Frank Lorenzo
New York Mets (+130) at San Francisco Giants (-140, 7 o/u)
The New York Mets (43-41, 14-27 Away), winners of their last two, will send veteran Bartolo Colon (9-6, 4.55 ERA) to the mound tonight against the San Francisco Giants (42-42, 21-21 Home) hoping to make it three straight (10:15 PM Eastern at AT&T Park).
The Mets, who have struggled mightily away from home all year, are showing signs of life on the road, taking three of four on their current western road trip. New York’s pitching has continued to impress, posting back to back shutouts (8-0 over the Dodgers on Sunday and 3-0 over the Giants last night). The team’s recent run has helped cut the Nationals’ lead to just 3.5-games in the NL East.
“We don’t play well on the West Coast, so to get off to a great start on this road trip is huge for us,” Mets manager Terry Collins said to the Associated Press. “It looks like we’re starting to get some breaks.”
Like most of New York’s starting rotation, Bartolo Colon was spectacular last time he was on the mound, going 7.0 innings, giving up three hits, and no runs while striking out eight against the Cubs. Unfortunately, the 42-year-old received no support from the offense and wound up with a no-decision in a 2-0 Mets loss.
On the other side, the San Francisco Giants will start Matt Cain (0-1, 9.00 ERA). The defending World Series champs are looking for any sort of spark to halt their seven-game losing streak. Cain is making his second start since returning from shoulder surgery, and is looking to improve on his first outing where he allowed five runs over five innings to the Marlins.
“I think he should be encouraged,” Giants manager Bruce Bochy told MLB’s official website. “His first four innings, I thought he was pretty good. He’s going to get better, building up his strength and stamina. He looks healthy, I’ll say that.”
The Giants will end their losing streak at some point, but there’s value on the Mets tonight. Colon’s last outing was very encouraging and Cain is still a long ways away from his All-Star form of 2012. Roll with the hot team on the road tonight.
Pick: NY Mets +130.
(Photo Credit: slgckgc on Flickr (Original version) UCinternational (Crop) [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons.)
