Free Live Odds - Scores and Odds - Sports News - Sports Information - Live Scores - Sports Statistics - Sports Articles - Sports Standings - Live Scoreboard - Live Odds - Sporting Events - Live Lines

(Sports Network) - The National League's traditional season opener takes place this afternoon at Cincinnati's Great American Ball Park, where the Reds start up their 2008 slate with a visit from the defending NL West champion Arizona Diamondbacks.

The new-look Diamondbacks surprised the experts by winning 90 games and edging out Colorado and San Diego for their first division title since 2002. Arizona then swept the favored Chicago Cubs in last October's National League Division Series before getting blanked by the upstart Rockies in the NLCS.

This season the Diamondbacks come in with high expectations, mainly because of a formidable starting pitching unit that was bolstered with the acquisition of All-Star right-hander Dan Haren from Oakland over the winter. He will team with staff ace Brandon Webb to form what is expected to be one of the best 1-2 combos in the NL, if not all of baseball.

Webb, who will get the Opening Day assignment, backed up his 2006 Cy Young Award campaign with one just as good last year. The sinker specialist established career highs with 18 wins and 194 strikeouts and placed second among NL hurlers with a 3.01 earned run average. Webb also had a remarkable run of 42 consecutive scoreless innings during the second half of last season.

The standout right-hander owns a 4-2 record with a 2.83 ERA in eight lifetime starts against Cincinnati. Webb has started the past two season openers for Arizona and wound up with a no decision in both games, despite pitching to a 3.38 ERA.

The Reds made a number of offseason changes after finishing a disappointing 72-90 last year. The most notable newcomer is skipper Dusty Baker, a three- time NL Manager of the Year award recipient during his days in San Francisco who will oversee the latest rebuilding effort for a franchise that hasn't made the playoffs since 1995.

Baker will be fielding a rather young starting rotation that has a very reliable anchor at the top in Aaron Harang. The Cincinnati ace won a career- best 16 games in 2006, then matched that total with an excellent 16-6 season last year. Harang also struck out 218 batters, the second-highest total in the NL a year ago.

Harang also gets the Opening Day honor for a third consecutive season. The burly right-hander was very effective out of the chute last year, allowing just one unearned run over seven innings to beat Chicago in the Reds' 2007 lidlifter.

The 29-year-old Harang is just 2-2 in six career starts against Arizona but has recorded an excellent 1.74 ERA in those outings. In his lone appearance versus the D-Backs last year, Harang received a no decision despite giving up only one run and striking out eight over eight frames.

The Reds swept a three-game series from Arizona in Cincinnati last July and won four of the six overall encounters between these teams in 2007. The Diamondbacks have gone just 3-6 at Great American Ball Park since 2005.