Mets-A's prediction: Picks, odds on Sunday, April 16

The New York Mets will look to complete the three-game road sweep this afternoon when facing the struggling Oakland Athletics. First pitch is set for 4:07 p.m. ET at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum in Oakland, CA. Jose Butto will step on the hill for the Mets and make his first start in the big leagues this season. The A's will turn to JP Sears (0-1, 5.59 ERA) to try to turn things around.

New York is a -155 moneyline favorite at DraftKings Sportsbook, while Oakland is a +135 underdog. The run total is set at 9.

Mets-A's picks: Wednesday, April 5th

Mets

Day to day: Max Scherzer (side)

Out: RP Stephen Nogosek (elbow), RP Edwin Diaz (knee), RP Tommy Hunter (back), C Omar Narvaez (calf)

Athletics

Out: C Manny Pina (wrist), RP Freddy Tarnok (shoulder), RP Domingo Acevedo (back), LF Seth Brown (oblique), RP Kirby Snead (shoulder)

Jose Butto vs. JP Sears

Butto was recalled from Triple-A Syracuse for the Mets' West Coast roadtrip and will make his season debut in place of Max Scherzer. The three-time Cy Young Award winner was supposed to get the nod today, but he's still dealing with soreness from his last start. Manager Buck Showalter decided to push his next start back until Wednesday against the Dodgers. As for Butto, he had posted a 1.86 ERA through two starts with Syracuse this season before being called up back to the majors.

Sears has been subpar for the Athletics through his first two starts of the campaign, yielding 11 hits and six earned runs through 9.2 innings pitched so far. He got touched for two early home runs against Baltimore on Monday and was yanked after five in an eventual 5-1 loss. A weak point for him so far has been No. 3 hitters, as they've gone 2-5 against him with a home run, three runs, and three RBI.

On paper, this looks like a matchup that favors both offenses as a rookie will be going head-to-head with a veteran that has had a so-so start to the season. However, both of these lineups rank in the bottom five in team batting average and the A's have produced just 59 runs total this season. I would lean with the under cashing here and expect something like a 4-3 ballgame.

Pick: Under 9

Butto was lit up for seven runs in his Major League debut last August and I'd anticipate he'll run into a few tough spots in this matchup. Sears hasn't been terrible on the mound and simply needs some run support to get into a rhythm. I think the A's do just that this afternoon and avoid the sweep.

Pick: Athletics

  
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