Any time the Dark Knight is on the mound, New York Mets (20-14, +6.65 Units) fans are going to flock to Citi Field. In this case, the cameras will be rolling as well on ESPN's Monday Night Baseball, as the Metropolitans will duke it out with the St. Louis Cardinals (23-10 SU, +11.79 Units).
ODDS ANALYSIS
With as well as Matt Harvey has pitched this year, this is going to be a rare instance where the Cardinals are underdogs.
Coming into play on Thursday, the Cards are just 5-5 on the season as underdogs, and they are only up 0.22 units to show for their work. It's as a favorite that St. Louis is really tearing it up this season.
PITCHING MATCHUP
Harvey is 5-1 with a 2.31 ERA, and is proving that he is clearly over his Tommy John Surgery which cost him all of last season.
Harvey has three games this year out of seven in which he hasn’t allowed a single run to cross the plate, and his worst start saw him allow just four runs over six innings.
John Lackey actually has reasonable numbers this year as well with a 3.22 ERA and 30 strikeouts against just 14 walks, but he doesn't get nearly the same praise as Harvey.
The righty has just one iffy start to his credit this year, but we have to remember that he has made most of his starts at home. On the road, Lackey is just 0-1 with a 5.82 ERA and a 1.47 WHIP in 2015.
QUOTE TO NOTE
"Good teams are going to pick up on that… For us, going into this game, we definitely wanted to mix things up a little bit more and found that it was pretty successful doing that." – Mets starter Matt Harvey on why he started throwing first pitch breaking balls against the Cubs in his last start on Wednesday
SITUATIONAL BETTING
The only sin here for the Mets is that they aren't going to let Harvey really go deep into games. He has been capped at 107 pitches this season, and he has only gone past 95 twice. That means that the bullpen is going to be called into play quite a bit.
History will tell you that's a good thing. The New York pen blew the game for him on Wednesday against the Cubs, but when Harvey has been on the mound, the Mets have allowed six runs over 16.1 innings of work this year.
PROP TALK
We now know that the Cardinals are really prone to big time strikeout numbers. They were struck out 19 times against the Indians on Wednesday night in a masterful performance by Corey Kluber, and that raises them up to 7.4 strikeouts per game on the season. Harvey could be in for a big strikeout day in this one, and you don't want to miss out.
ANALYSIS AND PREDICTION
That said, we still think that the Cardinals are the right side. The New York bullpen hasn't been great with Harvey on the mound, and the Cards have one of the best pens in the game.
Lackey is an underappreciated pitcher on a regular basis, and we think that he is ready to really shine in this game on national television against the Dark Knight.
St. Louis 4, New York 3
The baseball betting odds for this Monday game will first be available at BookMaker Sportsbook. BookMaker is going to have multiple betting options available for this televised baseball matchup. Live wagering during commercials offers an adjusted moneyline, individual inning run totals and next hitter results. Log in and start gambling during the game now!
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 or tablet. Don't miss out on getting paid because you couldn't bet. Click here and deposit at BookMaker now! The duel between the St. Louis Cardinals and the New York Mets will take place Monday, May 18, 2015 at 7:10 p.m. ET at Citi Field in Flushing, NY. Catch the action live on ESPN's Monday Night Baseball.
