Professional sports handicapper Jeff Grant previews the second game of a weekend series between the Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Mets at Citi Field

Los Angeles fell 6-3 in the opening contest of its three-game road series against New York and will undoubtedly look to avoid last year's fate in getting swept at Citi Field. The Dodgers are being followed closely by the media due to outfielder Andre Ethier extending his hitting streak to 30 games on Friday night, but it's not helping them in the win column. "It's not helping this little skid we're on," Ethier commented. "It's a nice personal thing, but besides that, I think we need to start figuring ways to get this going." The club is 6-9 on the road this season and manager Don Mattingly has returned to the Big Apple as a manager for the first time. "I felt good, until that three-run homer put us in a hole," he stated. "You try to keep your club in position to try to win a game and we did that, for the most part." Los Angeles is 10-12 in night games this season.

Dodgers starting pitcher Jon Garland will make his fifth start of the season and is shooting for a fourth consecutive quality outing. The right-hander is 1-2 with a 3.81 ERA, issuing seven walks and collecting 18 strikeouts in 26 innings of work. Garland is an even 1-1 with a 3.00 ERA in four career starts against the Mets. Since 2002, his 122 wins rank seventh among active pitchers in the Major Leagues.

New York has won two games in a row and pushed its record to 6-2 in its last eight home games. The Mets have a few hitting streaks of their own, as both Carlos Beltran and Ike Davis have 10-game home hitting streaks. The club has also hit at least one home run in nine of its last 10 games at Citi Field. Overall, Beltran is hitting .375 at the ball park, which is the sixth-highest home average in the majors. New York is 7-16 versus right-handers on the year.

Mets starting pitcher Chris Young is 1-0 with a 1.88 ERA in four starts this season, as opponents are hitting just .146 against him. The right-hander has led the team to wins in three of his four outings, including a 2-1 no-decision effort last time out at Philadelphia. He tossed seven shutout innings and allowed just two hits in that particular outing against the team with the best record in the National League. Young has struggled at times in his 14 games versus the Dodgers, posting a 2-5 record and 4.02 ERA. He will need to be very careful with Ethier, who is hitting .414 (12-29) against him in his career.

Bettors will likely back the Dodgers due to their 96-75 record following a loss the last three years, while the Mets are 16-35 following a win.
 

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