Jonathon Niese (6-9, 3.51 ERA) and Jon Gray (0-0, 4.50 ERA) are on the hill in the first of a four-game series between the New York Mets (59-52) and the Colorado Rockies (47-62) at Citi Field. Action begins at 7:10 p.m. ET on Monday, Aug. 10 and can be seen on RTRM and SNY.
Niese pitched 7.0 innings in his most recent start, surrendering one run, striking out six and walking one in a 5-1 win over the Marlins. Yoenis Cespedes (.295, 67 Rs, 18 HRs, 66 RBIs, 4 SBs) continued his strong play yesterday, going 2 for 4. Gray went 4.0 innings, surrendering two runs (one unearned), striking out four and walking two in a 10-4 defeat to the Mariners in his last outing. Carlos Gonzalez (.281, 58 Rs, 25 HRs, 62 RBIs, 2 SBs) has been successful at the plate for the Rockies, going 2 for 5 yesterday with two runs, two home runs, and two RBIs.
New York is a -170 favorite against Colorado and the Over/Under (O/U) for this game is sitting at seven runs. The Mets have recorded an overall money line of +649 and have shown high-level performance as a favorite this season with a record of 45-16. New York is an impressive 7-3 as the favorite over its last 10 games. The Mets have seen an uptick in scoring as of late, averaging 5.3 runs during the last 10 games compared to their season average of 3.7 runs per game. The Mets lead the MLB in batting average with a phenomenal team average of .237. Crossing over to the pitching staff, the Mets are the top team in the league at limiting hits and walks to their opponents, recording a WHIP of 1.17 so far this season. Opponents have consistently been struck out by the Mets, who rank fifth in the NL in strikeouts per home game with 8.4.
In games where it is the underdog, Colorado has a 33-45 record and an overall money line of -1,091.
The Mets have a 48-41 record against right-handed starting pitchers on the year, which is what they’ll be facing when Gray takes the mound. Niese (LHP) will be on the hill against the Rockies, who have inferior records against left-handed starting pitchers on the road and overall of 2-8 and 5-17, respectively.
Predictions: SU Winner – NYM, O/U – Over
Notes
Colorado has won 47% (22-25) of its games when leading after 7 innings. However, New York has won 57% (24-18) of its games when taking a late lead.
The Colorado batters brought in a solid 11 hits last game. New York has a record of 5-16 when their opponents get that many hits or more.
When they outhit their opponents, the Rockies are 36-12. The Mets have a 41-4 record when outhitting opponents.
Ranking 28th in runs, New York has earned 409 this season. Colorado ranks third with 499 runs.
Ranking 25th, Colorado is near the bottom of the league in walks, notching 267 this season. New York ranks in the bottom half at 17th with 305.
The Mets are 37-19 in games where they hit one or more home runs. The Rockies are 42-33 when they hit at least one homer.
