MLB Betting: Moyer and Phillies Favored on Road at Mets
Just five games separate the Phillies on top of the NL East and the Mets in the division's basement. The two squads open a three-game set tonight at Citi Field.
While trying to get a handle on Tuesday's opener in New York between the Mets and Phillies, the old saying about parenting young teens came to mind: Raising teenagers is like trying to nail Jell-O to a tree.
Capping a baseball game is never easy, and it's not supposed to be. But this one has even more potential snags and pitfalls than normal.
Both Philadelphia and New York enter Tuesday's game playing inconsistently, with just five games separating the Phillies in first and Mets in last of the NL East. The Phils have lost two straight and four of their last six while the Mets enter on a two-game winning streak that masks the losses they have taken in eight of their last 12.
Add to that the two starting pitchers, Jamie Moyer (5-3, 4.30) and R.A. Dickey (0-1, 3.00), don't exactly send that warm, fuzzy feeling coursing through your veins. Not far from being a toss-up, early baseball odds listed the Phillies 120-125 chalk with the total set at nine.
The Mets start this series a game below .500 at 22-23 and down 1.5 units on the money line. New York has a very slight 22-20-3 lean to the 'over.'
Philadelphia begins nine games above par with a 26-17 record, though that has only translated to about 50¢ of black on the MLB betting odds front. The Phillies, despite boasting one of the top offenses in the majors, have been playing to the 'under at a 22-20-1 clip.
The Mets are Robert Allen Dickey's fifth MLB organization since the start of the 2006 season. To say he's never realized the potential the Rangers saw when they picked him 18th overall in 1996 would be a huge understatement.
The right-handed knuckler made his first start of the season last Wednesday in Washington and didn't fare too badly. Dickey tossed six frames, allowing two runs for a no-decision in New York's eventual 5-3 loss to the Nats.
He's never faced the Phillies though a few of their hitters such as Placido Polanco and Raul Ibañez did see Dickey when they were all on the Junior Circuit side of the fence. One thing that could be working against him is the Phillies just saw Tim Wakefield's knuckleball on Sunday. Then again, Wakefield's flutter baffled the Phils, so we'll see if they did learn anything from that experience.
Moyer has faced just about everyone except the Brooklyn Dodgers and Milwaukee Braves during his career. The 47-year-old southpaw also pitched last Wednesday, and did a good job at the Cubs with seven innings of two-run work. Chicago won the game, 4-1.
Philadelphia was 3-2 in Moyer's five starts against New York a year ago. He had one very bad outing at Citi Field early in the season, surrendering three long balls among the seven runs he allowed in 2 1/3 innings. His 2009 totals versus the Mets were 27 2/3 innings and 21 earned runs.
Both teams will have key players missing from this game and the series. Jimmy Rollins, who missed 30 games earlier this year with a calf injury, is back on the DL with a new calf strain. The Phillies are also without relievers Brad Lidge and Ryan Madson, plus starter J.A. Happ.
New York has been minus outfielder Carlos Beltran (right knee) since the start of the season, and recently added starting pitcher John Maine to the DL with what has been diagnosed as tendinitis of the rotator cuff. Dickey is currently plugged into Maine's rotation slot.
All signs point to near-perfect baseball weather on Tuesday in Queens. A few daytime clouds should give way to clear skies and a first-pitch temp in the low-to-mid 70s. There will be a little bit of a southwest breeze (blowing out to center, right-center).
NOTE: The W-L records shown for starting pitchers are their team's W-L mark when they started games in the 2010 season. Statistical sources for this article were Retrosheet.org, Baseball-Reference.com, ESPN.com and, of course, S-BEE-R-dot-com!
Just five games separate the Phillies on top of the NL East and the Mets in the division's basement. The two squads open a three-game set tonight at Citi Field.
While trying to get a handle on Tuesday's opener in New York between the Mets and Phillies, the old saying about parenting young teens came to mind: Raising teenagers is like trying to nail Jell-O to a tree.
Capping a baseball game is never easy, and it's not supposed to be. But this one has even more potential snags and pitfalls than normal.
Both Philadelphia and New York enter Tuesday's game playing inconsistently, with just five games separating the Phillies in first and Mets in last of the NL East. The Phils have lost two straight and four of their last six while the Mets enter on a two-game winning streak that masks the losses they have taken in eight of their last 12.
Add to that the two starting pitchers, Jamie Moyer (5-3, 4.30) and R.A. Dickey (0-1, 3.00), don't exactly send that warm, fuzzy feeling coursing through your veins. Not far from being a toss-up, early baseball odds listed the Phillies 120-125 chalk with the total set at nine.
The Mets start this series a game below .500 at 22-23 and down 1.5 units on the money line. New York has a very slight 22-20-3 lean to the 'over.'
Philadelphia begins nine games above par with a 26-17 record, though that has only translated to about 50¢ of black on the MLB betting odds front. The Phillies, despite boasting one of the top offenses in the majors, have been playing to the 'under at a 22-20-1 clip.
The Mets are Robert Allen Dickey's fifth MLB organization since the start of the 2006 season. To say he's never realized the potential the Rangers saw when they picked him 18th overall in 1996 would be a huge understatement.
The right-handed knuckler made his first start of the season last Wednesday in Washington and didn't fare too badly. Dickey tossed six frames, allowing two runs for a no-decision in New York's eventual 5-3 loss to the Nats.
He's never faced the Phillies though a few of their hitters such as Placido Polanco and Raul Ibañez did see Dickey when they were all on the Junior Circuit side of the fence. One thing that could be working against him is the Phillies just saw Tim Wakefield's knuckleball on Sunday. Then again, Wakefield's flutter baffled the Phils, so we'll see if they did learn anything from that experience.
Moyer has faced just about everyone except the Brooklyn Dodgers and Milwaukee Braves during his career. The 47-year-old southpaw also pitched last Wednesday, and did a good job at the Cubs with seven innings of two-run work. Chicago won the game, 4-1.
Philadelphia was 3-2 in Moyer's five starts against New York a year ago. He had one very bad outing at Citi Field early in the season, surrendering three long balls among the seven runs he allowed in 2 1/3 innings. His 2009 totals versus the Mets were 27 2/3 innings and 21 earned runs.
Both teams will have key players missing from this game and the series. Jimmy Rollins, who missed 30 games earlier this year with a calf injury, is back on the DL with a new calf strain. The Phillies are also without relievers Brad Lidge and Ryan Madson, plus starter J.A. Happ.
New York has been minus outfielder Carlos Beltran (right knee) since the start of the season, and recently added starting pitcher John Maine to the DL with what has been diagnosed as tendinitis of the rotator cuff. Dickey is currently plugged into Maine's rotation slot.
All signs point to near-perfect baseball weather on Tuesday in Queens. A few daytime clouds should give way to clear skies and a first-pitch temp in the low-to-mid 70s. There will be a little bit of a southwest breeze (blowing out to center, right-center).
NOTE: The W-L records shown for starting pitchers are their team's W-L mark when they started games in the 2010 season. Statistical sources for this article were Retrosheet.org, Baseball-Reference.com, ESPN.com and, of course, S-BEE-R-dot-com!
