Chris Rusin (4-5, 3.99 ERA) and Jonathon Niese (7-9, 3.50 ERA) are on the hill in the second of a three-game series between the Colorado Rockies (49-71) and the New York Mets (65-56) at Coors Field. The Mets won the last game 14-9 and New York leads the series 1-0. Action begins at 8:10 p.m. ET on Saturday, Aug. 22 and can be seen on RTRM and WPIX.
Rusin pitched 9.0 innings in his most recent start, surrendering zero runs, striking out four and walking one in a 5-0 win over the Padres. Carlos Gonzalez (.272, 67 Rs, 29 HRs, 70 RBIs, 2 SBs) had another good game yesterday, going 2 for 4 with three runs, one home run, and one RBI. Niese went 6.0 innings, surrendering three runs, striking out five and walking two in a 5-3 defeat to the Pirates in his last outing. Yoenis Cespedes (.297, 75 Rs, 23 HRs, 76 RBIs, 7 SBs) has been successful at the plate for the Mets, going 5 for 6 yesterday with five runs, three home runs, seven RBIs, and one stolen base.
New York is a narrow -113 favorite over Colorado. The matchup has an estimated Over/Under (O/U) of 10 runs. The Rockies have an overall money line of -1,388 and a record as the underdog of 35-52. Colorado has recorded a disappointing 1-7 record as the underdog over its last 10 games. The Rockies have seen a decline in scoring as of late, averaging 3.0 runs during the last 10 games compared to their season average of 4.5 runs per game.
Over in the other dugout, New York is coming in with an overall money line of +661 and an impressive record of 49-19 as the favorite. The Mets capitalize on their at-bats at a high percentage, leading the league with a .238 team batting average. When it comes to preventing batters from getting on base, the Mets are the best in the league with a WHIP of 1.17 for the season.
The Mets lead the season series, 5-0. The Rockies have a bad 5-18 record against left-handed starting pitchers on the year, which is what they’ll be facing when Niese takes the mound. Rusin (LHP) will be on the hill against the Mets, who have a 13-12 record against left-handed starting pitchers.
Predictions: SU Winner – NYM, O/U – Over
Notes
When leading after 7 innings, New York is 26-20, while Colorado is 24-29.
Having scored zero runs in their last game, the Mets are going to have to up their game if they want to win this matchup. The Rockies have a 3-1 record in games where opponents scored that many runs.
When they outhit their opponents, the Rockies are 38-13. The Mets have a 45-5 record when outhitting opponents.
Ranking 24th in runs, New York has earned 447 this season. Colorado ranks eighth with 529 runs.
Ranking 27th, Colorado is near the bottom of the league in walks, notching 285 this season. New York ranks in the bottom half at 17th with 332.
When the Rockies hit at least one home run, they are 43-37. When the Mets hit at least one homer, they have a 41-23 record.
