Mets carry their road woes into Houston

Baseball Betting Lines

08/16/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The road hasn't been good to the New York Mets this season, and especially so after the All-Star break. They'll try to reverse those recent struggles when they head to Minute Maid Park tonight to begin a four-game series with the Houston Astros.

The Mets have put together a subpar 22-37 record away from Citi Field this season and haven't taken a series on the road since a three-game sweep at Cleveland from June 15-17. Since the All-Star break, New York is a woeful 4-13 as the visiting team.

Jerry Manuel's squad seems to have an opportunity to improve those numbers on this seven-game trek, in which the club will also face the hapless Pittsburgh Pirates in addition to the non-contending Astros.

The Mets had plenty of success against Houston a year ago, prevailing in five of the seven matchups between the teams and winning two of three games in their lone trip to Minute Maid Park last season.

Houston will be coming into this set with some momentum, however, after winning all three meetings with the Pirates over the weekend. The Astros outscored Pittsburgh by a 15-5 margin in the series, and completed the sweep with an 8-2 triumph on Sunday.

The Astros trailed 2-1 after 5 1/2 innings in the finale, but scored four times in the bottom of the sixth and twice more in the seventh to take a comfortable lead. Chris Johnson later capped the comeback with a solo homer in the bottom of the eighth, his third hit in four at-bats for the game.

Pedro Feliz delivered a pinch-hit two-run double during Houston's big sixth inning, while Hunter Pence finished 3-for-4 with an RBI double and three runs scored in the win.

The Astros also received solid pitching from starter J.A. Happ (3-1), with the trade-deadline acquisition holding the Pirates to two runs and just hits over the first six innings.

"I'm going to continue to work on reps and try to get comfortable with my delivery so I can get into that seventh and eighth inning," said Happ, who was taken out at the conclusion of the sixth after throwing 100 pitches.

The Mets will be seeking to rebound from back-to-back home defeats to division-rival Philadelphia on Saturday and Sunday, including a 3-1 setback last night. New York managed just six hits against Kyle Kendrick and three Phillies relievers, with Jose Reyes' solo homer in the third inning providing the team's only run.

Mets starter Mike Pelfrey (11-7) did last seven innings on Sunday, but was saddled with the loss after allowing three runs on seven hits.

"Whether we're going out there and putting up 10 runs or one run, your mindset is to go out there and try to get people out," Pelfrey said afterward.

The offense has been an issue for the Mets as of late. New York produced a mere two runs over its three contests with the Phillies and has scored three or less in 10 of 13 games thus far in August.

The Mets could be in for a tough time again tonight, considering the way Houston scheduled starter Wandy Rodriguez has performed lately. The left- hander has won six of seven decisions following a 3-10 beginning to the season and has posted a sensational 0.63 ERA over his last four starts, having yielded just two earned runs in 28 1/3 innings during that excellent stretch.

Rodriguez was sharp once again this past Wednesday, limiting NL East-leading Atlanta to two runs -- one earned -- on five hits while striking out nine batters in seven innings. However, he did not factor in the final outcome of a game the Astros lost in extra frames.

The 31-year-old has worked at least six innings in each of his past nine starts and has compiled a 6-1 record along with a 1.79 ERA over that time period.

Rodriguez did lose his only encounter with the Mets last season, however, after being reached for three runs in six frames. In five lifetime starts against New York, he's 2-2 with a 3.68 ERA.

Jon Niese will pitch the opener for New York and like Rodriguez, has been on a good recent roll. The young left-hander surrendered just one run and struck out seven batters in a seven-inning no-decision against Colorado on Wednesday, five days after firing seven frames of one-run ball and again fanning seven in an August 6 clash at Philadelphia. He did not get a decision in that game as well.

While the Mets have usually struggled as a team on the road, Niese sports a solid 3-2 record with a 3.57 ERA in nine starts in enemy parks so far this year. The rookie also came through with a strong showing in his only career outing at Minute Maid Park, permitting just one run and four hits in seven innings to notch his only major league win of last season.

