Great Pitching Matchup in the N.L. on Saturday when Braves Take on Mets

There’s a great pitching matchup in the National League on Saturday when the Atlanta Braves take on the New York Mets. The Braves send Tim Hudson to the mound and the Mets send Mike Pelfrey.

Both Hudson and Pelfrey have been terrific in 2010 making this game a challenging one for baseball betting fans to handicap, but there will be more at stake than just a simple victory for Hudson or Pelfrey in this game. The Atlanta Braves are 3 games ahead in the N.L. East Division. Who is in second place? Oh, yeah, that would be the New York Mets!

Will it be the Mets or Braves on Saturday when two aces take the mound?

Atlanta Braves at New York Mets

Where: Citi Field, Flushing, New York

When: July 10 th, 2010 at 4:10 pm EST

TV: Braves – SPSO

Mets – SNY

Radio: Braves – None

Mets – WFAN 660, WQBU 92.7

The beauty of this game is that sports gamblers won’t have to try and predict what the MLB odds makers are going to come up with. Both Pelfrey and Hudson have been so good in 2010, and both teams are so close to each other in the divisional standings, that there’s no way one pitcher can be favored over the other.

With that in mind, let’s take a look at the betting trends for Saturday’s game.

• The Atlanta Braves are 22-8 in their last 30 games versus a starter with a WHIP greater than 1.30.
• The Atlanta Braves are 1 and 4 in Tim Hudson’s last 5 starts following a Quality Start in his last appearance.
• The New York Mets are 8 and 2 in Mike Pelfrey’s last 10 starts at home.
• The New York Mets are 7 and 21 in their last 28 games versus a starter with a WHIP less than 1.15.

So, the trends say that both teams have a shot and are vulnerable in Saturday’s game. Based on the pitching stats from both starters, it’s hard to argue against the trends.

Tim Hudson is 8 and 4 with a 2.44 ERA and a 1.15 WHIP on the season. Pelfrey is 10 and 3 with a 3.39 ERA and a 1.36 WHIP.

The stats paint an interesting pitcher because Hudson’s ERA and WHIP are much better than Pelfrey’s, yet Pelfrey has more wins. How is that possible? Sometimes, for whatever reason, a team does amazingly well when certain pitchers are on the mound. For most of this season, that’s been the case with Pelfrey.

Every time Pelfrey takes the mound, the Mets have responded except for his last start. In his last start, Pelfrey gave up 9 hits and 7 runs in only 4.2 innings to the Cincinnati Reds. The Mets lost that game 6 to 8.

But I believe that Pelfrey bounces back on Saturday. He’s been excellent at home in 2010 and the Mets know that this is their chance to cut Atlanta’s lead.

I’m going to make a sports betting on the New York Mets to beat the Atlanta Braves on Saturday afternoon.

MLB Sportsbook Pick: New York Mets