[Raji]

Houston at San Diego (-145, 8)



Not to keep on flogging a dead horse this early in the season, but oddsmakers are either overcompensating for the pitcher-friendly Petco Park, or they’re perfectly happy giving away money to over bettors.



Yesterday the books had a 7 ½-run total on the board with the flighty Wandy Rodriguez and the fading Greg Maddux on the hill. The Astros’ strong lineup topped the total by itself in a 9-6 win, while the two teams went out and combined for 26 hits.



Similar story today, with an 8-run total on the board - Shawn Chacon and Randy Wolf don’t exactly strike fear into over bettors’ hearts, even though Chacon has been good against San Diego in the past. Wolf, who makes his debut with the Padres, is coming off labrum surgery in September and had problems with his control all spring.



Pick: Over



Kansas City at Detroit (-175, 8 ½)



Two games against the Kansas City Royals, two losses. Not exactly how the reloaded Detroit Tigers hoped to start the season.



With their potent lineup, you have to think they’ll bounce back sooner rather than later, but today they have a tough matchup against Zack Greinke (if he's on) and oddsmakers aren’t making a Tigers wager very tempting at this price.



You might want to take a gander at the over in this one, too. Detroit is already antsy after managing only three hits yesterday and the Tigers know how to get after Greinke, who was 0-2 with a 9.31 ERA against them last year. Plus, Jeremy Bonderman, who wants to unveil his new changeup today, was sick enough yesterday that the Tigers told him to go home to rest up.


Raji