Written By: The Persian
The streaking New York Mets get set to take on the surging San Diego Padres in the second of a four-game set Friday night from Petco Park in San Diego, California. They toss out the first pitch at 9:40 pm, and both teams have had some nice wins lately.
Bookmaker has installed Padres - 140 ML.
The Mets have recently won games late and in dramatic fashion, including two of their best wins of the season over the Baltimore Orioles. They took two out of three from the Orioles, and both of those wins sent the home team into a frenzy. New York is making a late-season push toward the playoffs, and even though they will not catch the front-running Philadelphia Phillies, they do have a shot at one of the National League Wild Cards.
They entered Thursday night's action just 1 1/2 games back, and this makes this series all the more important because the Padres are also trying to secure a wild card spot. They are in a much better position than the Mets right now, but things can change over a week or so.
On offense, the Mets are led by several key players, including star shortstop Francisco Lindor, who has slugged 25 home runs while batting around .270. He has started to heat up over the last week, and his bat and glove could help this team reach the finish line. New York will hand the ball over to Paul Blackburn, who sports a mark of 1-1 with the Mets after being dealt to New York from Oakland. Overall, he is 5-3 on the season and carries an ERA of 4.05.
The Padres have been a frustrating team to watch over the last several seasons because they have the talent but have never been able to put it all together. That might be a different story this season, as they seem to be playing as a team and have a star-studded and powerful lineup that is crushing the ball.
They have several sluggers who will end the season with more than four players hitting 20 or more home runs. They are led by third baseman Manny Machado, who has hit 20 home runs, driven in 73 runs, and is hitting a solid .268. The Padres have hit over 145 home runs this season and are hitting .265.
They will toss out veteran hurler Joe Musgrave, who sports a mark of 3-4 in the season. He has not won since April 21st.
The Padres are 3-2 in their last five games and 3-2 in their last five games against the spread. They are also 37-25 in their road games against the spread. The totals have gone over four out of their last five games, and they have gone over 39 out of their last 64 games at home. The Mets are 3-2 in their last five games and 1-4 in their last five games against the spread.
