PORT PORT SPORTS
TORONTO BLUE JAYS (-125)
Such a strange set of stats for today’s starter for the Blue Jays Hutchinson, as he comes into today’s meeting with a 13-3 record in 2015 (impressive) with a balky 5.07 ERA (unimpressive) and could be the first pitcher since James Shields in 2010 to win at least 13 games and compile an ERA over 5. He has benefitted largely from his offense behind him, as Toronto has provided the youngster with a monster 8.14 RPG when he takes the hill. He has been absolutely rocked by the Red Sox through 3 meetings this season, holding an 11.91 ERA in those outings, although the Blue Jays have won all 3 of those starts. All the money will most likely be on Joe Kelly here though, as the Red Sox hurler has now posted a 7-0 mark in his L7 starts, while holding an impressive 2.72 ERA in that span. Kelly has allowed 2 runs or less in each of his L6 starts overall, although that most likely won’t be the case here today. Toronto has hit him pretty well in their previous meetings also, with Kelly holding an 0-1 record and 7.64 ERA in his 3 starts against the team from Canada this season. Even bigger problem for him is the Blue Jays have revamped their roster and exploded since then, posting a 29-8 ML record in their L37 games. They have been money when playing on the road lately as well, with a 9-3 ML tally on the road in their L12 away from home and an equally impressive 10-4 ML in their L14 as the road favorite. Hutchison is a near-perfect 9-1 ML in his 10 starts against division opponents this season, while Kelly is 2-12 ML when pitching on Wednesday in his career. Over the L2 seasons, Boston has been dreadful against winning teams in the 2nd half, going 14-28 ML in those games. Take the TORONTO BLUE JAYS in today’s meeting……..
NEW YORK METS (-105)
What can you say about these Mets? They rallied back from 6 runs down yesterday to erase a 7-1 lead and finished off the Nats with an 8-7 win. That pushed their record to a red hot 13-5 ML in their L18 and they are seeing their 6th straight win against the Nats today, which would mark their longest winning streak against the franchise since way back in 1991 when the Nats were named the Expos. The Mets roll out budding young superstar, deGrom, on the mound for this one and he has been in a bit of a funk lately, going 0-1 with a 6.75 ERA in his L3 outings. He posted his lone win against the Nationals in a 7-2 road victory back in July, and the phenom has been money on the road as of late. He is 4-0 with a 2.82 ERA in his L7 outings away from home, allowing 2 runs or fewer in 5 of those starts. Since the All-Star break, Washington has failed to handle the better teams in the league, posting a 9-20 ML versus a team with a winning record. New York on the other hand has been absolutely money when playing against division opponents this season, with a dominating 39-20 ML record in those games. And they have shown up when the games count in recent seasons, unfortunately, they have just never been big games for them. But the Mets have out together an 18-12 ML mark in the L3 seasons when playing a winning team during the month of September. As for Strasburg, he’s 14-20 ML over the L3 seasons when he squares off against a team with a winning record. Take the NEW YORK METS in this one…….