Monday, March 31

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NATIONAL LEAGUE

Houston (0-0) at San Diego (0-0)

Reigning N.L. Cy Young Award winner Jake Peavy (19-6, 2.54 ERA in 2007) leads the Padres against the Astros and ace Roy Oswalt (14-7, 3.18) as the two squads begin the 2008 season at Petco Park.

San Diego is coming off a heartbreaking 2007 season in which it lost a one-game playoff to Colorado for the N.L. wild-card berth. The Padres finished 89-74, 1½ games behind division champion Arizona and a game back of the Rockies. On the bright side, Bud Black’s club won 13 of its final 18 home games last year.

Houston experienced a rare losing season last year, going 73-89, good for fourth place in the six-team N.L. Central. The Astros did close the year on a 5-1 run, and also won of their last seven on the road.

The Astros won the season series last year, 4-3. The visiting team is 8-5 in the last 13 meetings.

Peavy, who is making his third Opening Day start, hit the pitching equivalent of the Triple Crown last year, leading the N.L. in wins, ERA and strikeouts (240). The veteran righthander was 9-5 with a 2.51 ERA in 19 starts at Petco Park in 2007. He’s 6-4 with a 2.23 ERA in 12 career starts against the Astros, going 2-1 with a 1.29 ERA in two outings last season.

Oswalt had a drastic home-road split last year, going 9-1 with a 1.91 ERA in Houston, but just 5-6 with a 4.77 ERA on the highway. The righthander, who is starting on Opening Day for the sixth time, made one start at Petco Park last year, giving up two runs in just 4 2/3 innings, failing to get a decision in a 3-2 Houston win. For his career, Oswalt is 7-1 with a 2.27 ERA against the Padres (2-0, 2.50 ERA at Petco).

The Padres are 7-2 in their last nine against the N.L. Central.

The under is 9-2-2 in the last 13 Padres-Astros clashes, including 5-0-1 in the last six battles at Petco. The under also went 4-0 in Houston’s last four overall last year, 6-1 in Oswalt’s last six starts and 12-6-1 in Peavy’s 17 home outings. However, the Padres closed 2007 on a 7-1-1 “over” streak.

ATS ADVANTAGE: SAN DIEGO and UNDER

AMERICAN LEAGUE

L.A. Angels (0-0) at Minnesota (0-0)

Jered Weaver (13-7, 3.91 in 2007) makes the first opening-day start of his career when he leads the Angels against the Twins and veteran righthander Livan Hernandez (11-11, 4.93 in 2007).

The Angels went 94-68 and cruised to the A.L. West title last year, their third division crown in the last four seasons, winning it by six games over the Mariners. However, Los Angeles got swept by eventual the World Series champion Red Sox in a best-of-3 opening round playoff series.

After winning the A.L. Central four times in five years, the Twins took a major step back in 2007, finishing in third place in the division with a 79-83 record.

The Angels won the season series last year 6-3, capturing the final four meetings. Going back to 2005, Los Angeles is 12-6 in this rivalry.

Hernandez, who pitched for Arizona last year, was shaky in his first spring in Minnesota, posting a 6.38 ERA. Despite that, with former Twins ace Johan Santana traded to the Mets in the offseason, Hernandez was awarded with the eighth opening-day start in his 10-year career, but his first as a pitcher in the American League. He has never pitched inside the Metrodome.

Hernandez has made two career regular-season starts against the Angles, failing to register a decision in either contest while posting a 3.55 ERA. However, he did face the Halos twice in the 2002 World Series when with the Giants, going 0-2 with a 14.31 ERA.

Weaver started last year on the disabled list and struggled at the start of his first full big-league season. But he came on strong after the All-Star break, going 7-2 with a 4.13 ERA in 14 starts. He was also outstanding in spring training this year, going 5-0 with a 1.67 ERA in six starts.

Weaver was 6-4 with a 3.70 ERA in 14 starts on the road, including getting a no-decision on July 21 in Minnesota, as he gave up just two runs on five hits over seven innings, with L.A. eventually losing 5-2. For his career, the righthander is 2-0 with a 2.11 ERA in three starts against the Twins.

Los Angeles went 2-7 in its final nine road games last year and 1-4 in its final five against the A.L. Central. As for the Twins, they lost nine of their last 13 home games in 2007, but are on a 4-0 roll against the A.L. West.

The under is 23-11-3 in the last 37 games in the Metrodome, but the over is 4-1-1 in the last six Twins-Angels battles in the dome.

ATS ADVANTAGE: L.A. ANGELS

Al DeMarco, General Manager of PickNation.com, is a 25-year veteran of the handicapping industry who is also the featured handicapping analyst on Comcast Sports TV in New York and Chicago and a regular contributor on Fox Sports, MSNBC and The Sporting News. Read his Daily Blog for his gambling insight, tips and observations at PickNation.com