had help from all aspects of our team," Webb said. "I'm just going to try to keep it going as long as I can."
Webb has pitched at least six innings in every start this season, and recorded the 13th complete game of his career vs. Philadelphia on May 8. He'll start this game coming off an extra two days of rest because of an off day and a decision to scratch Randy Johnson on Sunday due to weather concerns."It's going to be a little different," said Webb, 2-0 with a 1.80 ERA against the Rockies this season. "It doesn't happen too many times that I've gotten a week."
Webb also started the 2006 season 8-0, though he did that over his first 11 starts. He went on to win the NL Cy Young Award that year after posting a 16-8 mark and 3.10 ERA.
Arizona has beaten Colorado seven of eight times this season and holds a 10-game lead over the defending NL champion Rockies.
Though Colorado starters have struggled to a major-league worst 5.51 ERA this season, Aaron Cook (6-1, 2.26 ERA) has been the Rockies' best hurler by far and will try to win his seventh straight start tonight.
Cook hasn't lost since April 2 and has yielded more than two runs in just two of his eight starts this year, including his previous start last Friday in San Diego when he limited the Padres to a run on three hits in seven innings, beating San Diego ace Jake Peavy.
Cook's current win streak began on April 13 with a win over the Diamondbacks, as he gave up three runs on eight hits in six innings of a road victory. Cook went 1-0 in four starts vs. Arizona in 2007, but gave up seven runs in 12 innings at Chase Field, where he has a career ERA of 5.83 in eight games (7 starts).
"My mind-set is always the same when I get out there," Cook said.
Cook has been great, but the Rockies' offense, which a year ago was second in the NL in runs, has struggled. They're 13th in the league this season, and have put up just 10 runs in losing four straight.
Betting trends: Rockies are 2-8 in their last 10 road games vs. a right-handed starter. ... Rockies are 7-0 in Cook's last 7 starts. ... Diamondbacks are 8-2 in their last 10 home games with the total set at 7.0-8.5. ... Under is 8-1 in Rockies' last 9 road games. ... Under is 5-0 in Cook's last 5 starts overall. ... Under is 6-0-1 in Diamondbacks' last 7 games following a win. ... Under is 8-1 in Webb's last 9 starts during Game 3 of a series. ... Over is 5-1-1 in Cook's last 7 road starts vs. Diamondbacks. ... Rockies are 1-7 in the last 8 meetings.
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