Oakland Athletics at New York Mets Season Preview and Odds
Mets Are In A Funk
It’s tough to use an unfavorable travel schedule as an excuse in the Major Leagues but, in the Mets’ case, they may be able to point to it as a reason for their recent issues.
New York is coming off a sweep at the hands of the Seattle Mariners, which capped a 10-day, 10-game cross-country trip in four different cities (and four different time zones). They went 4-6 on the trip and got a much-needed day off on Monday before the pesky Oakland Athletics come to town for a three-game set starting Tuesday.
If you’re making A’s vs Mets best picks, the Mets are -175 moneyline favorites and +110 runline favorites in the opener. The total is 8.5 runs.
The Mets laid a complete egg in Seattle over the weekend as they got outscored 22-1 and went the first 23 innings of the series before scoring their only run. The starting pitching also struggled against a Mariners team with one of the worst offenses in baseball.
It was ugly all-around and sunk New York out of a playoff spot in the congested National League Wild Card race. The hope for their MLB playoff odds is that coming back home, and getting some rest, will help them regroup.
While the A’s are far out of postseason contention, they have become a competitive team that has played pretty well in the second half.
Oakland has won consecutive series, boasts one of baseball’s best power hitters in Brent Rooker, and has some intriguing young arms in the rotation and bullpen.
Oakland Athletics vs New York Mets 
Day/Time:
Location: Citi Field, Flushing, New York
Streaming: MLB
Blackburn Has Been Nice Add To Mets’ Rotation
One of the A’s vs Mets best picks you can take is that new Met — and former Oakland starter — Paul Blackburn will pitch around six innings and keep his old team guessing as to what pitch is coming next.
Since being traded to New York at the deadline two weeks ago, Blackburn has been exactly what the Mets needed. He tossed six innings of one-run ball in each of his first two starts, both Mets wins, and has been a consistent member of a solid yet unspectacular New York rotation.
Granted, this will be his first home start since joining the orange-and-blue, and it’s always difficult to pitch against your former team, especially just a couple of weeks after being traded away.
The A’s’ batters know Blackburn as well as anyone, and they’ll certainly try to use that inside information to their advantage. The counter that Blackburn can use is that he regularly throws as many as six pitches and has gotten early plaudits from his new teammates for his pitch variability and unpredictability.
Oakland, as discussed below, does have a dangerous offense and it’s usually a MLB best bet to expect the A’s to score runs in bunches when they get rolling. It’s not like Blackburn is a huge strikeout guy either, but he usually finds a way to keep his team in games.
For the struggling Mets, that’s what they need more than anything right now.
A’s Hit Lots Of Homers
Oakland is in the bottom five in baseball in most offensive categories, but the A’s are fifth in home runs, which is how they produce most of their offense.
The A’s vs Mets best picks for Oakland revolve around Mark Kotsay’s team going deep a bunch against a Mets staff with a rotation that is good at preventing the long ball and a bullpen that is bad at doing so.
The Mets are particularly bad at preventing walks — their rotation has the highest walk rate in the Majors, and their bullpen has the third-highest walk rate — which, coupled with the A’s’ propensity to go yard, could bode well for Oakland.
With how much the New York offense has struggled lately, and the various injuries to key Mets relievers, that has to be the gameplan for the A’s. They might not need a ton of runs to win.
It doesn’t help Oakland’s cause for Tuesday’s opener that Ross Stripling, with a 5.72 ERA and an exorbitant hit rate (and minuscule strikeout rate), is starting for the A’s opposite Blackburn.
Stripling has been a useful arm throughout his career, but he is having a rough year, and he could be the type of pitcher the Mets’ moribund bats could get going against.
Side With Mets To Win Big[/tie_index>Side With Mets To Win Big
One of the better free MLB picks for today is to take the Mets to cover the -1.5 runline as +110 favorites. They looked exhausted toward the end of their recent trip and should look much better after a day off and with the solid Blackburn on the mound.
As noted above, Oakland is not a pushover in any way, but their rotation is rough, and Stripling has been a major culprit in its ineffectiveness. For that reason, the over 8.5 runs (-110) is also a good take.
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