The Mets improved on their poor road record, going 8-1 on a just completed road trip by winning the final seven. New York is 18-6 since Aug. 1, helping them pull away from the Nationals in the NL East race. Boston’s Joe Kelly is in a groove winning his last five starts, salvaging his sorry season.
ODDS ANALYSIS
The Red Sox took a punch in the gut on August 14 when manager John Farrell announced that he had lymphoma and would miss the rest of the season. The Sox improved to 8-5 under interim manager Torey Luvollo following Wednesday’s 3-0 blanking of the White Sox, up 4.43 units on the moneyline in that time. Their recent run moved the Red Sox out of the cellar in the American League as they attempt to fend off the Athletics for the worst record. The Sox enter the weekend tied with the A’s for the fewest road wins in the AL and are in the red 10.02 units in games away from Fenway Park. The Red Sox are bringing the bats when Joe Kelly pitches, scoring 8.7 runs per game in his last six turns with the over at 5-0-1 in that stretch. They’ll face a stiff test against Jacob deGrom and the Mets.
PITCHING MATCHUP
Joe Kelly (7-6, 5.18 ERA) has finally gotten on a roll, winning his last five starts. He limited the White Sox to two runs in 7.1 innings on Monday, pitching into the eighth for the first time all season. He’s been much better of late, holding a 1.82 ERA over his last four starts. It also helps that the Sox are averaging 8.7 runs in his last six turns.
This is Kelly’s first start at Citi Field. He has a 2.08 ERA in three appearances against the Mets, just one of which was a start.
Apparently Jacob deGrom (12-6, 2.29 ERA) was dealing with a bout of food poisoning during his start Monday. That explains why he pitched so poorly, yielding seven runs – six earned – in 2.2 innings against the Phillies in the shortest start of his career. DeGrom saw his ERA jump from 1.98 to 2.29 following the game, still the fourth-lowest in the NL.
DeGrom owns a sparkling 1.46 ERA and 0.91 WHIP over 80 innings of 12 home starts. He’s surrendered just 58 hits with 86 strikeouts while going 6-2 at Citi Field. He faces the Red Sox for the first time.
QUOTE TO NOTE
“He’s doubling up his secondary stuff, sometimes tripling up with his secondary stuff, and that’s a key for him. A big league hitter can get wood on a bullet. Joe throws a 97, 99-mph fastball, and if you know it’s coming, you know these guys are going to attack it. He’s able to show there’s a quality secondary pitch there and keep everybody off balance.” – Red Sox interim manager Torey Lovullo on the evolution of Joe Kelly
LIVE BETTING or SITUATIONAL BETTING
Travis Shaw has inserted himself into the Red Sox first base conversation. With all the talk about transitioning Hanley Ramirez to first base for 2016, Shaw’s play in the last month has been overlooked. Wednesday night he belted a two-run home run, giving him seven homers in 93 at-bats. That’s an average of one home run every 13.3 at-bats, an impressive ratio for anyone – much less a rookie. Shaw is hardly the first rookie to post impressive number in a relatively small sample size. In a week or two, pitchers could catch up to him, make adjustments, and he could be overmatched. But this audition has been impressive and suggests that perhaps there’s more to Shaw than many expected.
PROP TALK
The Mets set a franchise record for home runs in a month and extended that number with three more long balls Thursday in Philadelphia. The homers in the series finale with the Phillies gave the Mets 43 for the month of August. They pace the Major Leagues in homers since July 25, averaging nearly two per game. Yoenis Cespedes leads the charge with eight homers this month, followed by Curtis Granderson with six and Travis d’Arnaud with five.
ANALYSIS AND PREDICTION
For those who’ve had food poisoning, you know how difficult it is to do anything, let alone pitch in a Major League baseball game. Knowing what deGrom was battling tells us a lot about why he struggled in his last outing. The kid is over it, had an IV earlier in the week to treat his dehydration and should be back to his dominant self, and that’s not what the Red Sox want to hear. DeGrom has put together a fantastic season and his numbers are even better at Citi Field. It’s hard to go against the Mets in this one, even if the Red Sox are playing a bit better.
New York 6, Boston 2
The MLB odds for this game will be available first at BookMaker Sportsbook. Since this game can be seen by anyone with a TV, BookMaker will have a multitude of wagering options available for it. Outside of the normal lines, you can gamble on real-time moneylines, player props and inning totals. Live betting is open during every commercial break!
Load your betting bankroll from your smartphone with BookMaker’s new cashier feature! Depositing and withdrawing funds from your account has never been easier. BookMaker's live betting platform means you always have access to odds and lines to every sporting event. Click here and start wagering today! First pitch for the game between the Boston Red Sox and New York Mets is scheduled for Saturday, August 29, 2015, at 4:05 p.m. ET at Citi Field. The contest will be televised nationally on FS1.
