The New York Mets battle the visiting Pittsburgh Pirates on Tuesday in MLB betting action at Citi Field.

James McDonald, with a record of 3-3 on the season, gets the ball for the Pirates, while the Mets trot R.A. Dickey to the mound in this one. He is 2-5 so far in 2011.



View Pittsburgh vs NY Mets Odds and Stats.

Betting Line:
Bettors looking to back visiting Pittsburgh before the first pitch in this match will find them as +-135-moneyline underdogs. They will see an Sportsbook total of 7.5.

Power Rankings:
It's a baseball betting matchup between the National League No. 11-rated Mets and the league No. 14-ranked Pirates, according to the latest MLB power poll here at Odds Shark.



How They Match Up:
Offensively, the game matches up New York's No. 9 ranked National League offense (4.1 runs per game) against a Pirates defense and pitching staff that sits at No. 5 in the National League at 3.9 runs allowed per game. The Mets have been averaging 8.7 hits per game, more than the Pirates have managed so far this season (7.7 hits on average).

New York owns the National League's No. 13 defense, allowing 4.5 men per game to cross the plate. That contrasts with Pittsburgh's National League No. 5-rated defense.

The Pirates were a 7-3 loser in their most recent outing on the road against the Mets. That made Sportsbooks of bettors who got New York at -108 on the moneyline, while the total score (10) was good news for OVER bettors. Pittsburgh looks to rebound from a loss to the Mets, who beat them 7-3 on Monday behind a start from Dillon Gee at Citi Field.




Pittsburgh Pirates Trends:
When playing on Tuesday are 5-5
Before playing NY Mets are 2-8
After playing NY Mets are 4-6
After a loss are 2-8

New York Mets Trends:
When playing on Tuesday are 6-4
Before playing Pittsburgh are 7-3
After playing Pittsburgh are 6-4
After a win are 5-5

A few Pirates at Mets trends to consider:
The total has gone OVER in 12 of Pittsburgh's last 15 games when playing on the road against NY Mets
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Pittsburgh's last 7 games
Pittsburgh is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games on the road
Pittsburgh is 2-5 SU in its last 7 games
NY Mets are 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing Pittsburgh
NY Mets are 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing at home against Pittsburgh
The total has gone OVER in 8 of NY Mets' last 9 games
The total has gone OVER in 12 of NY Mets' last 15 games when playing at home against Pittsburgh


Next up:
Pittsburgh at NY Mets, Wednesday, June 1