In the middle of a four-game losing streak, the New York Mets have now slid 11 games under-.500 and three games back of the Texas Rangers who they host in a brief two-game series starting on Tuesday. Both teams have their eyes towards the future with little to play for, other than pride, here in 2017.
This series will be contested from Tuesday, August 8, 2017 through Wednesday, August 9, 2017 at Citi Field in New York.
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Pitching Matchups
Based solely on the pitching matchups, things do not look good for the Mets in this series. With so many injuries, they’re forced to go with Chris Flexen and Rafael Montero and hope they can pitch better than they have recently.
Flexen pitches on Tuesday and will be making his first start at home. The 23-year old rookie right-hander has made two starts and is 0-1, allowing nine runs—eight earned—spread over just six innings of work. He’s lasted just three innings in each of his starts and, in his last appearances, managed to allow eight hits—including a homer—in those three frames.
The right-hander is not a top prospect and has been in the system for six seasons, but this year was the first that he advanced past Single-A. He made seven starts for Double-A Binghampton, going 6-1 with a 1.66 ERA and 0.719 WHIP. While a reasonably small sample size, the production caught the eye of the big club and here he is. We’ll see if he can start to make the adjustment.
As for Montero, the 26-year old has been on the Major-League radar for a few years, getting his debut back in 2014. He’s always had good stuff, but his command and control has been horrendous.
During his career, he’s 2-12 with a 5.44 ERA and 1.695 WHIP. This year, he’s 1-7 with a 5.78 ERA and 1.765 WHIP. He’s walking 4.6 per nine innings and has allowed eight homers in 62.1 innings.
There was a brief stretch last month where it looked as though Montero may have turned the corner, but he’s back to missing the zone. In his last two starts, he’s thrown 10.1 innings, allowing nine runs on 13 hits while walking six and allowing three long balls.
While the Mets turn to two struggling youngsters, the Rangers will give the ball to a couple more experienced arms: Andrew Cashner and A.J. Griffin.
Cashner gets the ball opposite Flexen on Tuesday. He’s been a real blessing for this team. He’s just 7-8, but his 3.36 ERA is tops in the rotation.
The righty has walked a few too many batters and has gotten a bit lucky given a miniscule 4.6 strikeouts per nine innings. Still, even with those peripherals, his FIP is 4.40 which is at least serviceable.
The 30-year old spent much of his career in the NL so he has experience against the Mets, but it hasn’t been good. He’s 0-3 with a 6.18 ERA against New York in nine appearances. Baseball, however, is more of a “what have you done for me lately” type of sport and he’s 3-0 with a 2.37 ERA in his last three games.
As for Griffin, the right-hander came off the DL to make his last start and he held the Twins to a single run in six innings. Unlike Cashner, Griffin has spent his career in the AL and this will be his first start against the Mets, though he’s done well historically in interleague play.
So, while his last start is good and his record against the NL is strong, his season has been more of a struggle. He’s 5-2, but his ERA is 5.20 and his FIP is 5.81. Unlike his counterpart in Montero, walks aren’t an issue for Griffin. In fact, his WHIP of 1.178 is quite low. The issue for Griffin has been the home run. He’s allowed 12 in just 45 innings.
Betting Trends
The Rangers have gone 3-4 since trading away Yu Darvish and singling to the league that they are throwing in the towel on 2017. Those games were against a competing Mariners team and a Twins team that went from buyers to sellers as the deadline passed.
Going back a bit further, Texas is 8-13 in its last 21 games, falling to five games under-.500.
The offense and the pitching have both been at fault during the skid. This team allowed 22 runs to Miami back on July 26 and has allowed six or more in five of the last eight games. Interestingly, however, in the other three games, the opposition scored one run each.
Overall, the bullpen has been spotty all season and the rotation is split. Cole Hamels and Cashner are solid, the rest bring plenty of questions.
At the dish, Rougned Odor has played better and is now of three players with at least 22 homers. Joey Gallo leads the way with 30 bombs. Interestingly, however, Odor’s .217 average is the highest of the batters with at least 20 long balls.
This team is power or bust with Shin-Soo Choo and Adrian Beltre the only ones with much OBP.
Flipping over to the Mets, this team has lost four straight, seven of eight and nine of 11. Ahmed Rosario at least gives fans something to watch, but he’s struggled in his first few games with the big club.
This team remains a dysfunctional mess and we could see players leave with Jay Bruce and Curtis Granderson clearing waivers.
Names to Remember
Wilmer Flores is better against southpaws than righties and, in an ideal world, would be a part-time player. He’s getting mostly every day at bats in New York and is hot right now.
He’s batting .298 since the break with five homers and a 1.006 OPS. His spot in the order is worth watching late in a game as the Rangers will need to be wear of sending a southpaw reliever against him. He could impact how Jeff Bannister manages his pen. If he’s not in the rotation, he could be a good pinch hit option against a tough lefty.
Odor and Napoli are still slugging, but their averages are down, but Gallos is hitting .258 since the break with nine homers and 16 RBIs. He has struck out 25 times in 62 at bats, but he’s hot otherwise.
Choo is probably the biggest player to keep an eye on. He’s got the best on-base potential on the team and has a .378 OBP since the break. That’s a skill set severely lacking in Texas and an important dynamic for the order.
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