The New York Mets will look to grab an inter-league road victory when they take on the Rays in Tampa Bay at Tropicana Field on Thursday in baseball action.

Johan Santana, with a record of 3-3 on the season, gets the ball for the Mets, while the Rays trot Jeremy Hellickson to the mound in this one. He is 4-2 so far in 2012.



View NY Mets vs Tampa Bay Odds and Stats.

Betting Line:
The Mets were listed as +-130 underdogs on the baseball moneyline at many online sportsbooks. The total was set at 7.5 before betting started earlier on Monday.

Power Rankings:
This game matches up the No. 3 (Rays) and the No. 9 (Mets) teams in their respective leagues, according to our current MLB Power Rankings.



How They Match Up:
Scoring stats point to some edges in this matchup. The game features Tampa Bay's American League No. 10-ranked scoring average of 4.2 runs per game, against a Mets offense rated No. 4 and scoring 4.5 runs per game in the league. The Rays have averaged 7.7 hits per game to date this season, less than the Mets hitters have managed (8.6 per nine innings).

Pitching and defensive stats are important baseball handicapping factors and Tampa Bay has the American League's No. 5-ranked defense. In the other dugout, the Mets own the National League's No. 12 mark in runs allowed.

The Mets were a 9-1 Sportsbook in their most recent outing on the road against the Rays. That made Sportsbooks of bettors who got New York at +142 on the moneyline, while the total score (10) was good news for OVER bettors. New York hopes solid pitching and defense that led to their last victory - a 12-strikeout performance from R.A. Dickey - will prevail again after their 9-1 victory against Tampa Bay at Tropicana Field.




New York Mets Trends:
When playing on Thursday are 4-6
Before playing Cincinnati are 4-6
After playing Tampa Bay are 5-5
After a win are 5-5

Tampa Bay Rays Trends:
When playing on Thursday are 5-5
Before playing Miami are 6-4
After playing NY Mets are 6-4
After a loss are 5-5

A few Mets at Rays trends to consider:
The total has gone OVER in 4 of NY Mets' last 5 games when playing on the road against Tampa Bay
The total has gone OVER in 16 of NY Mets' last 22 games on the road
The total has gone OVER in 6 of NY Mets' last 9 games
NY Mets are 4-2 SU in its last 6 games when playing Tampa Bay
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Tampa Bay's last 5 games when playing at home against NY Mets
Tampa Bay is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Tampa Bay's last 6 games
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Tampa Bay's last 6 games when playing NY Mets


Next up:
NY Mets home to Cincinnati, Friday, June 15
Tampa Bay home to Miami, Friday, June 15