New York took Thursday's opener, but ever since the Diamondbacks have come back to earn the 2-1 series lead. Will the Mets end the series with a tie, or can the Diamondbacks make it three in a row? Find out who we are adding to our MLB picks.
After dropping the first game of this series Thursday night
Arizona has come back to win the next two, including a 6-3 decision Saturday
night, overcoming three solo home runs by New York's Ike Davis.
So while the Diamondbacks lost as -180 favorites Thursday,
they've gotten that money back by winning as -135 favorites Friday and -180
chalk Saturday.
Arizona, winners of seven of its last nine games and at
51-50 on the season, has pulled within 4.5 games of first-place San Francisco
in the NL West, and sits 5.5 games back of Atlanta in the battle for the second
NL Wild-Card spot.
The Mets, meanwhile, losers of 14 of their last 16 and now
at 48-53, are now 8.5 games behind the Braves.
Sunday's Pitching
Matchup
Lefty Joe Saunders (5-6, 3.51) goes for the D'Backs Sunday
(4:10 pm Eastern) against knuckleballer RA Dickey (13-2, 2.97) for New York.
Saunders, by our tough standards, is 8-for-16 on quality
starts this season. Most recently Saunders held the Rockies to a pair of solo
homers through seven innings, walking one and striking out nine last Tuesday.
And over his three starts since coming off the DL he's allowed eight ER over 19
innings.
Saunders hasn't pitched this season against the Mets; last
year, in his one start against New York, Saunders gave up one ER on two hits
through six innings.
RA Dickey, meanwhile, is 13-for-20 on quality starts this year,
but only two for his last six. In his most recent outing he allowed four ER on
eight hits through six innings against Washington last Tuesday, and over his
three starts since the All-Star break he's given up 12 ER through 18 1/3
innings.
In his one start this season against Arizona back in May
Dickey held them to one run on four hits through eight innings.
The Mets are 15-5 in Dickey's starts this season, while Arizona is 6-10 in
Saunders' starts.
But New York is 14-23 against left-handed starting pitchers
this year.
Sunday's Betting Odds
and Trends
As of Sunday morning the best price we could find on Arizona
was the -108 at Heritage, while the best MLB odds open on the Mets was the +106 at
Matchbook.
And most online sportsbooks were listing the total on
Sunday's game at 8.5.
In early betting on Sunday's game about 55 percent of action
on the side has come in on the Mets, while play on the total has split almost
right down the middle.
Sunday's Free MLB
Pick
Dickey and the Mets both look like they're running low on
gas, while Arizona looks like it's warming up for a run in the NL West. So
we'll go with the D'Backs for Sunday.
New York took the opener of this series Thursday night 3-1,
but Arizona evened things up with an 11-5 victory Friday night.
So the Diamondbacks, at 50-50, remain 5.5 games behind
Atlanta in the battle for the second NL Wild-Card spot, while the Mets, at
48-52, are 7.5 games back of the Braves.
Saturday's Pitching
Matchup
Ian Kennedy (8-8, 4.20) will start Saturday's game for
Arizona (8:10 pm Eastern) against Chris Young (2-4, 3.91) for New York.
Kennedy is 11-for-20 on quality starts this season. Most
recently he held the Rockies to two runs on five hits through eight innings
Tuesday, and just before that he limited the Reds to one run through eight
innings. He's also walked none and struck out 14 over those last two starts.
On the season Kennedy has given up 140 hits in 129 innings,
but his K/BB ratio is excellent, at 113/25.
This will be Kennedy's first start this year against the Mets.
In his only start last year vs. New York Kennedy got a win, holding NY to one
run on six hits through seven innings.
Warming up over in the other bullpen, Young is five-for-nine
on quality starts this season. His last time out he held the Nationals to two
runs on three hits through seven innings, and just before that, also vs.
Washington, he allowed two runs through six innings.
On the season Young has allowed 54 hits in 53 innings,
walked 15 and struck out 32.
Young, with his limited work load in recent seasons, hasn't
pitched against Arizona since 2010.
Arizona is 9-11 in Kennedy's starts this season, while New
York is 2-7 in games Young has started, although that's not all his fault.
Also, the 'over/unders' are 10-8 in Kennedy's starts, 5-4 in
Young's starts.
Saturday's Betting
Odds
As of Saturday morning most online sportsbooks are listing the
D'Backs at around -175 for Saturday night's game, with the Mets getting upwards
of +165.
Arizona can also be played at upwards of +120 on the run
line at several baseball betting outlets.
Finally, most books are listing Saturday night's game with a
total of nine.
Saturday's Free MLB
Pick
We missed on Arizona in Game 1 of this series, then got some
of our money back with the D'Backs Friday. And we're going to stick with
Arizona for Saturday.
The Mets won as +170 underdogs Thursday, and the game played
way 'under' its total of nine.
So the Diamondbacks are now 5.5 games out of the running for
the second Natinal League Wild-Card spot, while the Mets are 6.5 back in that race.
New York is still struggling to score runs; it's now been
held to three runs or fewer five games in a row.
Friday's Pitchers
Josh Collmenter (2-2, 3.82) gets the start for the D'Backs
Friday against lefty Jon Niese (7-4, 3.59) for the Mets.
Collmenter is just three-for-eight on quality starts this
season, but all of those have come in the last month. His last time out
Collmenter held the Astros to two runs through six innings, and over his last
10 appearances, which includes several spots of relief, he's allowed five ER
over 36 1/3 innings. So after a rough start to this season it appears Collmenter
has gotten his act together.
In his only appearance this year against the Mets, Collmenter
held them scoreless on three hits through three innings back in May.
Niese, meanwhile, is 11-for-18 on quality starts this
season, and New York is 9-9 in games he's started. Most recently he gave up
three ER on eight hits through seven innings against the Dodgers last Sunday, and
just before that he held the Nationals to one run in seven innings.
This will be Niese's first start against Arizona this
season. In his one start last year vs. the D'Backs he got a win, allowing two
ER through seven innings.
Friday's Betting Odds
and Trends
As of Friday AM the best price we could find on Arizona was
the -135 offered at several baseball betting outlets, while the Mets could be
gotten at +130 at Matchbook.
The D'Backs could also be played at upwards of +155 on the
run line at many books.
Also, most online sportsbooks have released their MLB odds for Friday's game with
an 'over/under' of nine.
New York has taken three of four games from Arizona so far
this season.
Free MLB Pick for
Friday
We took a hit with the D'Backs Thursday, but we're still
believing Arizona is the better bet in this series. So we'll stick with the
Snakes for Friday, adding them to our MLB picks this evening.