The Pittsburgh Pirates (55-89) and New York Mets (90-55) continue their 4-game series Friday. First pitch from Citi Field will be at 7:10 p.m. ET.
Season series: Mets lead 3-1
The Pirates dropped Thursday’s series opener 7-1, but they had just swept the Cincinnati Reds in a 4-game series to start the week. Pittsburgh has won 5 of its last 8 games but remains in the basement of the NL Central.
The Mets were shockingly swept by the Chicago Cubs in their last series, losing 3 straight games. Thursday’s win was a bounce-back victory and helped them maintain their 1-game lead over the Atlanta Braves in the NL East.
Pirates at Mets projected starters
RHP Mitch Keller vs. RHP Taijuan Walker
Keller (5-10, 4.01 ERA) makes his 26th start and 27th appearance. He has a 1.41 WHIP, 3.4 BB/9 and 7.6 K/9 through 137 IP.
- Has been excellent in his 2 starts in September, pitching 13-scoreless innings with 8 strikeouts and only 7 hits allowed
- The Pirates are just 4-8 in their last 12 games in which Keller pitched
Walker (11-4, 3.48 ERA) makes his 26th start. He has a 1.20 WHIP, 2.7 BB/9 and 7.1 K/9 through 134 2/3 IP.
- Held the Miami Marlins to only 1 earned run and tied a season-high with 10 strikeouts over 7 innings his last time out on the road Sunday
- The Mets are just 2-5 in his last 7 starts despite Walker only allowing more than 3 runs in 2 of those starts
Pirates at Mets odds
- Money line (ML): Pirates +210 (bet $100 to win $210) | Mets -270 (bet $270 to win $100)
- Run line (RL)/Against the spread (ATS): Pirates +1.5 (+100) | Mets -1.5 (-120)
- Over/Under (O/U): 7.5 (O: -120 | U: -105)
Pirates at Mets picks and predictions
Prediction
Mets 6, Pirates 3
Money line
The Mets are heavily favored in this game, as they should be. So much so that I’m not willing to bet on the money line where they’re -270. There simply isn’t enough potential reward for the risk.
PASS.
Run line/Against the spread
It’s hard to understand how the Mets got swept by the Cubs, and not a single one of those games were decided by 1 run. They looked much better on Thursday in their 7-1 win over Pittsburgh, and that should continue Friday with Walker on the mound.
As well as Keller has pitched for the Pirates in his last 2 starts — including a win over the Mets — New York boasts one of the best lineups in baseball and he only struck out 2 batters last time against the Mets.
Bet the METS -1.5 (-120) to cover.
Over/Under
The total just barely went over 7.5 runs last night as RHP Carlos Carrasco completely shut down the Pirates en route to a win. The total has gone Over in 3 of their 4 meetings this season, as well.
Bet the OVER 7.5 (-120) Friday.
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