Pittsburgh Pirates vs. New York Mets
MLB Pick: Mets -111 odds (May 11th 2013)
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The Mets have won six of their last ten games at home against the Pirates, and they should win again on Saturday afternoon.
The Mets will get to see their third lefty in a row as Francisco Liriano makes his 2013 debut. Liriano made three starts for the Pirates AAA team giving up 6 runs and 15 hits in 16 innings. The southpaw’s worst start came in his last outing when he gave up 4 runs and seven hits in five innings. Only three Mets’ hitters have seen the former Twins’ pitcher before with Marlon Byrd getting three hits in four at-bats against him. The Mets are hitting .227 in the daytime and they are putting up over 4 runs per game in those contests.
Jon Niese enjoys pitching at home. He has allowed 8 runs and 21 hits in four starts in Citi Field. Niese beat the Pirates last year in Pittsburgh, and he has yet to lose to the Pirates in three career starts against them. Gaby Sanchez (4-19) has faced Niese the most with Russell Martin (1-8) and Neil Walker (1-6) also struggling against him. The Pirates are hitting .200 in nine games against left-handed starters. The Mets have won six of their last ten games at home against the Pirates, and they should win again on Saturday afternoon.
New York Mets vs. Atlanta Braves
MLB Pick: Over 7.5 -110 odds (May 3rd 2013)
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This is a 1* free MLB pick on the “over” between the New York Mets and Atlanta Braves on Friday night (7:30 EST).
Shaun Marcum (0-2, 7.94 ERA) gets the call for the visitors. Marcum gave up three runs and five hits over four frames in his team’s eventual 9-4 loss to Philadelphia on Saturday. He’d then volunteer to make a relief appearance for the first time since 2007 in Monday’s series opener vs. the Fish and promptly gave up two runs in the 4-3 setback. Marcum will be opposed by Mike Minor (3-2, 3.13 ERA) who is coming off an outing to forget, his second loss of the year in which he gave up six runs and six hits over 6 2/3′s frames of work in his team’s eventual 8-3 setback to the Tigers on Sunday (note that Minor is a pedestrian 1-1 with an unimpressive 4.76 ERA in his last two vs. the Metropolitans). Recent performance plays a part in my handicapping “toolbox” and neither of these starters has impressed me of late. Consider a second look at the “over” in this one.
New York Mets vs. Minnesota Twins
MLB Pick: Minnesota Twins -105 odds (April 14th 2013)
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Ryan is 7-4 after an abysmal 0-3 result Saturday. Rarely, though does he back-to-back losing days, so this 25* Titan is the play for you. Having his comprehensive research shows you why he is stepping up big on this play and why you can trust it to do well for you too.
10* graded MLB Pick on the Minnesota Twins as they take on the Mets in inter-league MLB action set to start at 2:10 PM ET. The simulator shows a high probability that the Twins will win this game. The Mets are by far the biggest surprise during the start of the MLB season. Their offense ranks first scoring 6.27 RPG, fourth with 16.27 total bases per game, and seventh with a .272 team batting average. The Twins are struggling to say the least, but this is one matchup they can win. Catcher Joe Mauer is batting.302, but has just 1 RBI on the season. That RBI total will change of course and runners will get on base for him knock in for runs. I am confident to state that the Twins will get to Mets starter Dillon Gee today. He is coming off a horrid start at Philadelphia allowing seven ER with three home runs in just three innings of work. Twins starter Correia is a solid 19-5 (+14.9 Units) against the money line at home when the total is 8.5 to 10 since 1997. Supporting this graded play is a proven system posting a 103-83 mark for 55% winners since 2007. Play on all dogs in the first month of the season with a money line of +100 or higher after having lost 6 or 7 of their last 8 games. This system has made a tidy 52 units per one unit wagered averaging a +131 DOG play. As mentioned, the Mets bats are hot, but the Twins find a way to cool off teams like them. They are a solid 30-16 (+19.5 Units) against the money line when facing a NL team with an on base percentage of .340 or better since 1997. Take Minnesota.
MLB Picks: April 9th 2013
New York Mets vs. Philadelphia Phillies
Prediction: Philly -171 odds
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The Mets hammered Roy Halladay and the Phillies last night, winning 7-2 in a blowout. They aren’t likely to enjoy the same success in tonight’s game, with Cliff Lee on the mound for Philadelphia.
Lee cruised through eight innings, allowing just two hits while striking out eight in his season debut. He struggled at the beginning of last season, but finished the year going 4-2 with a 1.44 ERA. He beat the Mets during that stretch, going eight innings, recording strikeouts in a 3-1 game.
The Mets will hand the ball to Dillon Gee, who was a winner in his season debut. That was against a light hitting San Diego lineup in the pitcher friendly Citi Field in New York. It could be a lot tougher in Philadelphia tonight, where Gee is 1-1 with a 9.00 ERA in his last four starts. Purchase all of Jesse Schule’s expert MLB picks for April 9th 2013 by visiting our expert sports picks page at Touthouse.com
Jimmy Rollins has hit Gee hard, going 6-for-9 lifetime against the right-hander. Michael young is 2-for-3 versus Gee in his career.
Gee has better numbers in natural light in afternoon games than he has at night. Last season he was 4-7 with a 4.50 ERA under the lights, in comparison to posting a 2.49 ERA during the day.
The Phillies find themselves with a mismatch on the mound, with a little revenge in their minds after getting blown out by the Mets last night.
