Jacob deGrom (7-7, 2.96 ERA) and Jose Urena (2-5, 5.83 ERA) start in the last of a four-game series between the New York Mets (69-64) and the Miami Marlins (67-66) at Citi Field. The Marlins lost the last game 5-2, continuing a five-game losing streak. New York can finish out the series sweep with a win in this game. Action begins at 7:10 p.m. ET on Thursday, Sep. 1 and can be seen on SNY and FSFL.
deGrom pitched 4.2 innings in his most recent start, surrendering five runs, striking out three and walking two in an 8-1 defeat to the Cardinals. Yoenis Cespedes (.298, 57 Rs, 27 HRs, 68 RBIs, 2 SBs) had another good game yesterday, going 2 for 3 with one run. Urena went 5.2 innings, surrendering one run, striking out six and walking two in a 1-0 defeat to the Padres in his last outing. Giancarlo Stanton (.244, 52 Rs, 25 HRs, 70 RBIs) has been successful at the plate for the Marlins, going 3 for 5 yesterday with one run, one home run, and three RBIs.
New York is a -179 favorite against Miami and the Over/Under (O/U) for this game is sitting at seven runs. The Mets have an overall money line of -977 and a record as the favorite of 49-39. New York is an impressive 4-1 as the favorite over its last 10 games. The Mets have seen an uptick in scoring as of late, averaging 6.0 runs during the last 10 games compared to their season average of 3.9 runs per game. The Mets are one of the best in the MLB in terms of home runs with 178. Turning to the pitching and defensive side, it’s been a struggle for opposing teams to score runs against the Mets. The 3.9 runs that New York’s pitchers allow per game makes them the third-ranked staff in the NL. The Mets are the top team in the NL at limiting walks to their opponents, allowing only 2.7 walks per game so far this season.
In games where it is the underdog, Miami has a 35-31 record and an overall money line of -226. They have played poorly as the underdog with a 10-14 record against NL East rivals, and a 4-6 record SU. Offensively, the Marlins have really sputtered in the last 10 games. They have decreased their season average of 4.1 runs per game by averaging 2.4 during that stretch. The Marlins allow 4.1 runs per game, but have improved upon those numbers in the past 10 games, allowing 2.8 runs per game during that span. When it comes to preventing batters from getting hits, the Marlins are fourth in the NL with an average of 8.3 hits allowed per game.
The Mets lead the season series, 10-5. The Mets have a 51-46 record against right-handed starting pitchers on the year, which is what they’ll be facing when Urena takes the mound. deGrom (RHP) will be on the hill against the Marlins, who have a 46-56 record against right-handed starting pitchers.
Predictions: SU Winner – NYM, O/U – Over
Notes
For the 16th time this season, the Mets registered at least two errors in a game.
The Mets are coming into this game after allowing no walks during their last outing. The Marlins have a 5-7 record when opponents don’t give up any walks.
It looks like the Mets have a slight leg up on the Marlins, as the Mets have won their last three games while the Marlins have lost their last five.
When they outhit their opponents, the Marlins are 55-16. The Mets have a 48-11 record when outhitting opponents.
New York and Miami both rank near the bottom of the league in runs. New York sits at 28th with 523 runs this season and Miami ranks 23rd with 548.
Ranking 21st, Miami is near the bottom of the league in walks, notching 376 this season. New York ranks in the top half with 407.
When the Mets hit at least one home run, they are 60-34. When the Marlins hit at least one homer, they have a 47-32 record.