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Colts give the ‘D’ its due

The Indianapolis Colts know that winning the Super Bowl last season put a huge target on their backs, and they expect opponents to go all-out to knock them from the top of the mountain.

They’ll get their first test from the New Orleans Saints this Thursday night. The defending champs had nothing but good things to say about the New Orleans defense this past week, praising their opponents’ pass rush and run-stopping abilities.

"They play very aggressively," head coach Tony Dungy told the New Orleans Times-Picayune. "They play a lot of man-to-man coverage, and they come after you. They have good pass rushers, and they're going to try to pressure us, I'm sure."

Both center Jeff Saturday and quarterback Peyton Manning gave New Orleans’ front four props, admitting keeping guys like Will Smithand Charles Grant contained would be a tall task for the offensive line.

New Orleans ranked second in total defense during the preseason at a sportsbook, allowing just under 233 yards per game. Last season, the defense finished 11th in the league after giving up 307.3 yards and 20.1 points per contest.

Not so sound on the ground

If Indianapolis' efficient offense has a weakness it has to be its running attack. The Colts one-two-punch of Dominic Rhodes and Joseph Addai is no longer, leaving the bulk of the carries to Addai, the second-year back out of LSU.

Former Saskatchewan Roughrider Kenton Keith was named Addai’s backup this week after beating out DeDe Dorsey for the second-string position. Indy has only three backs on the roster right now, including fullback Luke Lawton, and coach Dungy is aware of the thinness of his ground game. Sports Betting lines on the game can be found at BettingExpress.com

“We’ll continue to look. Luke Lawton’s done a good job for us too. So probably getting a third true tailback is something that we’d like to do,” Dungy told the Indiana Tribune-Star.

Last season, Addai rushed for over 1,000 yards in his rookie campaign and scored seven touchdowns on the ground.

Brees says bring it on

Opening the season on the road against the defending Super Bowl champions is not the way most teams would like to kick off their year – unless you’re the New Orleans Saints or their quarterback Drew Brees. This internet Sportsbooks had the Saints as the favorites.

Brees told the New Orleans Times-Picayune that he is excited to get the regular season started and the Colts are a great challenge for him and his teammates. The 28-year-old QB, entering his second season with the Saints, is expecting a wild environment in the RCA Dome this Thursday when the franchise celebrates its 2007-2007 championship.

Brees said he sees the opening game scheduling as an honor and a testament to how well New Orleans did last season. The Saints missed facing the Colts in the Super Bowl by one game, losing to the Chicago Bearsin the NFC Championship game.

"I mean, people think we can hang with these guys," Brees told reporters. "Even if they didn't, it wouldn't matter what they thought because as a team we're very confident. We know what we can do. We're not satisfied where we finished the season last year. And we've been looking forward to this opportunity for a long time."

SportsBooks ready for a shootout

Oddsmakers are preparing for some fireworks this Thursday when the NFL season kicks off. online Sportsbooks have Thursday’s total set at a whopping 52 points, accounting for two of the league’s most explosive offenses.

“This is like must-see TV,” Saints cornerback and former Colt Jason David told the Baton Rouge Advocate. “It’s two exciting offenses with great players. You’ve got a lot of star power on offense. At any given time a big play can happen. If I was a fan, I wouldn’t miss a snap.”

New Orleans, who ranked No.1 in total offense last season, can go blow-for-blow with the Colts’ attack. Head coach Sean Payton’s offensive schemes will get even better production out of Drew Brees, Reggie Bush and receiver Marques Colston now that they’ve each had a season of playing together under their belts.

The Saints and Colts were the top two passing teams in the NFL last year, but while Indianapolis managed to put up almost 27 points per game, New Orleans struggled to capitalize on their efforts. The Saints ranked fifth in points per game.

“Yards are great,” running backDeuce McAllister told reporters, “but to be able to score more touchdowns would be important for us.”

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