posted May 16, 2008 at 16:20 EST in MLB Articles

BetUS MLB baseball betting odds: Mets -145, Yankees +125; Total 8

With all the money they spend on players, the idea that theNew York Mets (20-19) and New York Yankees (20-22) might have a combined mark below .500 midway through the month of May would have been unthinkable to many. Yet here they are, and one of the two teams from Gotham will be able to improve its state of affairs on Friday night when they meet at 7:05 PM ET at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx.

Left-hander Johan Santana (4-2, 3.10 ERA) gets the ball for the Mets, while the Yankees, who have shuffled pitchers around quite a bit, will go with right-hander Darrell Rasner (2-0, 3.00 ERA).

At BetUS Sportsbook, the Mets are listed as a -145 favorite (the Yankees are +125), with a total of eight runs (the Over is -115, while the Under is -105).

Here are some of the MLB Baseball sports betting trends as they relate to this matchup:

* METS have lost four of their last six games

* METS have played six of their last nine games OVER the total

* METS have lost seven of their last 11 road games

* YANKS have lost six of their last nine games

* YANKS have played eight of their last nine games UNDER the total

* YANKS have won four of their last six home games

* YANKS have played five of their last six home games UNDER the total

In the HEAD-TO-HEAD baseball betting trends:

* YANKS have won three of the last four meetings

The Yankees have hit a couple of milestones lately; it's just that they're not the kind of milestones they were hoping to accomplish. Against Tampa Bay, they went through a four-game series in which they failed to exceed two runs scored in any game. That's just the second time in Yankee history that's happened. And as of right now, New York holds sole possession of last place in their division for the first time since 1975.

In the last two games, they have faced Rays' standouts James Shields and Scott Kazmir. Things don't get any easier on Friday with Johan Santana on the mound. Santana was somewhat permissive against the Reds last time out, allowing ten Cincinnati hits in six innings, but in his eight starts he's yielded more than three runs just once. And his strikeout-to-walk ratio is 4-to-1. The Mets have won his last five starts, tallying 35 runs in those games.

If you take a look at Santana's last five starts against the Yankees, they have been sterling, with one exception - a game with the Twins in 2006 where he gave up four earned runs in 6-1/3 innings. In the others, he surrendered just three runs in 26 innings.

Darrell Rasner has spent some time over the last two season with the Yankees, but hasn't been able to claim a regular spot in the rotation. This year he's made two starts, and they have both been good - he's given up just ten base runners in 12 innings (0.83 WHIP ratio) and only four earned runs. Let's put it this way - he's been more productive than either Ian Kennedy or Phil Hughes, both of whom came much more highly-touted.

The Yankees, unfortunately, are without Jorge Posada and Alex Rodriguez in the lineup, part of the reason the offense has been terrible lately. Considering the direction the Yanks have been going lately, perhaps the most prudent thing to do is go UNDER eight runs in the BetUS Major League Baseball betting odds, since the Bronx Bombers (ugh) have gone that way 28 times in 40 games thus far.

JAY'S PLAY: UNDER 8 (-105)

Go to the BetUS sportsbook today and take a swing at Major League Baseball online betting. We have the most current baseball odds and lines, as well as player, game and series props throughout the MLB baseball season. To help you bet on sports, check out the Free Picks section of the Locker Room for sports betting free picks and predictions. Join BetUS to experience the best in online sports betting action!

(Charles Jay of http://www.eBookies.com touches all the bases as a regular contributor to the BetUS Locker Room)