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MLB Betting: NY Mets at Pittsburgh Pirates
The Mets and Bucs split a 4-game set at Citi Field just two weekends ago.
Baseball betting fans will love to sink their teeth into this duel on Saturday night between the New York Mets and Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park. The first pitch is scheduled for 4:05 p.m. (PT), and if you're looking for this one on television, you can find it on WPIX, ROOT Sports or the MLB Network.
Both the Mets and Pirates entered this series hovering right below the .500 mark in the standings and are hoping this series can propel them back into the think of the playoff chase.
Friday's series opener that was still pending had Pittsburgh slight favorites on a -110 line with a 7½-run total.
To say it's a surprise that these teams are still in contention more than 60 games into the season is an understatement. The Mets were supposed to be one of the worst teams in the league this year, especially with Johan Santana on the disabled list and not throwing a pitch yet in the campaign. The Pirates are, for lack of a better term, the Pirates. They haven't had a winning season since 1992.
The hope for New York on Saturday is that R.A. Dickey has figured out how to get his knuckler back. The 36-year-old righty had a great start against the Atlanta Braves in his most recent outing, allowing just four hits and one run over eight frames to earn his third win of the season. Dickey is 3-6 with a 4.04 ERA this year.
Dickey has lost five straight starts against NL Central teams, and he has also led the Mets to an 0-5 record in his last five games against teams with losing records.
The Pirates were incredibly frustrated by the knuckle-curve that they saw out of Dickey on the final day of May. They only managed five hits and struck out 10 times in his 7 2/3 innings of work. However, Pittsburgh scored a 5-1 win thanks to a late inning rally.
James McDonald was taken off the hook in that game, but he certainly didn't pitch poorly. The righty allowed just one run on six hits in 6.0 innings, and he struck out five in one of his best outings of the year.
McDonald is going to try to improve upon his 3-4 record and 4.97 ERA come Saturday night. In order to do that, he has to work on his control. He has already walked 31 batters this year in just 63 1/3 innings, a big part of his 1.52 WHIP.
The good news is that McDonald is 4-1 in his last five starts on five days of rest instead of four. The bad news is that he is just 1-4 in his last five outings against NL East squads.
These two teams just got finished with a 4-game set at Citi Field over Memorial Day weekend. Pittsburgh earned a split in that series, picking up its first two wins ever at New York's new stadium.
Still, the boys from the Big Apple have won six out of eight and nine out of 12 against the Pirates coming into the start of this 3-game weekend set on Friday night.
There's a 50 percent chance of rain in the Steel City on Saturday night. Winds should be relatively light, and the temperature by game time is expected to be comfortable in the mid-to-high 70s
The Mets and Bucs split a 4-game set at Citi Field just two weekends ago.
Baseball betting fans will love to sink their teeth into this duel on Saturday night between the New York Mets and Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park. The first pitch is scheduled for 4:05 p.m. (PT), and if you're looking for this one on television, you can find it on WPIX, ROOT Sports or the MLB Network.
Both the Mets and Pirates entered this series hovering right below the .500 mark in the standings and are hoping this series can propel them back into the think of the playoff chase.
Friday's series opener that was still pending had Pittsburgh slight favorites on a -110 line with a 7½-run total.
To say it's a surprise that these teams are still in contention more than 60 games into the season is an understatement. The Mets were supposed to be one of the worst teams in the league this year, especially with Johan Santana on the disabled list and not throwing a pitch yet in the campaign. The Pirates are, for lack of a better term, the Pirates. They haven't had a winning season since 1992.
The hope for New York on Saturday is that R.A. Dickey has figured out how to get his knuckler back. The 36-year-old righty had a great start against the Atlanta Braves in his most recent outing, allowing just four hits and one run over eight frames to earn his third win of the season. Dickey is 3-6 with a 4.04 ERA this year.
Dickey has lost five straight starts against NL Central teams, and he has also led the Mets to an 0-5 record in his last five games against teams with losing records.
The Pirates were incredibly frustrated by the knuckle-curve that they saw out of Dickey on the final day of May. They only managed five hits and struck out 10 times in his 7 2/3 innings of work. However, Pittsburgh scored a 5-1 win thanks to a late inning rally.
James McDonald was taken off the hook in that game, but he certainly didn't pitch poorly. The righty allowed just one run on six hits in 6.0 innings, and he struck out five in one of his best outings of the year.
McDonald is going to try to improve upon his 3-4 record and 4.97 ERA come Saturday night. In order to do that, he has to work on his control. He has already walked 31 batters this year in just 63 1/3 innings, a big part of his 1.52 WHIP.
The good news is that McDonald is 4-1 in his last five starts on five days of rest instead of four. The bad news is that he is just 1-4 in his last five outings against NL East squads.
These two teams just got finished with a 4-game set at Citi Field over Memorial Day weekend. Pittsburgh earned a split in that series, picking up its first two wins ever at New York's new stadium.
Still, the boys from the Big Apple have won six out of eight and nine out of 12 against the Pirates coming into the start of this 3-game weekend set on Friday night.
There's a 50 percent chance of rain in the Steel City on Saturday night. Winds should be relatively light, and the temperature by game time is expected to be comfortable in the mid-to-high 70s
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