posted July 18, 2008 at 13:38 EST in MLB Free Picks

BetUS MLB betting odds: N.Y. Mets -130, Cincinnati +110; Total 9

After last night's high-scoring donnybrook, the New York Mets (52-44) hope they don’t have to score a whole bundle of runs on Friday night to extend their winning streak to __ games as they take on the Cincinnati Reds (46-51) in National League action that is set to take place at 7:10 PM ET at the Great American Ball Park (natural turf) in Cincinnati.

John Maine (8-6, 3.99 ERA) gets the start for the Mets, while Bronson Arroyo (7-7, 5.97 ERA) is the man for Cincinnati, in this battle between right-handers.

At BetUS online sportsbook, New York is listed as a -130 favorite (Cincinnati is +110), with a total of nine runs (the Over is -115, while the Under is -105).

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

* NY has won its last 10 games
* NY has played five of its last seven games UNDER the total
* NY has won five of its last six road games
* NY has played six of its last eight road games OVER the total
* CIN has won seven of its last ten games
* CIN has played sis of its last eight games OVER the total
* CIN has won four of its last six home games

In the HEAD-TO-HEAD sports betting trends:

* NY has won seven of the last nine meetings
* Five of the last seven meetings have gone OVER the total
* NY has won five of the last seven meetings as the road team
* Eight of the last 11 meetings in Cincinnati have gone OVER the total

On Thursday, the Mets stretched their winning streak to ten games with a 10-8 victory over the Reds that came as the result of a furious four-run rally in the top of the ninth inning. Carlos Delgado, Fernando Tatis and David Wright hit homers for the Mets, and this one was ironic because New York had gone through a period of six games where it allowed just four runs, and five straight games where it yielded three hits or less, which is a modern major league record, and to boot they had their two-time Cy Young winner, Johan Santana on the mound. But a win is a win is a win, especially one that comes in such dramatic fashion. During this streak, the Mets have outscored opponents by a 64-27 count.

John Maine has now gone five straight starts where he has allowed three runs or less. The bad news is that in a couple of those games, he hasn't completed five innings. Nonetheless, the Mets have been giving him pretty good run support; in four of his last five starts he's had seven runs or more to work with. And seven of his last nine starts have gone over the total.

Cincinnati is only five games under .500 but the Reds are far back in the NL Central when you consider that the two teams that are 6.5 and seven games ahead of them, respectively, are the Milwaukee Brewers and St. Louis Cardinals. Let's put it this way - they have a lot of work to do and not a lot of time to do it in. They took two of three from Milwaukee going into the All-Star break, but last night's loss was the kind that you tend to remember the next day, and who knows if it will have a psychological effect on this contest.

Bronson Arroyo takes the mound for Cincy, and he has been wildly inconsistent. Arroyo's performances have been on a roller coaster ride all season, and in this recent stretch he has, in order, shut out the Cards over six innings, then given up ten runs in one inning to offensively-challenged Toronto, limited Cleveland and Washington to a combined one run and ten hits over two starts, and then, in his last outing, gave up five runs in five innings against the Cubs. So nobody knows which Arroyo is going to step out onto that mound. His track record against the Mets in the last two season isn't bad, however. Arroyo has made four starts against the Mets since 2006, and has compiled a 2.25 ERA and 0.91 WHIP ratio, which is obviously outstanding.

But do you want to get in front of that freight train out of Queens? We don't either. We'll lay this reasonable price with the Mets, the -130 favorite in the BetUS Major League Baseball betting odds.

JAY'S PLAY: N.Y. METS (-130)

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