On the outer boundaries of the Wild Card race sit two NL East rivals, the Mets and Marlins. The Mets and Marlins remain in the hunt for the postseason and in much better standings than half of the league, but each knows there is little margin for error from here on out.

What hurts both teams is not only the games behind each team sees itself (Florida is 6.5 back and the Mets are seven back), but also the five teams ahead of them in the Wild Card standings.

What helps both teams are the 36 games left to play this season.

With lackluster play all season causing them to be in a precarious position now, both teams know all games are crucial, but the ones against other Wild Card contenders are must wins and that includes Thursday night’s game scheduled for 7:10 p.m. in New York’s Citi Park.

The Marlins own an 9-6 advantage over their divisional opponent this season. The Marlins swept the Mets in four games in May and the Mets returned the favor with a three-game sweep of Florida in June.

MLB Predictions: Pitching Matchup
Anibal Sanchez (RHP, 10-8, 3.16 ERA) vs. Jon Niese (LHP, 8-5, 3.33 ERA)

Sanchez’s two starts against New York were polar opposites with one state line reading (7 IP, 2 ER, 4 hits, 7 strikeouts) and the second (5 2/3 IP, 4 ER, 9 hits, 4 strikeouts). Overall in his career Sanchez is 3-4 with a 4.23 ERA against the Mets.

Many of the New York batters are familiar with Sanchez, but only Carlos Beltran has an average over .235 against him of the batters who have seen him at least 10 times. Jeff Francoeur (.222), Jose Reyes (.143) and David Wright (.231) have not fared so well against the rightie.

Niese has faced the Marlins three times already this season and he is 1-2 in those games with a 3.60 ERA.  Niese has been on an incredible run lately. He has allowed exactly one earned run in his last four starts and has allowed one earned run or less in eight of his last 11 starts. His ERA in his last four games is 1.39.

Sanchez has a hot hand of his own. In his last start he shut out Houston through seven innings. He struck out five in that game and it was the first time he has not struck out at least seven batters since July 19, seven starts ago.

Marlins vs. Mets Betting Odds
The odds on the game are -110 for both sides with the total set at 7.5 and the ‘over’ listed at a price of +100. Odds are courtesy of Sportsbook.com

Marlins vs. Mets Betting Trends
Marlins are 2-8 in their last nine vs. a team with a winning record
Marlins are 21-7 in their last 28 games vs. a left-handed starter
Mets are 4-3 in their last seven games vs. a right-handed starter
Mets are 8-3 in Niese’s last 11 home starts
‘Over’ is 6-0 in the last five meetings between these teams
Marlins are 1-4 in the last four meetings in New York
Marlins are 3-5 in the last seven meetings

Marlins vs. Mets Betting Picks and Predictions
Florida has the advantage overall this year in the series but it seems their wins on the road have come in the form of rallies or late-game mishaps. That is anything but a consistent basis. What is consistent is both team’s struggling offenses and both pitchers positive matchups against the opposing lineups. The play here is the ‘under’

Jason Sharpe is the newest member of Doc’s Sports Advisory Board, but he is not new to the sports betting scene, as he has made a living in Las Vegas for several years betting sports as a Wise Guy. For his baseball picks, 9 of 14 winning nights and will have more winners on Thursday. If you are interested in baseball betting, this is one guy you don’t want to miss. Also, check Doc’s Sports homepage each day for exclusive baseball betting articles, current baseball lines and matchup reports to boot!.