Terrible Braves Face Pedro, Mets

BetUS MLB Betting Odds: N.Y. Mets -230, Atlanta +190; Total 9

Two pitchers whose best days may be behind them will square off when the New York Mets (70-57) play host to the Atlanta Braves (56-71) in National League action that is set to begin at 7:10 PM ET on Thursday night at Shea Stadium (natural turf) in Queens, N.Y.

Southpaw Mike Hampton (2-1, 6.92 ERA) gets the call for the Braves, while right-hander Pedro Martinez (4-3, 4.96 ERA) is the starter for the Mets.

At BetUS online sportsbook, New York is listed as a -230 favorite (Atlanta is +190), with a total of nine runs (it is -110 each way).

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

* ATL has lost nine of its last 10 games

* NY has won eight of its last nine games

* NY has won 17 of its last 22 home games

In the HEAD-TO-HEAD sports betting trends:

* ATL has won four of the last six meetings

* NY has won five of the last six meetings as the home team

* Three of the last four meetings have gone OVER the total

This is certainly a story of teams going in opposite directions at the moment. The Mets have taken both games of this series so far - winning 7-3 on Tuesday and 6-3 on Wednesday. New York exploded for five runs in the very first inning and eventually chased starter Jair Jurrjens. The Braves have now lost four straight and nine of their last ten, while the Mets, who are 8-1 in their last nine contests, are sitting atop the National League East, a game and a half ahead of the Phillies. The good news for Atlanta is that it is apparently safe from being overtaken by the Washington Nationals.

The last time Mike Hampton faced the Mets, in 2005, he gave up five runs in just two innings. Hampton, the runner-up for the NL Cy Young Award in 1999 when he went 22-4 for Houston, who has been sidelined for the better part of the last three years with injuries, finally made his return to the Braves' rotation on July 26 when the Phillies touched him up for six runs in four innings. In his five starts, his two solid outings have come against the San Francisco Giants. And one of those was his last start, on August 16, when he held them to two runs over the course of six innings. Four of Hampton's five starts have gone over the total.

Pedro Martinez, the three-time Cy Young winner who has also had an injury-plagued history recently, has shown some signs of life in the last month, which is tremendously encouraging for the Mets' prospective World Series run. Martinez got off to a slow start, going on the DL in April and returning in June, then giving up five runs or more in three of his first six starts. But he's coming on strong, posting a 2.41 ERA in his last six outings. His last two starts, both against Pittsburgh, were particularly impressive, as he gave up one run in each.

There are a lot of factors that point to the Mets here, naturally. The respective directions the two teams are taking is one of them. Martinez's progress counts for something. The Mets are also 25-14 against left-handed starters. We are not in the habit of laying -230 on a ball game, however, and the total looks attractive to us, because (a) Hampton showed some encouraging signs in his last outing, and (b) the Braves can't score, having sent just seven men across the plate in their last four games. We'll go UNDER the nine runs as it is posted in the BetUS Major League Baseball betting odds.

JAY'S PLAY: UNDER 9 (-110)

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