New York Mets at Florida Marlins Betting Odds
Opening Moneyline: Mets -160/ Marlins -170 O/U 7 runs
Game Time:Time: 7:10 PM EST Friday April 1, 2011
This is the first game of the season for both teams and both would love to get off to a good start. Not much is expected for these teams this season, especially since the other teams in the NL East of the Phillies and the Braves are expected to battle it out for the division crown. However, the Mets still have talent and the Marlins have a bunch of young guys with tons of potential.
Both teams played pretty well in the Grapefruit League in spring training with the Mets going 17-15 and the Marlins going 15-15.
Since this is the opening game for both teams all stats are from last season.
Taking the mound for the Marlins is Josh Johnson (11-6 2.30 ERA) and for the Mets is Mike Pelfrey (15-9 3.66 ERA). Last season the Marlins were only 1-4 in Johnson’s last 5 starts and the Mets were only 1-6 in Pelfry’s last 7 road starts.
Johnson was on fire last season, but he did not get much run support and he was shelved for the latter part of the season with injuries. If he is healthy he has a chance to be an ace. If he can hold the Mets to a low score Florida will be in good shape since the Marlins have one of the best bullpens in the Majors.
The Mets begin the season behind the 8-ball with Ace Johan Santana out for until the summer with a shoulder injury and Jason Bay beginning the season on the 15-day DL. However, Carlos Beltran is expected to play, but he has knee issues heading into the season. David Wright will be counted on for a lot of offense and last season he led the Mets in HR, RBI, and runs. The Mets will likely need a good outing from Pelfry, as they only ranked 24th in the league in runs scored last season.
The Marlins may have to rely on pitching and defense more this season since slugger Dan Uggla signed with the Braves in the off-season. Last season the 2B led the Marlins in HR, RBI, and runs.
Florida has a very exciting young outfield with Mike Stanton, Logan Morrison and Chris Coghlan and all of these guys may be future stars. Stanton hit 22 HR as a rookie last season and Morrison and Coghlan were moved to the outfield since their bats were just too good to keep out of the lineup and last season both made the All Star team in the minors.
Hanley Ramirez is the lone star for the Marlins and last season he hit .300 with 21 HR and 76 RBI in 142 games last season. He will have to get off to a good start this season or it may be a long one in South Beach.
In a couple of interesting betting trends from last season the Mets lost their last 4 games against the Marlins and they have only won 1 game in their last 9 in Florida.
Our Selection : The Mets starter M. Pelfrey has a poor overall record versus the Marlins, but many of those losses came early in his career. The Mets are 2-2 in his last four starts against Florida and Pelfrey looked pretty solid late last season with 5 straight quality starts. Take the NY Mets +160 at 5Dimes using their reduced MLB betting lines.
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