Public Likes Marlins
Entering the season, the New York Mets were considered the favorite to win the NL East. They may not have expected the Florida Marlins to also be a major factor in the chase.
The division rivals meet for their second series in just over a week Friday night at Shea Stadium.
Oddsmakers from SBG Global have made New York -132 money line favorites (MLB Odds) for tonight’s game, the over/under has been set at 8.5 total runs (Matchup). Current public betting information shows that 54% of bets for this game have been placed on Florida +122 (View MLB Bet Percentages).
The Mets (60-54) are third in the East, one-half game behind the Marlins (61-54), who trail division-leading Philadelphia by 1 1/2 after beating the Phillies 3-0 on Thursday.
New York opened 2008 looking to overcome the memory of last season’s epic collapse. The club blew a seven-game division lead with 17 to play and missed the playoffs, conceding the East to Philadelphia on the final day of the season.
The Mets are still trying to move past that disappointment and hope David Wright has provided them with some momentum after hitting a two-run, two-out walk-off homer in a 5-3 win over San Diego on Thursday.
The third baseman went 3-for-5 after he made base-running blunders in each of the previous two games against the Padres and a costly error in Wednesday’s 4-2 loss.
"He was asking about some of the mental mistakes that I’ve made, and I told him it was a one-time deal and it wouldn’t happen again," Wright said of Mets manager Jerry Manuel’s concern over his recent play.
Wright is hitting .333 with one homer and seven RBIs to help the Mets to a 5-4 record against the Marlins this year. However, he went only 2-for-11 with an RBI in the last series against them, as New York dropped two of three at Miami from July 28-30.
Florida’s Ricky Nolasco (11-6, 3.91 ERA), the club’s leader in wins, opened that series by allowing two runs and seven hits with eight strikeouts while not getting the decision in a 7-3 win.
The right-hander followed up that performance with his best outing of the season, coming three outs shy of his first complete game while striking out a career-high 13 and yielding three runs and four hits in Saturday’s 5-3 win over Colorado.
"Everything was just clicking," Nolasco told the Marlins’ official Web site. "(When you’re in a groove,) your confidence level in every pitch that you throw is pretty good, and everything happens the way you actually picture it."
Nolasco is 2-0 with a 2.43 ERA and 28 strikeouts in 29 2-3 innings over his last four road starts. He’s won his last two outings at New York, posting a 3.60 ERA. Nolasco, though, has struggled when facing Wright, who is 8-for-16 with a homer against him.
Josh Willingham hopes another series against the Mets can help him shake out of a 1-for-13 slump. The left fielder went 5-for-9 with three doubles and an RBI in last week’s series. He’s batting .333 with three homers and 17 RBIs in 19 career games at Shea, and is 6-for-16 with two homers against Oliver Perez – Friday’s scheduled starter.
Perez (7-7, 4.12) looks to get some offensive help as he tries to avoid a second consecutive loss.
The left-hander was reached for four runs and eight hits in six innings of Sunday’s 4-0 loss at Houston, as the Mets stranded 11 runners.
That came after Perez went 2-1 with a 1.36 ERA and 44 strikeouts in 39 2-3 innings over his previous six starts. He capped off that stretch – which included a 1-0 record and 1.31 ERA in three games at Shea – with a strong outing at Florida on July 29, giving up one run and five hits with five strikeouts in six innings of a 4-1 victory.
Did you like this article? Subscribe to our Baseball news feed for the fastest updates delivered right to you – Click here to Subscribe