The New York Mets might be sporting a 41-18 home record, and they might be 10-games above .500 at 62-52 with a legitimate chance to win the NL East, but they have had a miserable history against the Pittsburgh Pirates, a 65-46 team which figures to put up a great fight in Flushing on Sunday.
PITCHING MATCHUP
It’s just so hard to want to live bet on the Pirates in this one, knowing that the time is going to come when Jeff Locke is going to give up some runs. It's entirely plausible that Matt Harvey, the man Locke is facing, could get through seven scoreless innings without batting an eyelash. You know that Locke doesn't have that capability.
In his last five starts, Locke has allowed four, four, three, four and three runs, and he has walked three, one, three, three and two batters. It's all very predictable, and even though the Mets don't hit the ball well against lefties at just .226 for the season, they're capable of scoring some runs against anyone the way they're hitting the baseball.
There's one concern and one concern only over the way Harvey is pitching right now. There's a point that the Mets will want to try their best to conserve him for the postseason, which could limit his pitches.
Good news for Harvey though, is that he hasn't had a game in which he has needed more than 14.4 pitches per inning since July 11. In that span, he has an ERA of 1.44, and he hasn't concede more than two runs in any start, throwing at least seven innings each time.
Harvey has allowed just six hits in 15 innings in his last two outings, and he hasn't walked a batter. He's a live bettors dream, but he's also a potential nightmare waiting to happen too, knowing that he is bound to start allowing some runs at some point.
ADVANCED STATS
We'd be lying just a bit if we said we weren't concerned with Starling Marte getting hurt on Wednesday night for the Pirates. Whether he is going to be forced onto the disabled list or not remains to be seen, and there's a good chance that he is going to get right back out there before the weekend even starts.
Still, live bettors need to take note of this. Marte's a 20/20 type of guy, and his ISO of .157 makes him incredibly dangerous. He's not Andrew McCutchen, who has a stunning ISO of .210, but Marte, when he gets the bat on the ball, can be a difference-maker for live bettors against anyone, even the great Harvey.
TALKING BULLPENS
You just get the feeling that the five-inning outing is coming at some point for Harvey, and when it does, live bettors are going to be cringing.
The Mets can pitch in their bullpen for sure. Tyler Clippard was a nice addition at the trading deadline, while Eric O'Flaherty isn't as bad as his 15.43 ERA suggests he is in his first 2.1 innings of work with his new team.
However, there are some real problems here. Jeurys Familia has all of a sudden forgotten where the strike zone is, working a ton of deep counts, while the middle innings are becoming a chore as well with Jenrry Mejia suspended and Jerry Blevins out for the year.
Pittsburgh is a team which thrives off of situations like these, and if the Mets are going to drop this one at home, live bettors should know there's a good chance it happens in the dying frames.
The MLB lines for this Sunday contest will first be released by BookMaker Sportsbook. Gamble on the game between every half inning with BookMaker's live betting feature. Along with an adjusted in-game moneyline, you can wager on what will happen in the next at-bat or how many runs will be scored in the next inning. Live betting is the most exciting way to play!
Need to fund your account before the big game but don't have your computer? No problem! BookMaker Sportsbook now offers a mobile betting cashier so you can deposit money directly from your smartphone. Don't miss out on getting paid because you couldn't bet. Click here, and deposit at BookMaker now! The ballgame pitting the Pittsburgh Pirates versus the New York Mets will commence Sunday, August 16, 2015 at 1:10 p.m. ET at Citi Field in Flushing, NY. You can watch the contest live on TBS.
