Friday’s game at Tropicana Field starts at 7:10 p.m. ET. The Mets will start lefty David Peterson (1-3, 5.54) against Rays right-hander Tyler Glasnow (4-2, 2.37).
New York Mets
The Mets had Thursday off, and they travel to Tampa with a seven-game win streak. New York went 5-0 on their homestand with sweeps of Arizona and Baltimore. They have allowed 12 runs total during the win streak and haven’t allowed more than five runs in a game since May 2.
Pete Alonso leads the healthy Mets with a .259 average as they wait for the return of Brandon Nimmo (.318) and J.D. Davis (.390). He also leads the Mets with five homers and 17 RBI. Francisco Lindor is still struggling at .207, while Michael Conforto is batting .238 with 13 RBI.
Friday against Arizona, Peterson walked two batters with the bases loaded and hit another to force home a third run. Overall he gave up three runs on three hits and three walks while lasting just 1⅔ innings. He has never faced the Rays or any of their hitters.
Peterson’s last road start was much better as he allowed just one run on four hits over five innings as the Mets beat the Phillies on May 2. He has gone at least five innings in three of six starts this season and has 32 strikeouts in 26 innings.
Tampa Bay Rays
The Rays offense has been abysmal most of the season, ranking in the bottom five in the American League in home runs, average, runs scored, and slugging percentage. They finally got things going Thursday with nine runs on 10 hits against the Yankees, including home runs from Austin Meadows and Randy Arozarena.
Arozarena is batting .260, just behind Joey Wendle’s team-leading .270. Meadows leads the way with eight homers, and he added two doubles Thursday while driving in four. Manuel Margot is batting just .221 in the three spot, while cleanup hitter Brandon Lowe is at .198.
Last time out, Glasnow just missed his third straight quality start as he allowed three runs on two hits over 5 ⅔ innings in a Rays loss at Oakland. Walks have been an issue with four in consecutive starts. However, he is still a strikeout machine with 75 in 49 ⅓ innings this year for a 39.5 percent strikeout rate.
Glasnow has had success against the Mets big bats. Alonso (0-3), Conforto (0-6), Lindor (1-6), and Kevin Pillar (1-9) are a combined 2-for-24 against Glasnow. Dominic Smith has a home run against him, and Jeff McNeil is 1-for-3.
Betting Analysis
Mets +133 ML +1.5 (-167) run line. Rays -157 ML, -1.5 (+140) run line. Total 7 (O +102, U -124)
The Mets are red hot, but neither of these teams score a lot of runs. New York has relied on great pitching, and last time out, they had to bail out Peterson with an extra-inning win. Tampa Bay scores in bunches when they do score, and Glasnow has struggled with the long ball this year. Look for the Mets to piece together another win.
FREE PICK: Mets Moneyline (+133)