Johnson’s progress put to test

The Arizona Diamondbacks have proved to be one of baseball’s best bets over the first couple of weeks of the season, but they will have their dominance tested when veteran left-hander Randy Johnson pitches against the San Diego Padres today at Chase Field.

The Diamondbacks -- who won 12 of their first 16 games -- have three undefeated starting pitchers in Brandon Webb (4-0), Danny Haren (3-0) and Micah Owings (3-0), and they are hoping that Johnson can step up as a quality starter again.

But Johnson is 44 years old and only months removed from his second back surgery.

After starting out on the injured list and then pitching a few games in the minors, Johnson made his first start of the season for the Diamondbacks last week against San Francisco.

In five innings, Johnson struck out seven and did not allow an earned run. But he also walked four and failed to get a decision in Arizona’s 5-4 loss to the Giants.

Today, Johnson will go against San Diego left-hander Randy Wolf, who is 1-0 with a 1.42 earned-run average.

The Padres, who were 3-7 in their last 10 road games before Saturday night’s game, should be excited about facing Johnson again.

They won their only meeting with Johnson last season, a game in which he gave up six hits and six runs in five innings.

On the money line, Arizona is favored to win today’s game at -145 with San Diego at +135. The over/under combined run total is nine.

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Since getting off to a forgettable start to the season, the Detroit Tigers have been playing some solid baseball lately.

Heading into today’s game at Toronto, the Tigers have won four of their last six games and will have pitcher Nate Robertson looking for his second strong outing in a row.

Robertson, who pitched 6 1/3 innings but did not get a decision in a 6-5 victory over Minnesota last week, will face Toronto’s A.J. Burnett, who’s 1-1 with a 7.65 ERA.

The Blue Jays are favored at -135 with the Tigers listed at +125. The over/under combined run total for the game is 9.5.

Pro basketball

Here’s an interesting wager available for NBA bettors who expect Kobe Bryant and Allen Iverson to light up the scoreboard when the Lakers face Denver in the first round of the playoffs, which will start today with Game 1 at Staples Center.

Which player will have the higher scoring average during the series, Bryant or Iverson?

According to Sportsbook.com, Iverson gets +2.5 points at -115 with Bryant at -2.5 points, also at -115. That means if Iverson averages 30 points, Bryant would need to average at least 33 for a bet on him to pay out.

With Denver’s defense expected to give Bryant lots of attention throughout the series, his scoring may decline compared with his regular-season numbers.

But the Lakers play better overall defense and Iverson may struggle on offense if the Nuggets fall behind in the series. That’s what makes a bet like this so difficult to read.

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lonnie.white@latimes.com