Jon Niese (3-3, 2.49 ERA) and the New York Mets (23-16) square off against Michael Wacha (5-0, 2.06 ERA) and the St. Louis Cardinals (25-13) in a game that has the potential to be low scoring. This is the second of a four-game series at Citi Field. The Mets won the last game 2-1 and New York leads the series 1-0. Action begins at 7:10 p.m. ET on Tuesday, May. 19 and can be seen on FSN-MW and SNY.
Niese is 4-2 with a 2.27 ERA in his appearances against the Cardinals, but goes up against a quality St. Louis offense which is batting .265 this season. Curtis Granderson (.252, 22 Rs, 5 HRs, 13 RBIs, 3 SBs) continued his strong play yesterday, going 2 for 6 with one run. Wacha is 2-1 with a 2.81 ERA when pitching against the Mets. He is up against a below-average New York offense which is hitting just .238 this season. Matt Holliday (.320, 16 Rs, 3 HRs, 21 RBIs, 2 SBs) went 1 for 6 yesterday.
St. Louis is a slim -109 favorite over New York. The Over/Under (O/U) is sitting at seven runs for this matchup. Though the Mets have had a solid season in terms of their overall money line (+625), they’ve have done poorly as an underdog with a record of 5-12. New York has gone winless (0-4) as the underdog and 4-6 SU in its last 10 outings. Opposing offenses that come to Citi Field have been stifled by the Mets, who have a team ERA of only 2.42 at home. The Mets are the top team in the league at limiting hits and walks to their opponents, recording a WHIP of 1.12 so far this season.
As for their opponent, St. Louis is coming in with an overall money line of +1,128 and an impressive record of 20-7 as the favorite. St. Louis’s pitching staff has set the standard for its league, with an NL-low 2.87 ERA. When it comes to preventing batters from getting hits, the Cardinals are the best in the NL on the road with an average of 7.5 hits allowed per away game. The Cardinals have established a reputation of overwhelming hitters with an NL-best 8.8 strikeouts per road game.
The Mets have the edge in the season series, 1-0. The Mets have a great 14-3 record at home (19-11 overall) against right-handed starting pitchers, which is what they’ll be facing when Wacha takes the mound. Niese (LHP) will be on the hill against the Cardinals, who have a 4-5 record against left-handed starting pitchers.
Predictions: SU Winner – STL, O/U – Over
Notes
When leading after 7 innings, St. Louis is 11-4, while New York is 13-5.
The Mets are coming off of a hot pitching game where they recorded 18 strikeouts. The Cardinals have a record of 0-2 when they are struck out that many times or more.
When they are outhit, the Mets are 7-13. The Cardinals have a 6-7 record when opponents outhit them.
New York and St. Louis both rank near the bottom of the league in home runs. New York sits at 22nd with 30 home runs this season and St. Louis ranks 21st with 31.
Ranking 14th, New York is in the top half of the league in hits, notching 7.79 per game. St. Louis ranks in the top five at third with 9.27.
Ranking 27th, New York is near the bottom of the league for its on-base plus slugging percentage (.663). St. Louis ranks in the top 10 at seventh with an OPS of .731.
When the Cardinals allow at least one home run, they are 9-8. When the Mets allow one or more homers, they have a 10-11 record.
