OK, nice to see both Vince Velasquez and Matt Harvey come through in last night's victorious Phillies-Reds Under 9.5 wager. Now it's time to close out the final weekend in July, hopefully with a win.
Zylbert's 2018 MLB Over/Under Betting Record: 68-44-3, +19.4 units
Yesterday's Result: Phillies-Reds Under 9.5, Velasquez vs. Harvey (WIN)
*Each bet graded as if it were to win 1 unit
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New York Mets @ Pittsburgh Pirates | O/U: 7.5
1:35 p.m. ET
Probable Pitchers: Zack Wheeler (4-6, 4.33 ERA) vs. Joe Musgrove (4-4, 3.90 ERA)
I'm not surprised this over/under dropped down so drastically. As high as it opened, it even seemed like a little injustice was done to the quality work showcased this season by both of the starting hurlers in today's series finale, especially their performances as of late.
Through what has spiraled into another lost Mets season, Wheeler has actually been one of the lone bright spots on this club, already firing his most innings (114.1) since 2014 (the season before undergoing Tommy John surgery). Not only that, he's been solid in his 19 assignments, holding opponents to a respectable .249 batting average while striking out nearly one batter per inning.
The former first-round draft choice appears to be hitting his stride right now, as he's produced his most consistent pitching across his last seven starts. Wheeler made it into the eighth inning all but once over that span, and in five of the outings he recorded at least seven strikeouts, a strong sign that the Wheeler of old could be back.
His counterpart this afternoon, Musgrove, has been equally as impressive lately, stringing together at least seven innings in three of his past four turns on the mound, while giving up no more than two runs in three of those starts as well.
In his first year with the Buccos, Musgrove has been solid but he's shown flashes that he's capable of more. His current upswing figures to push him further in that direction with a favorable matchup on tap, as the already offensively-challenged Mets have a number of dead-bat backups in the lineup here, such as Kevin Plawecki and Luis Guillorme. Austin Jackson, just signed off the street two days ago, is in there as well.
It's a shame the oddsmakers brought this over/under down, but the under is still worth taking on this Sunday afternoon. Just wait to see if it returns to 8 first.
Play: UNDER 7.5/8
