The New York Mets and Colorado Rockies will play on Friday at Coors Field. First pitch is at 8:40 p.m. ET.
New York (26-25 SU and 17-33 RL) is starting right-hander Max Scherzer in the series opener. The 38-year-old is 3-2 with a 4.01 ERA and 1.19 WHIP in seven outings.
Colorado (22-29 SU and 23-27 RL) is starting right-hander Connor Seabold Friday night. The 27-year-old is 1-1 with a 5.97 ERA and 1.64 WHIP in 11 appearances (four starts) this season.
The Mets are -200 moneyline favorites and the game total is 11.
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Is Scherzer back on track?
New York is over .500 again following series wins over Tampa Bay and Cleveland. Could we see the Mets make a run for first place in the NL East before the end of the spring?
NY scores 4.22 runs per game (21st) and hits .241 (18th) with a .708 OPS (17th). It's hit 56 home runs (15th) and stolen 32 bases (15th) this season. The pitching staff has a 4.70 ERA (24th) and a 1.35 WHIP (23rd) with ten quality starts.
Oh WOW Escy! 🤯 pic.twitter.com/lO0kSAn95v
— New York Mets (@Mets) May 23, 2023
Scherzer will start for the Mets Friday in Colorado. The 16-year veteran shut out Cleveland in his last outing, holding the Guardians to three hits in six innings. Scherzer has a 31:13 K:BB ratio in 2023.
The Rockies are tough to predict
Colorado is seven games under .500 and nine games out of first place in the NL West. Still, the Rockies aren't out of the Wild Card race and could be a tricky team to bet against in the months ahead.
Colorado averages 4.40 runs per game (15th) and hits .254 (13th) with a .708 OPS (18th). It's hit 39 home runs (27th) and stolen 16 bases (30th) in 2023. The Rockies' pitching staff has a 5.04 ERA (28th) and a 1.48 WHIP (29th) with 12 quality starts.
THE KID COMES THROUGH!!! pic.twitter.com/MGdCAvD418
— Colorado Rockies (@Rockies) May 25, 2023
The home team will give the game ball to Seabold in the series opener. He's started four consecutive games for the Rockies, surrendering four earned runs in his first two starts (10.0 IP) and nine earned runs in his last two outings (8.0 IP). Seabold has a 25:11 K:BB ratio in 2023.
Best Bets for this Game
Full-Game Side Bet
Insiders Status:
Colorado has a 12-9 run line record following a win, the fifth-highest win percentage in those games. It also sports a 10-8 run line record as home underdogs. New York has a 7-14 run line record as road favorites and the worst overall run line record in MLB this season, too.
I'm betting on Colorado to cover at home in game one. NY is traveling from Chicago after a Thursday night game with the Cubbies after dropping the first two games of the series. It's lost some momentum from its five-game win streak and could be on upset alert Friday, even with its ace on the bump.
The Rockies boast much better splits at home (.274 BA/.329 OBP/.439 SLG/.768 OPS) than they do in road games (.234/.299/.349/.648) and hit right-handed pitchers (.260/.321/.404/.725) better than lefties (.240/.294/.367/.662). I'll bet on them to cover against the inconsistent Scherzer on Friday night.
Full-Game Total Pick
Insiders Status:
The under is 14-7 in Rockies games following a win, and while games are typically higher-scoring at Coors Field, the under has cashed as many times (13) as the over in their home games this season. The under is 5-0-1 in their last six Friday games and 7-2-1 in the last ten meetings between these teams in Colorado.
The under is 7-1 in the Mets' last eight games with the total set at 11.0 or higher, 4-1 in their last five Friday games, and 4-1 in their last five road games vs. a right-handed starter, as well.
I'll place a bet on the under at 11 in Friday's night game at Coors Field. The Mets score only four runs per game on the road (29 GP) and the Rockies score just four runs in night games (32 GP). Scherzer gave up one run in seven innings in his lone start vs. Colorado last season, striking out 11 batters. After a rough start vs. Detroit a couple of weeks ago, he's gotten back to his old ways, surrendering one run on five hits in his last 11 innings. Seabold hasn't been a dominant starter, but he's a quality arm capable of giving the home team his best for three or four innings.
With all that said, the under is my play on the total at 11 runs scored.