New York Mets vs. Cincinnati Reds
MLB Pick: Cincinnati Reds -140 odds (July 28th 2011)
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New York posted an 8-2 victory Wednesday and are looking more like a playoff caliber club than their counterparts and in fact do have the better record. Instead the Mets find themselves victims of being in the National League East where Philadelphia and Atlanta are leaving the rest of the division in their rear view mirrors. The NYM have now three straight and need to keep it going long term to make a run at the playoffs but realistically the team must realize the team is playing for pride and little else. New York has been playing the role of spoiler to perfection the last several days against playoff minded Cincinnati with a solid combination of pitching and hitting which hasn’t always been the case in 2011 and a big part of the reason they are in third place in the East looking up. The Mets send Chris Capuano to the bump for the sweep but he has been on a personal three game slide. Capuano has been on the mediocre side of things in his past two outings allowing eight runs in 13.1 innings.
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Cincinnati has certainly looked flat in the first three games of a four game set against the Mets to fall four games below .500. Losing is bad enough but the bats and pitching has been less than inspiring but the good news is that the three teams ahead of the Reds in the National League Central aren’t distinguishing themselves as of yet which is keeping the Reds alive by default. It was another poor effort from Bronson Arroyo who allowed four earned runs in six innings and his 5.58 ERA is simply a liability especially the way Cincinnati is struggling at the plate. Their two run, seven hit performance won’t win many games either but there is ample time to fix what is broken and whether that happens is just a wait and see scenario. Right hander Homer Bailey gets the ball Thursday to break the team’s slide and give him his third consecutive victory in the process. Bailey generally wins when he pitches well and loses if he doesn’t and the Reds are desperate to get and stay hot.
Cincinnati Reds vs. St. Louis Cardinals
Prediction: St. Louis Cardinals -123 MLB Lines (July 6th 2011)
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The Cincinnati Reds haven’t hit the panic button yet as they are just four games off the pace in the NL Central but with the log jam of teams in front of them, they are going to need to start winning consistently and when it comes to this series, winning at all. On Tuesday Brandon Phillips had a hit and scored a run and Ryan Hanigan, Paul Janish, and Edinson Volquez all had hits as four hits and a run were all the Reds’ bats could muster. On the mound Volquez allowed seven hits and seven runs, six of them earned, while striking out three over 5.1 innings of work to take his fourth loss of the year. Cincinnati will try to avaoid the sweep on Wednesday as they start Bronson Arroyo who has a 2-1 record in his last three but a 6.63 ERA over that same span. For the season Arroyo has allowed 122 hits and 62 earned runs while striking out 61 over 101.2 innings of work.
St. Louis is 6-2 in their last eight games overall, and 9-4 in Westbrook’s last 13 starts. Cincinnati is 1-6 in Arroyo’s last seven road starts against a team with a winning record. Cincinnati is 0-4 in Arroyo’s last four starts against St. Louis. TAKE ST. LOUIS MINUS
Oakland Athletics vs. New York Mets
MLB Pick: New York Mets -140 odds (June 21st 2011)
The New York Mets had clawed and scratched their way back to .500 but after dropping a weekend series to the Angels, they are back to two games under. The Mets are 5-5 in their last 10 games, 16-19 at home this season, and nine and half games back in the National League East. As a team New York is hitting .256 with Jose Reyes hitting .341, Carlos Beltran hitting .288, and Daniel Murphy hitting .285. As a team the Mets pitching staff has an ERA of 3.99 with the starters at 3.87 and the bullpen at 4.25. For game one against the A’s New York starts Dillon Gee who is more than likely looking at a spot on the National League All Star Team. For the season Gee has allowed 49 hits and 21 earned runs while striking out 49 in 66 innings of work while the Mets haven’t lost a game that Gee has started.
New York is 6-1 in their last seven games following a loss, 5-2 in their last seven home games against a left handed starter, and 11-1 in Gee’s last 12 starts. Oakland is 5-16 in their last 21 road games, and 1-4 in Outman’s last five road starts. Oakland has lost their last four against the Mets. TAKE THE METS MINUS -Bob Wingerter (Touthouse.com)
