I'm laying the price with PITTSBURGH. When thinking of the Mets and Pirates, one naturally assumes the Mets to be the better team. That's been ingrained into our heads for years, as the Mets are typically solid while the Pirates have been bottomfeeders for years now. The Pirates are favored for good reason here though and feel that they've got an excellent shot at a victory. This is a write-in game and the scheduling situation figures to favor Pittsburgh. Even though the Pirates played last night and the Mets played a day game yesterday, note that the Pirates were already at home in Pittsburgh while the Mets were in Milwaukee yesterday. Playing such an 'early' game when having just played in another city the day before typically isn't ideal. The Mets were in the central time zone yesterday and today's game starts at 11:35 AM Central Time. The Mets finally got a win yesterday but their offense remains a major concern. Hurt by injuries, the New York run production has literally been hurt too. The Mets have scored three runs or less in seven of their last nine games. The Mets won just 33% of their games in June as they finished the month with a 9-18 record. Even in yesterday's win, they still only managed five hits, getting outhit seven to five. The Pirates went 14-13 in June and this included a three game sweep of New York. One of those games - in what was supposed to a be a four game series - was rained out. Obviously that's this one. In the earlier three games, Pittsburgh outscore New York 22-12. Paul Maholm gets the start for the Pirates. While he's had some trouble on the road, he's been very strong at home this season. Indeed, he's 3-1 with an outstanding 1.96 ERA and a 1.089 in his six home starts this season, averaging nearly seven innings per start. In his career, the Pirates southpaw is 22-12 with a very solid 3.38 ERA at home. Despite struggling at New York back in May, Maholm is also 3-2 (Pirates are 4-2) with a 3.65 ERA in six career starts against the Mets. The Mets send Tim Redding to the mound on Thursday. In 11 career starts against Pittsburgh, the Pirates have compiled a .301 batting average against Redding. The Mets are 1-3 in Redding's four road starts and he has an overall 6.35 ERA on the season. Only two of Redding's last seven starts have been considered "quality" starts, as he's given up at least four earned runs in each of the other five. It's also worth noting that Redding is 0-2 in his two day starts this season and he's accumulated an awful 13.50 ERA in those two outings. Additionally, in five career starts at PNC Park, Redding has compiled a 6.38 ERA and the Pirates have hit .354 against him, here at Pittsburgh. The Mets still aren't healthy and they've struggled as small to mid-size road underdogs all year. With Maholm outpitching Redding, I look for the Pirates to complete the sweep they began a month ago. *Annihilator

I'm playing on Baltimore and LA to finish UNDER the total. Tough loss for the 'under' bettors, myself included, in yesterday's Baltimore game. The Orioles were up 5-1 in the ninth and as long as they didn't allow the Red Sox to come back and tie or win the game, there was no way to lose the total. Of course, the Red Sox did just that, scoring four runs to tie it and eventually won the game in the 11th. Those who bet the 'under' in yesterday's Angels game probably weren't too happy either as the score of that game was just 2-0 heading to the sixth, before the teams exploded for six runs in the sixth, three in the seventh and five more in the ninth. This is an entirely new series though, one which has seen eight of 13 here at LA finish below the total. I expect a relatively low-scoring affair. Neither starting pitcher brings very impressive overall stats to the table. That's worked in our favor as the o/u line could easily be a bit lower if they had better overall numbers. However, this season's results notwithstanding, both starters are more than capable. Additionally, both will have the advantage of facing today's opponent for the first time this season. Most importantly, both have had success against today's opponent and both are pitching very well right now. Guthrie comes in having gone 2-1 with a solid 3.44 ERA and 1.146 WHIP his last three starts, averaging slightly more than six innings. His last two starts both stayed below the total with scores of 6-3 and 2-1. In three starts vs. the Angels, Guthrie has an outstanding 2.74 ERA and 0.544 WHIP. All three games stayed below the total. Each had an o/u line of 8.5 and each finished with exactly seven combined runs. Not to be outdone, Lackey comes in with a stellar 2.86 ERA his last three starts, recording 24 K's in 22 innings. His last start resulted in a 2-1 final, at Arizona, and both his home starts have also fallen below the number. Lackey is 6-3 and has a 3.46 ERA in 10 starts against the Orioles. The last three all stayed below the total, finishing with scores of 3-2, 4-3 and 3-0. I expect more of the same here. *Best Bet