Matt Harvey (11-7, 2.57 ERA) gets the start for the New York Mets (71-56) as they go up against Henry Owens (2-1, 4.50 ERA) and the Boston Red Sox (58-69) in the first of a three-game series at Citi Field. The Mets enter this series on a seven-game winning streak. The game starts at 7:10 p.m. ET on Friday, Aug. 28 and will air on NESN, SNY and MLBN.
In his last start, Harvey pitched 6.0 innings, allowing one run, striking out six and walking one in an 8-1 loss to the Pirates. Yoenis Cespedes (.295, 81 Rs, 26 HRs, 84 RBIs, 7 SBs) went 1 for 6 yesterday with one run, one home run, and two RBIs. The Red Sox were victorious the last time Owens pitched. He had a good outing, pitching 8.0 innings, allowing one, striking out four and walking one in a 7-2 victory over the Royals.
New York is a heavy -200 favorite in this game and the Over/Under (O/U) is set at seven runs. The Mets have a winning record of 54-19 when playing as the favorite and an overall money line of +1,261. They are 5-2 as the favorite over their last 10 games. New York has averaged 7.7 runs per game over the last 10 games, higher than its season average of 4.1. As for the pitching staff, the Mets rank third in the AL in home ERA with a 2.96 team average. The Mets don’t allow many hitters to get on base, leading the league with a 1.17 WHIP.
Switching gears, the Red Sox come into this game with a win percentage of .455 when playing as the underdog (25-30) and an overall money line of -1,626. Against interleague opponents, they are 8-6 SU and 1-1 as the underdog. When it comes to scoring runs, the Red Sox have performed much better than normal against teams from the NL. During those games, they averaged five runs per game, above their 4.5 season average.
This game will feature Owens (LHP) on the mound against the Mets, who have a 15-12 record when they take on a left-handed starter. Taking the hill against the Red Sox will be the right-hander Harvey. They sport a 43-48 record against righties.
Predictions: SU Winner – NYM, O/U – Over
Notes
When leading after 7 innings, New York is 28-20, while Boston is 28-34.
The Red Sox are coming into this game after allowing zero walks during their last outing. The Mets have a 3-8 record when opponents give up that many walks.
When they outhit their opponents, the Red Sox are 47-7. The Mets have a 51-5 record when outhitting opponents.
Ranking 17th, New York is in the bottom half of the league in runs, scoring 520 this season. Boston ranks in the top five at third with 576.
New York and Boston both rank in the top half of the league in walks. New York sits at 15th with 360 this season and Boston ranks 11th with 374.
The Mets are 47-23 in games where they hit one or more home runs. The Red Sox are 43-39 when they hit at least one homer.
