A couple of struggling teams meet up for September 3rd Yankees at Mets betting. NYY is in the better spot of the two sitting 4.5 games out of 1st and with a 98.5% playoff probability. The Yankees are just 4-9 over their last 13 though. The Mets are 6.5 GB in the East, but they have three teams to jump and a less than 40% chance of making the postseason.
The Mets are still a somewhat surprising -120 favorite ahead of Thursday afternoon’s game. The teams have played each other five times in the past week with the Mets taking two right away and the Yankees winning the last three. Four of the five contests have been decided by two runs or less.
Yankees Playing a Bit Shorthanded
NYY comes into September 3rd Yankees at Mets betting having dropped two of three to the Rays to fall further behind Tampa Bay in the East. Aaron Boone’s squad does have an excuse for their recent poor play though as they are without Aaron Judge (calf), Gleyber Torres (hamstring), and Giancarlo Stanton (hamstring) for the foreseeable future.
DJ LeMahieu has picked up some of the slack with a .333 average over the past week with two HRs. Luke Voit has a home run in one of his two ABs vs. Mets starter Robert Gsellman (0-0, 5.19 ERA) but as a team NYY is just 4-31 (.129).
J.A. Happ (1-1 4.05 ERA) starts for the Yankees, facing the Mets for the second straight outing. The left-hander gave up 0ER and just 3-hits in 7.1 IP on August 29th in a 2-1 Yankees win. The betting total for Thursday’s game is 9.
Mets Favored on Thursday
NYM split when these teams met up for a double-header at Citi Field on August 28th. The Mets were then swept over three games at Yankee Stadium last week so it’s kind of strange that they’d be listed as a favorite in this one-game makeup date.
One of the big reasons oddsmakers like the Mets for this tilt – in theory – is because of Gsellman on the mound. The right-hander owns the Yankees with a 1.65 ERA in two starts and five more appearances out of the bullpen. Gsellman is still trying to adjust into a starting role for 2020 though as he has pitched 2.0, 1.2, and 4.0 innings the last three. Gsellman hasn’t been a full-time starter since 2017 so the Yankees could see a lot of relievers on Thursday.
Even though they have the #1 team batting average in the majors, they have struggled vs. Yankees starter Happ. New York has just 8 extra base hits in 122 team ABS vs. Happ and have a .230 team average. The first five batters of the Mets order were a combined 1-17 in the Happ start on Saturday.
September 3rd Yankees at Mets Betting Pick
Gsellman has been solid against the Yankees, but he’s only going to give you at most 5.0 innings on an extremely efficient outing. Happ dominated Mets bats in his last start and could be rounding into form in what will be just his fifth start of the season. The line is confusing with the Yankees at +100, but it’s worth a play. Only 65% of the public is on NYY which is also favorable.
Free Pick: Yankees +100
