Matt Harvey (6-4, 3.62 ERA) and the New York Mets (35-30) go up against Aaron Sanchez (5-4, 3.55 ERA) and the Toronto Blue Jays (34-31) in the second of a two-game interleague series at Citi Field. The Mets won the last game 4-3 and New York leads the series 1-0. The game starts at 7:10 p.m. ET on Tuesday, Jun. 16 and will air on RSN and SNY.
In his last start, Harvey pitched 6.0 innings, giving up seven runs, striking out two and walking two in an 8-5 loss to the Giants. Lucas Duda (.281, 36 Rs, 9 HRs, 29 RBIs) played well again yesterday, going 2 for 5 with one run and one RBI. The Blue Jays were victorious over the Astros 6-2 the last time Sanchez pitched. He went 8.0 innings, allowing one and striking out three. Chris Colabello (.345, 24 Rs, 4 HRs, 22 RBIs, 2 SBs) has been hitting the ball well, going 2 for 5 yesterday.
New York, a -150 favorite, will look to capitalize at home against Toronto. The Over/Under (O/U) for the matchup is seven runs. The Mets have a winning record of 28-9 when playing as the favorite and an overall money line of +225. They have a 3-2 SU record in games versus the AL, but have gone 2-0 as the favorite. The Mets come into the game with the NL’s fifth-ranked home scoring offense, averaging 4.4 runs per game in their own ballpark. As for the pitching staff, the Mets don’t allow many hitters to get on base, ranking third in the league with a 1.19 WHIP.
Across the field, the Blue Jays have a record of 14-18 when they are the underdog and are +228 overall with the money line. Over the last 10 games, they were unbeaten with perfect records both SU and as the underdog (4-0). The Blue Jays are the top-ranked scoring offense in the AL when playing on the road, averaging five runs per game so far. One of the top road hitting teams in the AL are the Blue Jays, who average 9.1 hits in games away from home. Playing NL opponents really brings the best out of the Toronto pitchers. They allow 3.4 runs per game against teams in the NL, which is lower than their season average of 4.5.
The only other game between the two teams went New York’s way. The Mets will take on a right-hander (Sanchez) in this game and have a 29-24 record against right-handed starting pitchers this season. The right-handed Harvey will take the mound against the Blue Jays, who have a 24-26 record against righty starters this season.
Predictions: SU Winner – TOR, O/U – Over
Notes
When leading after 7 innings, Toronto is 19-12, while New York is 16-12.
The Mets managed to give up five walks in their last game. They’ll have to pick it up against the Blue Jays who are coming in with an 11-2 record against opponents who give up that many walks or more.
When they are outhit, the Blue Jays are 4-23. The Mets have a 10-24 record when opponents outhit them.
New York ranks in the top half of the league at 14th when it comes to home runs, hitting 58 this season. Toronto ranks in the top five at third with 81.
Ranking 13th, New York is in the top half of the league in hits, notching 8.08 per game. Toronto ranks in the top five at second with 9.14.
Toronto tops the league for its on-base plus slugging percentage of .780 this season. New York ranks near the bottom at 24th with an OPS of .684.
When the Blue Jays allow at least one home run, they are 22-23, well-matched with the Mets who are 15-22 when allowing at least one homer.
