Clayton Kershaw is starting to pitch like a Cy Young Award winner once again.
That's terrible news for the horrid New York Mets (48-44 SU, +3.73 Units) offense on Thursday when they take on the Los Angeles Dodgers (53-40 SU, -7.68 Units).
PITCHING MATCHUP
In fairness to Kershaw, it was only a matter of time until either he really caught some fire and started to look like the man who had a 1.77 ERA last year or just got a little bit of help from the rest of his team.
As it turns out, the answer to that is both.
Kershaw has been just stupid in his last three starts, a run which started with – you guessed it – the Mets. The lefty did lose that day, but he allowed just five hits and one run over seven innings of work.
Since then, Kershaw has allowed just 11 hits over 17 innings, and he has yet to allow a run. Oh yes, and he has 27 strikeouts and no walks over that time.
Kershaw is good to throw 120 pitches if need be, so don't be afraid of fatigue wearing him down for live betting purposes.
The Mets haven't set their rotation yet for Thursday, but all signs are pointing towards Bartolo Colon being back on the mound.
Colon had 11 days between starts thanks to the All-Star break, but it just didn't matter for him in his first start back. He allowed seven runs in just 4.1 innings, and he uncharacteristically walked three batters in that start against the Cardinals.
Colon has now led the Mets to five straight losses, which has to be concerning for live bettors, but you'd like to think that he might get more run support soon. The righty has gotten a total of just four runs of help from his team in these last five starts.
ADVANCED STATS
Welcome to the problem that is the New York offense. As if facing Kershaw wasn't tough enough, the Mets have to come into this one off of a weekend in which they stranded 38 runners in three games.
As a team, New York is batting just .234 with an OPS of a miserable .662. The team's offensive rating per FanGraphs is a dreadful -50.5.
With men in scoring position, matters have been even worse. The Mets are batting just .234 with men on this year, and they have a grand total of 46 extra base hits over the course of 92 games with men in scoring range. Averaging just one half of an extra base hit with men in scoring position per game is dreadful, and it is one of the many reasons why New York is poison for live bettors in many instances unless the pitching staff is really on its game.
TALKING BULLPENS
The Dodgers may or may not need their bullpen in this game, but if they do, they had better pitch better than they have in their first few games of the second half of the year.
LA needed its relievers for a total of six frames in three games against the Nationals to kick off this road trip, and the group allowed six runs in that span, including a whopping three home runs.
The Mets don't have enough offensive firepower to really scare us in high leverage situations, but if the Dodgers don't get their bullpen worked out, they could spoil yet another great start by Kershaw in this one, the prospects of which has to frighten live bettors.
The MLB lines for this Thursday 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 Los Angeles Dodgers versus the New York Mets will commence Thursday, July 23, 2015 at 7:10 p.m. ET at Citi Field in Flushing, NY. You can watch the contest live on the MLB Network.
