Bad Pitching Will Lead to Runs in Mets vs. A's

Mets vs. Athletics, 4:07 ET

Sometimes a bet is just cruising along and then all of a sudden, a brick wall comes out of nowhere and you smash right into it. Yesterday was a bit of that situation with the Diamondbacks and Marlins game going fine and then all of a sudden... BOOM! I got smacked with a five-run bottom of the fourth inning. Amazingly, if I played the full game it would've been a winner, but the first five ended up pushing - still better than a loss, but frustrating nonetheless. Today we shift to the opposite side of the country.

Did both teams use up all of their offense in yesterday's game? I am not sure, but they certainly were sending the ball all over the yard. The Mets put up 17 runs and allowed six to the Athletics. New York isn't off to the best start or anything, but they are managing to find ways to win some games. They need to get a bit more consistency from their squad because right now they aren't hitting very well and their staff with Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander (injured, I know) has a 4.28 ERA. That just won't cut it in any way, shape, or form for a team with World Series aspirations. Still, it is too early to panic on any just about any team. Carlos Carrasco is one of the main culprits for the higher ERA this season. In two starts he has been rocked by the Brewers and the Marlins. Neither one of those teams should be dangerous to a pitcher. The Marlins got him for six runs in less than five innings, and the Brewers got him for five in less four innings. Now he faces the Athletics, a team that is essentially comprised of minor league talent. However, the team does have nine hits in 28 at-bats against him.

I mentioned it is too early to panic for just about any team. Don't panic about the Athletics, this is exactly what I, and probably everyone else, expected them to do this season. They are bad. Like, really bad. Sitting at just 3-11 I genuinely wouldn't be shocked if this is the trend on them for the season, essentially winning just 30% of games. That would put them somewhere around 50 games for the season. It is realistic to think that they won't win more than 55 games. Today they are putting Shintaro Fujinami on the hill and he's had an even worse start than Carlos Carrasco. His first start against their division rivals, the Angels, he allowed eight earned runs over 2.1 innings. He was able to get further in his next game, 4.1 innings against the Rays. But, Tampa still smacked him up for five earned runs in that outing.

I think both of these pitchers are going to give up runs early and often. Carrasco could, and should, eventually turn it around. Maybe this is the game he does. I'm taking the over five runs through five innings here. I don't hate the full game over 9.5 either, but I prefer the first half.

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