Micah Owings can do it All – Cincinnati at Arizona

Its was quite a week for Micah Owings (2-3, 5.08 ERA), who in a 6-5 win over the Brewers on Thursday, delivered an RBI triple for the go-ahead run (although he appeared to be out on the play). In that game, Owings also pitched six innings for the victory allowing four earned runs on seven hits with one walk and four strikeouts.

Then on Sunday, with two outs in the bottom of the ninth, Dusty Baker called on Owings to pinch hit. He thought he had ball four on a 3-1 pitch and was almost out of the batters box when he heard the strike call, which in hindsight was a good thing. On the very next pitch he sent reliever Ryan Franklin’s 3-2 offering over the left-field fence for the game-tying home run that forced extra innings. The Reds ended up loosing that game but it was still a huge moment for the young right-hander/ big bopper who is batting .333 (6-for-18) this season and .321 lifetime. It was the sixth homer of his career.

Owings returns to his regular gig on Tuesday as he takes the mound vs. the team that drafted him, the Diamondbacks. This will be the first time he’s faced his former club since Arizona dealt him to Cincinnati late last year. The funny thing is, it won’t be the first time Owings has hit against his former club. The day after he switched clubs he faced the D-Backs at Chase Field and Owings delivered a game-winning double in the 10th inning as a pinch-hitter. How sweet that must have been.

The guy he’s going up against, Dan Haren (3-3, 1.84 ERA), isn’t known for his big bat but he can chuck’em with the best in the league. Its been a tough year for Haren as he’s had next to no support from his offence when he’s on the hill. He lost his first three starts because his offense scored a total of one run for him in those games. Although he didn’t figure in the decision, Haren wasn’t at his best last outing as he allowed three runs on eight hits over six innings in a 4-3, 10-inning loss to the Padres.

Here are some MLB betting trends as they relate to this game:

Cincinnati:

• Under is 9-2-3 in CIN last 14 Tue. games.

• Under is 10-3 in CIN last 13 road games.

• CIN are 6-2 in their last 8 road games.

Arizona:

• Over is 8-3 in ARI last 11 Tue. games.

• Under is 8-3-1 in ARI last 12 overall.

• Under is 8-3-1 in ARI last 12 on grass.

Head to Head:

• Under is 40-12-4 in the last 56 meetings.

With Owings having a bunch of motivation going into this game and Haren being the ace that he is, I think this game goes under the posted total of 8 ½.

The Pick: UNDER 8 ½ (Even Money)