Posted on 4/4/2008 8:01:52 PM

MLB Sportsbook Baseball Odds Braves Mets clash on weekend

By BetUS Staff

It got a little easier to do some MLB betting on the New York Mets when they picked up ace pitcher Johan Santana in the offseason, but the team isn’t looking quite as good heading into the weekend – Pedro Martinez has once again landed on the disabled list.

Martinez was forced to leave his first start of the season with a hamstring injury – and Mets fans’ worst fears were realized when the team quickly put him on the 15-day DL and announced that he would be out for the next four-to-six weeks with the ailment. Whether the brittle hurler can return over that timeframe, of course, remains to be seen.

So with Martinez out of action Mike Pelfrey will remain in New York’s rotation for the time being, where he’ll follow Santana, Oliver Perez, and John Maine. Orlando Hernandez is still a week or so away from returning to the mound, so the team will have to turn to Nelson Figueroa (or even Jorge Sosa) when the fifth starter’s spot comes up.

That won’t come into play this weekend, however, as New York is expected to throw out Maine, Pelfrey, and Santana in their three-game series against the rival Atlanta Braves. Maine is scheduled to go up against Tim Hudson on Friday, with Pelfrey facing Tom Glavine on Saturday, and Santana looking to outduel John Smoltz in Sunday’s contest.

And while the Mets have lost a pitcher to injury, the Braves will have Smoltz making his season debut after a short stint on the disabled list. The veteran righthander was placed on the DL in the last week of spring training with a sore shoulder, but he has pitched effectively in a minor-league outing since then and looks to be ready for this weekend.

He’ll be in tough to get the win against Santana, though, as the big lefthander showed on Monday that he isn’t going to have any trouble adjusting to the National League. Santana held the Florida Marlins to two earned runs on just three hits over seven innings in his Mets debut, and he struck out eight opposing batters for good measure.

First pitch for Friday’s series opener is set for 7:35pm ET at Turner Field. Saturday’s game gets underway at 3:55pm ET, with Sunday’s matchup at 1:35pm ET. Check the BetUS MLB odds section for all the latest lines and totals for this weekend’s schedule.

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