The Pittsburgh Pirates (65-46) are performing well enough to keep hold of the first wildcard spot in the National League, winning five of their last seven games. They’ll look to continue taking care of business this evening when they pay the NL East-leading New York Mets (63-52) a visit for the first meeting of their three-game set at Citi Field. Which team will notch the win?
Read on below for a complete preview of this promising showdown. You can check out also an overview of the wild card races in the American League and National League.
[sc:MLBArticles ]Pittsburgh Pirates vs. New York Mets Preview
Where: Citi Field, New York City
When: Friday, August 14, 7:10 PM ET
Line: Pittsburgh Pirates (+104) vs. New York Mets (-114); total: 7.5— View all MLB Lines
Betting on the Pittsburgh Pirates
After losing the first two games in their crucial series with the St. Louis Cardinals, the Pittsburgh Pirates avoided the sweep with a seven-run first inning for the eventual 10-5 victory in their series finale last night. The Pirates will seek to build on this performance when they open up a new three-game set with the New York Mets this later tonight.
[sc:MLB240banner ]Toeing the rubber for the Pirates is J.A Happ, who is 4-7 with a 4.22 ERA on the season. He is coming off a 5-0 loss in his Pirates debut versus the Cubs on August 4, during which he surrendered four earned runs and eight hits. Happ, who was acquired from the Mariners just a few days ago via trade, will look to have better results in his second game with Pittsburgh. But that’s going to be easier said than done, as the 32-year-old lefty holds a 2-4 record with a high 5.98 ERA and .293 opponents’ batting average across 11 road starts this year.
Looking to provide Happ enough support on offense is none other than Andrew McCutchen (.299). McCutchen has his name written all over the month of August, boasting a .367 (11-for-30) batting average with 10 RBIs and three home runs to his name. Also, the Bucs can expect their first baseman Pedro Alvarez (.244) to continue swinging a hot bat. Alvarez is 7-for-14, which includes two doubles, two homers and three RBIs over his previous four contests.
Pittsburgh is 5-5 in its last 10 road games.
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Betting on the New York Mets
The New York Mets stretched their unblemished run to four games after a dominant 12-3 triumph over the Rockies yesterday. It also marked their eighth win in their last 10 contests. The Mets will look to stay hot when they send Bartolo Colon (10-11, 4.09 ERA) to the mound tonight for Game 1 against the visiting Pittsburgh Pirates.
It’s been an up-and-down season for Colon. The 42-year-old righty suffered his 11th loss of the year with a 4-3 defeat to the Rays on Sunday, where he coughed up four earned runs on nine hits in 6 2/3 frames. But prior to this though, Colon was the total opposite as he logged in eight innings of one-run ball to lead the Mets to a resounding 12-1 win against the Miami Marlins.
If this pattern continues, expect a good pitching performance from Colon this evening. In over seven career starts opposite the Bucs, he is 4-2 with a staggering 1.97 ERA.
On offense, it’s been the Daniel Murphy and Lucas Duda show lately. Murphy, who leads the team with a .280 batting average this year, is in the midst of a nine-game hitting streak where he is 15-for-39. Duda, meanwhile, has been trying his very best to stay on par with Murphy, batting .324 (11-for-37) in the last nine outings.
New York has won 10 its last 12 home games.
Writer’s Prediction:
The Mets (-114) win, 6-4.
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