The skidding Miami Marlins (18-30) pay Matt Harvey and the rest of the New York Mets (27-21) a visit later tonight in the opening game of their three-game set. Will the Marlins stop the bleeding and steal Game 1 of this series? Or will the Mets extend their win streak?
In another ball game tonight, the Blue Jays take on the Twins at 8:10 PM ET. You can read a preview of that game here.
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Miami Marlins vs. New York Mets Preview
Where: Citi Field, Flushing
When: Friday, May 29, 2015, 7:10 PM ET
Line: Miami Marlins (+165) at New York Mets (-185); total: 6.5 –view all MLB lines
Betting on the Miami Marlins
Dan Haren steps on the mound later tonight, hoping that his presence will translate into a skid-snapping win for the Marlins. The Marlins lost all of their last three games, including a 5-2 road loss to Pittsburgh on Wednesday to end a three-game series. The Marlins were actually swept in that series with their offense managing to score just five total runs.
[sc:MLB240banner ]Haren (4-2, 3.09 ERA) is coming off a solid start, as he tossed six scoreless innings, surrendering seven hits and three walks to go along with six strikeouts in the Marlins’ 1-0 win over Baltimore on May 23. In five starts this month, Haren is 2-1 with a 2.87 ERA and 1.21 WHIP. Miami’s offense, however, will have to show some semblance of life at the plate and give Haren enough runs to work on. Haren is receiving an average of 5.86 run support per nine innings of action thus far this season—the most among all Miami starters. Dating back to 2008, Haren’s teams are 3-1 in his last four starts at Citi Field.
Dee Gordon arguably has the hottest bat in the majors, as he leads all players in batting average (.376). He’s also been making pitchers sweat bullets with his uncanny speed at the basepaths, as evidenced by his majors-leading 19 stolen bases. Gordon enters tonight’s ball game riding a six-game hit streak. Gordon is 9-for-28 (.321) with seven stolen bases during that stretch.
The ball is now in the hands of The Dark Knight of Gotham, Matt Harvey. And he’ll look to follow up on the strong outing by fellow superhero starter Noah “Thor” Syndergaard, as he takes on the struggling Marlins in the series opener. The Mets extended their win streak to three games on Wednesday, when they crushed Philadelphia, 7-0, thanks in large part to Syndergaard throwing seven plus scoreless innings.
If there’s something Harvey’s (5-2, 2.91 ERA. 0.99 WHIP) recent numbers at Citi Field suggest, it’s that the Marlins will likely be in for a rough night against the righty. Harvey has been unbeaten at home thus far this year, collecting a 3-0 record and a 2.33 ERA in four home starts. In his most recent appearance at home, Harvey tossed eight scoreless innings, giving up just six hits and striking out nine in the Mets’ 2-1 win over St. Louis on May 18.
Harvey, however, didn’t look as spectacular in his last start, wherein he gave up seven runs on six hits over four innings of duty in the Mets’ 8-2 road loss to Pittsburgh on May 23. Hopefully for Harvey, he’ll recapture his dominance when the Mets return home at Flushing. The Mets are 6-1 in Harvey’s last seven home starts.
On offense, the Mets are counting on Daniel Murphy and Michael Cuddyer to make things happen at the plate. Murphy is hitting .524 (11-for-21) over the last six Mets games. Cuddyer, on the other hand is batting .333 (6-for-18) during that span. Cuddyer has also hit .407 in his last 16 career games against the Marlins.
