MLB Saturday May 4th Mets at Rays Betting Preview
New York Debuts Top Pitching Prospect
Tampa Bay’s offense came to life on Friday night, and they needed every bit of it in a 10-8 series opening win over the Mets. Game two could have a different feel, as New York sends their top pitching prospect to the mound as the May 4th Mets at Rays betting matchup will be the MLB debut of Christian Scott.
The Rays are -120 favorites on Saturday as neither team has really been on a tear as of late. Tampa Bay has lost 8 of their last 11 while the Mets are only slightly better in losing 8 of their last 12. There’s a lot of unknowns for this matchup, so it could be a pick your poison kind of game.
Why the Mets Have Value on Saturday
New York may have dropped the series opener, but scoring 8 runs on 10 hits isn’t a bad offensive performance by any means. Brett Baty did a lot of the damage with a 2HR, 4 RBI night and half of the Mets’ hits went for extra bases.
It should be another solid night at the plate for the Mets as the Rays have allowed at least 7 runs in five of their last seven. This staff is not the Tampa Bay of old, as they rank 26th in MLB in team ERA (4.73) and have the 7th worst WHIP (1.33).
It can be hard to predict how a pitcher will fare in his MLB debut, but Scott is the top starting pitching prospect in the New York organization. Facing the Rays in his first start is also an ideal situation for Scott, who is a University of Florida graduate who is from Coconut Creek which is less than 4 hours Southeast of St. Petersburg.
Why the Rays Have Value on Saturday
Tampa Bay had a nice night at the plate Friday, plating 10 runs on 13 hits led by 3 RBI from Jonny DeLuca and Randy Arozarena getting on base 4 times and hitting his 4th HR. The Rays had been held to 2 runs or less in their previous four games so a breakout night is something to build on.
Obviously nobody on the Rays has ever faced Scott who is making his MLB debut, but with Jose Quintana only going 2.2 IP on Friday the Mets had to use up a lot of bullpen innings. If the rookie struggles or is on a pitch count in his first appearance, it could be a great opportunity for some late inning runs for Tampa Bay.
Zack Littell (1-2, 3.27 ERA) gets the nod for Tampa Bay hoping for a better start than Aaron Civale (7ER, 4.2 IP) had in the series opener. Littell has thrown 6.0 IP in each of his last two starts and has a 1.29 ERA in six appearances against the Mets.
Free May 4th Mets at Rays Betting Pick
73% of the betting public is on the Rays here, which seems kind of strange due to Tampa Bay’s recent struggles and the fact they are just .500 at home on the season. Scott is an unknown in his MLB debut, but in a toss up game you take the value.
Free Pick: Mets -108
