Thursday night baseball and we will see the New York Mets travel west to take on the Los Angeles Dodgers in game 1 of their 4 game series. The game is scheduled for a 10:10 pm start time and it will be televised live on SNY (New York) and Prime Ticket (Los Angeles). Currently the odds have the Dodgers favored at -132, while the Mets are Dogs of +124. The total for the game sits at 7 runs.
Free Analysis: The Mets have been one pesky squad over the first half of the season and they have also been very streaky as well. New York has been up and down over the past month or so with a few wins followed by a few losses with this trend repeating itself. The NYM ended a four game skid with style as they overwhelmed the Cubs 17-1 on Wednesday. Even though Jonathan Niese received plenty of help, he didn't need it with one run allowed on eight hits over seven innings. The offense hammered out 16 hits while walking seven times with Daniel Murphy hammering a pair of long balls while Ike Davis and Scott Hairston connected on a grand slam. Wright had 5 RBI's in the win and is hitting .357 on the season, while reaching base safely in 24 of his past 25 games. His five RBI in the finale with the Cubs helped New York avoid a five-game slide for the first time since a six-game skid from last Sept. 10-15. The Mets will resume their road trip with Chris Young on the mound tonight. Young pitched well in a no-decision versus the New York Yankees in Saturday's 4-3 loss, as he permitted four hits in six innings. Young carried a two-hitter into the seventh inning before Raul Ibanez stroked a game-tying three-run homer. Young is 1-3 with a 6.23 ERA over his last five starts against the Dodgers, though he hasn't faced them since 2009. He surely won't be upset about missing Ethier, who's gone 12 for 29 with six homers in their matchups - the most Young has allowed to any player. The Los Angeles Dodgers couldn't get home any faster after suffering a three-game sweep at the hands of San Francisco and registering a 1-8 ledger on a recent road trip. Los Angeles was outscored by a 13-0 margin in its recent set with the Giants and dropped a 3-0 decision on Wednesday and they have now been held scoreless for 30 innings. Los Angeles (43-33) averaged 4.4 runs over its first 50 games but has plated just 3.2 per contest in going 11-15 since Kemp began his second DL stint May 31, and it will be harder for them now that Ethier is out as well. With its offense doing next to nothing, Los Angeles could surely use another gem from Capuano (9-2, 2.60 ERA). After going 11-12 with a 4.55 ERA last year with the Mets, Capuano has taken things to another level in his first season with the Dodgers. The left-hander has been especially good at Chavez Ravine, where he's compiled a 1.57 ERA and a 5-0 record over seven starts. He's allowed two runs or fewer in each of those outings while striking out 46 in as many innings. Facing his former team for the first time since leaving via free agency, Capuano will try for his first win over the Mets. He's defeated every other NL club at least once but went 0-4 with a 6.35 ERA in five career starts against New York while with Milwaukee from 2004-07.
Free Pick: I like the Over in this one. When the Mets have faced a lefty this year the OVER is 21-4, with 10.8 rpg being scored. The Over is also 40-11-3 in their last 54 road games and 21-6-1 in their last 28 road games vs a lefty. NY Has had some problems scoring at home, but on the road they have averaged 5.2 rpg. I expect the Mets to be one of the few team to tag Capuano for a few runs at Chavez Ravine. The Dodgers have been blanked for 3 games in a row, but that should end tonight. LA Hits .275 and they score 4.1 rpg at home, plus they will be facing Chris Young, who has a 6.23 ERA in his last 5 starts vs the Dodgers. Late runs could be given up here, especially by the Mets, who have the worst bull pen in the league with a 6.00 ERA on the road. I know the Dodgers have had problems scoring, but they will break out tonight, while the Met's will be good for a few off of Capuano. 8 or 9 in this one.
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