Bet on baseball - Mets, Phillies square off for division lead
WHAT: Philadelphia Phillies at New York Mets
WHERE: Shea Stadium, July 22-24
HEAD TO HEAD: New York has won seven of its past 10 games against Philadelphia
KEY STAT: The Mets have won 11 of their last 13 games
MLB odds: Philadelphia Phillies at New York Mets
If you love betting on sports, you've probably noticed the Mets hit the All-Star break on absolute fire, winning 10 consecutive games. They cooled a bit over the weekend, dropping two of three against Cincinnati, but they've made up considerable ground. The sudden turnaround has New York at 53-46 and tied for the division lead, giving the online betting community renewed faith in its chances to win the National League pennant.
New York's offense is one of the NL's most potent. It was third in the league in runs heading into this week's action. Young superstars Jose Reyes (.300 AVG, 33 SB) and David Wright (.286 AVG, 19 HR) have found their grove, and Carlos Beltran (15 HR, 68 RBI) has shaken off a sluggish start. If you're going to bet on baseball, be aware that odds are the Mets will pile on a ton of runs in the second half of the season.
The pitching has been solid if unspectacular. The Mets have a 4.03 team ERA, ranked sixth. Highly touted acquisition Johan Santana (8-7) hasn't been as spectacular as many believed he'd be, but he's still been effective with a 3.10 ERA. Santana, John Maine and Oliver Perez are expected to pitch for New York.
The Phillies (53-46) are clearly worried about the Mets. They traded for Oakland starter Joe Blanton last week to shore up their pitching staff, which has a solid 3.93 ERA this season. Cole Hamels is still their go-to guy, though, and he's having another great year (9-6, 3.15 ERA). Blanton, Brett Myers and Jaime Moyer should pitch for Philadelphia.
The hitting is certainly there. Philadelphia was second in runs among NL teams as of Monday. Second baseman Chase Utley is having a monster season. He's already clubbed 25 home runs and should easily surpass his career high of 32. Ryan Howard's average is down, but he's still hitting bombs and is a second-half player anyway. It's a good bet his numbers should steadily improve.
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T.J. Kendrick is the biggest baseball nut and a brilliant MLB handicapper. His love of the game borders on obsession, and he takes every chance he gets to make excellent predictions, frequently contributing to industry handicapping sites as well as betonline.com. Thoughts or questions?
