The Yankees and Mets battle in MLB betting on Saturday night in the second game of their three-game series. The Yankees may actually be road favorites in baseball betting in this game since Phil Hughes is expected to be on the mound. He has been the best pitcher this season for the Yankees going 5-0. MLB betting odds normally favor the Yankees regardless of whether they are at home or on the road. This is technically a road game although the Yankees don’t have to go very far to get to Citi Field. Hughes will be matched up against Mike Pelfrey in this game. Pelfrey is 5-1 on the season with a 3.02 ERA.
Hughes was not sharp in his last outing on Monday as he only went five innings against Boston. He said after that outing that he was relying upon only one pitch and will make the proper adjustments going forward. Hughes has only faced the Mets in relief in the past and he has done well pitching 2 1/3 innings of scoreless ball. The Mets could have trouble getting many pitches to hit in this game on Saturday night.
Pelfrey has been solid for New York this season. He held the Braves to two runs over 7 2/3 innings on Monday, striking out three and walking two. Pelfrey has started twice in his career against the Yankees going 1-1 with a 5.40 ERA.
The Yankees and Mets met in two series last year and the Yankees won five of the six games. The Yankees are simply the better team and they usually beat their cross-town rivals in MLB betting. Two of the three games last year between the two teams at Citi Field went under the baseball betting total. With Hughes and Pelfrey both pitching well this season, it is possible that Saturday night’s game could be low scoring.
The Yankees have had to make some lineup changes recently with all of their injuries. Curtis Granderson, Nick Swisher and Nick Johnson have been out. Johnson is going to remain out of the lineup for a while as he had surgery Tuesday to remove inflamed tissue from his right wrist. He is likely to be out a couple of months. “It’s frustrating,” Johnson said, “We’ll get it fixed and I’ll be able to swing pain-free, and we’ll go from there.”