Arizona Diamondbacks (44-38) AT Oakland A’s (36-46)
July 1st, 2011 at 10:05 PM EST
Opening Line:  ARI -115, OAK -105
Current Line:  EVEN
Opening Total:  7
Current Total:  6.5

SP:  ARI- Josh Collmenter; OAK- Rich Harden

Things really haven’t been easy for the A’s.  They’ve now dropped six straight and are 9-10 under their new coach Bob Melvin.  It should be an emotional trip for Melvin returning to Arizona where he spent 4 seasons as a head manager before being fired early in the 2009 campaign.

“That’s who I came up playing for, and the relationship is there. But at the same time, he wants to win, and so do we,” Diamondbacks outfielder Justin Upton said of Melvin. “We are going to go in there and battle, and win every game that we can.”

The Diamondbacks and A’s, as interleague opponents, haven’t faced one another since 2009.  In that series, the Diamondbacks won 2 of the 3, and if things continue the way they have for the offensively challenged  A’s, then there’s not much hope that this time will be any different.

The A’s are hoping Rich Harden will make the difference.  He hasn’t pitched since September 29, 2010 while a member of the Rangers, and he went 5-5 with a 5.34 ERA in 18 starts last season.  Rangers fans were treated to a total bust of a pitcher after he was highly touted when signed as a free-agent.  There was every reason for him to be.  As a member of the A’s, however, in his first stint, he went 36-19 in 89 starts with a much more impressive 3.48 ERA, over 5+ seasons with the A’s.

Last season, however, his pitches seemed slower, less accurate and his WHIP was closing in on two (1.76).  It’s difficult to win games when you’re allowing that many runners on base.

“He has a track record of success when he’s healthy. Our job, my job, is to keep him healthy,” Melvin said of the oft-injured Harden. “So, I won’t overextend him on Friday. It’ll be nice to have him out there again. For us, it’s like making a trade, getting some of these guys back.”

Harden’s last appearance was a rehab stint for the A’s triple-A club in Sacramento.  As with many pitchers in rehab assignments, he dominated his opponent, striking out 10 in 7 innings, while giving up only one run.  Sacramento still lost, but you can hardly blame Harden.  Winning tonight will require some help from a struggling A’s offense, though.  Over the last eight games, they are averaging 1.6 runs…that’s just not enough run support, even for their strong pitching staff.

Part of the blame can fall on the shoulders of outfielder David DeJesus, though he had 2 hits in Thursday’s loss to the Marlins.  He’s batting .109 over his last 18 games and is .226 on the season. .  It’s a huge regression for DeJesus, who hit .318 from the plate last year in 394 plate appearances. He may be able to break the fun against Diamondbacks rookie Josh Collmenter, as he is .359 with 2 HRs and 15 RBIs against the Diamondbacks.

Moreover, Collmenter has lost his last 3 starts.  He’s 4-4 with a 2.71 ERA and in his first six starts he was 3-1 with a 1.05 ERA.  Since that time it has been anything but easy for Collmenter.  He gave up six runs in six innings on Saturday against the Tigers.

Some betting trends:

The Arizona Diamondbacks are 1-4 SU in their last 5 games and they are 7-2 SU In their last 9 on the road.  The Diamondbacks are 4-1 SU in their last 5 games against the A’s and the total has gone UNDER In 4 of the Diamondbacks’ last 5 games while they have a 6-1 record over their last 7 games against the Oakland A’s.

The total has gone UNDER in 7 of Oakland’s last 8 games and they are 2-6 SU in their last 8 games.  The A’s are 6-2 SU in their last 8 at home, however, while the total has gone UNDER in 4 of the last 5 home gamers.  It has also gone UNDER for 9 of the last 13 against the Diamondbacks and the A’s are 1-4 SU in their last 5 games against the Diamondbacks.  The A’s are 1-6 SU in their last 7 games against the Diamondbacks at home.  The total has gone UNDER in 4 of the A’s last 5 games at home against the Diamondbacks.

In the last series against the Marlins, I advocated going ‘under’ in both games I previewed.  The A’s have gone under the total in 7 of the last 8 due to absolutely horrendous hitting, and while the total is already set low at 6.5 for tonight’s game, I am suggesting another ‘under.’   They are averaging 1.6 runs per game over their last 8, as mentioned, and unless the Diamondbacks have a huge offensive outburst, this one should go under.