On Thursday night the New York Mets travel to take on the Cincinnati Reds in National League baseball action. The game is scheduled for a 7:10 p.m. EST start time and it will be televised nationally on MLB.tv. Currently the odds have the Reds as a pretty heavy favorite at -145 (Risk $145 to win $100).
The Reds beat up on the knuckle-ball ace of the Mets, R.A. Dickey, on Wednesday night and picked up the win. The Reds have been pretty solid all season, winning 71 games so far this year, which is second in the National League and second overall in Major League Baseball behind the Washington Nationals. Jay Bruce has hit a home run in three straight games for Cincinnati. If Bruce goes deep tonight, he will become the first Cincinnati player with a pair of four-game home run streaks in the same season since Johnny Bench in 1972. The Reds, with a win tonight, will be looking to post their fifth winning streak of at least six games this season. That's pretty impressive. Mike Leake pitched a solid four-hitter for Cincinnati on Wednesday night as the Reds clobbered the Mets. What's crazy about the Reds is that they are 21-8 since All-Star first baseman Joey Votto was sidelined with an injury this season. Hard to believe they are playing so well without the best hitter in the National League and their superstar. Homer Bailey (10-7, 4.08 ERA) gets the start for Cincinnati. He has given up 14 runs and 27 hits in 14 innings over his last three starts. The Mets (55-62) were outscored 23-6 during a five-game losing streak to the Mets, including a three-game sweep June 15-17. New York hasn't been able to plate more than three runs in any of those contests, and has totaled 10 runs while dropping four of five overall. Rookie Matt Harvey (1-3, 3.63) gets the start for the Mets, and he hasn't been sharp or bad yet this season. He's obviously still a work in progress for the Mets. Tonight will be a good indication of whether or not he can get it done against a great lineup.
Free Pick: We like the Reds in this game. They have been playing well all season and a win today would help bolster them for the next run heading into the bottom part of August. The Reds have been streaky good this season and we're expecting that to continue tonight. We think Harvey is going to be a pretty good talent overall, but we're going to fade him tonight in a big game for the home town Reds. Play Cincinnati.
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