The New York Yankees are battling for first place in the American League East. The New York Mets are in last place in the National League East. Clearly, the chance of a World Series between two teams connected by a subway ride is unlikely. Instead, we’ll get a taste of their regular season matchup as interleague play begins this weekend.
The Story Before You Bet The Yankees Or Mets
The New York Yankees have been one of the best teams in baseball this year but online betting fans know that right now, they are not at full strength. The Yankees are battling a ton of injuries right now, including a third of their regular lineup (Curtis Granderson, Jorge Posada and Nick Johnson). On top of that, the Yankees are already without Nick Swisher and Alfredo Aceves. That’s contributed to losses in five of their last eight games.
Meanwhile, MLB betting fans know that the Mets have been even worse and they don’t even have injuries to blame. They have lost seven of their last eight games and they are one of the worst-hitting teams in the Majors, even though they have the likes of Jose Reyes, Jason Bay and David Wright. Speaking of the latter, Wright leads the Majors with 55 strikeouts so far.
New York Yankees @ New York Mets
Javier Vazquez vs Hisanori Takahashi
Friday, 7:10 PM ET
One start after coming out of the bullpen, Javier Vazquez will get another start as he goes up against Hisanori Takahashi. Meanwhile, Takahashi will be making his first Major League start.
What does that add up to? Probably a high-scoring affair.
Vazquez has been rocked regularly as a Yankees starter, posting an ERA of 8.01 this season. Maybe facing a National League team will remind him of how well he pitched in there last year but he has been awful as a member of the Yankees staff this year.
As for Takahashi, he has been very effective out of the bullpen so far. He’s given up just nine earned runs in 26 innings pitched with 33 strikeouts and 14 walks.
It should be an interesting contest with some pitching dynamics in play on Friday night.
Free Pick: Bet the Mets
New York Yankees @ New York Mets
Phil Hughes vs Mike Pelfrey
Saturday, 7:10 PM ET
Saturday’s matchup between Hughes and Pelfrey is going to be a fantastic matchup as the two pitchers have been fantastic this year.
Combined, they are 10-1 while Hughes is fourth in the American League in earned run average.
Pelfrey’s 5-1 record is a bit misleading as he consistently gets good run support. In May, he’s just 1-1 and he’s given up 15 earned runs in his last four starts – 24.2 innings pitched – which brings his ERA this month to 5.58.
Meanwhile, Hughes is also coming off a rough outing where he gave up five earned runs in five innings against the Red Sox. The entire rest of the season, Hughes had given up just six earned runs in his other 39 innings pitched.
Look for Hughes to bounce back as he has been tough to beat all season.
Free Pick: Bet the Yankees
New York Yankees @ New York Mets
C.C. Sabathia vs Johan Santana
Sunday, 8:10 PM ET
In the feature matchup on Sunday night, the two teams from New York will send their aces to the mound and sports betting fans will be in for a treat.
Aside from two rough outings, Sabathia has been unhittable for the Yankees this year. Aside from one bad start against Detroit and Boston, Sabathia has given up just 12 earned runs in 49 innings pitched (2.20 ERA).
Meanwhile, Santana has been virtually the same. He had two bad outings, which resulted in 15 earned runs in 8.2 innings pitched, but in his other starts, Santana has allowed just eight earned runs in his other 47 innings pitched (1.53 ERA).
Expect a pitcher’s duel in this one and while the under might be the play, expect the Mets to earn at least one win in this series.
Free Pick: Bet the Mets
