The New York Mets will be taking on their divisional rival Washington Nationals at Nationals Park. Mid-Atlantic Sports Network is in line to televise the matchup and the game is slated to get going at 1:05 p.m. ET.
New York Mets vs. Washington Nationals Odds
New York (-150) is favored over Washington (+130) and Vegas has put the Over/Under for this afternoon game at 8.5 runs (+100 for the over and -120 for the under). The games current runline odds stand at +145 for taking the Mets +1.5 runs and -155 for the Nationals -1.5.
The Mets are 5-1 SU and have gone 5-1 against the spread (ATS). They’ve accumulated 4.4 units for moneyline bettors in this young season and 6.0 units ATS. The Nationals are 4-3 SU and 3-4 ATS. The team has lost 0.8 units for moneyline bettors and 1.1 units ATS.
Washington games have a 4-1-2 over/under record so far in 2018. The Mets have an over/under record of 3-3.
The Mets have lost units and are – ATS when facing a left-handed starting pitcher this year. On the other hand, the Nationals have netted 1.0 units and are 1-0 ATS when facing a lefty starter. The over has cashed in zero of those games, compared to zero that went under the total.
Steven Matz (0-1, 6.75 ERA) will get the start for the visiting Mets. The left-handed Matz started 13 games last year while finishing the season 2-7 overall with a 6.08 ERA and a 1.53 WHIP. He made two starts against the Nationals in 2017 and put together a 0-1 record against them with a 2.57 ERA and eight strikeouts.
The Nationals are putting the ball in the hands of lefty Gio Gonzalez (1-0, 1.50 ERA), who struck out 188 hitters over 201 innings last year with 79 walks, while finishing the season 15-9 overall with a 2.96 ERA and a 1.18 WHIP. He made three starts against the Mets a year ago and put up a 3-0 record with a 2.25 ERA and 13 strikeouts.
Washington’s pitchers have yielded 5.9 runs per game overall this season as a unit. Its starters have an ERA of 4.28, a WHIP of 1.35 and a strikeouts-per-nine of 10.6. The bullpen has a 6.86 ERA, 1.29 WHIP and 10.7 K/9. In four divisional games, Nationals starters have an ERA of 7.06 and the bullpens ERA is 5.84.
The Washington offense is putting up 5.4 runs per contest, including 4.6 per game over its last five. The team has slashed .228/.359/.415 over its last five games and is 2-3 SU during that stretch.
The Nationals batters have been led by outfielders Bryce Harper and Adam Eaton. Harper is hitting .286/.485/.857 with six hits, nine RBIs and seven runs scored, and Eaton’s line is .455/.520/.864 with 10 hits, five RBIs and 10 runs.
Harper had a drop-off in production against left-handed pitching at home in 2017, slashing .295/.362/.328 in 69 such plate appearances (compared to his total season line of .317/.411/.596).
In the other dugout, New York’s pitching staff allowed 2.5 runs per game and its starters own a 3.23 ERA, 1.08 WHIP and 11.15 K/9. The bullpen has logged an outstanding ERA of just 1.16, along with a K/9 of 13.11.
The Mets offense has slashed .265/.377/.418 on its way to 5.0 runs scored per game this season.
New York’s offensive production been led by outfielders Yoenis Cespedes and Brandon Nimmo. Cespedes is slashing .273/.407/.682 with six hits, seven RBIs and six runs scored, while Nimmo (.375/.615/.500) is up to three hits, zero RBIs and four runs scored.
New York Mets at Washington Nationals MLB Tip
Predictions: SU Winner – Nationals, ATS Winner – Mets, O/U – OVER
Betting Notes
- The Mets went 6-13 SU against the Nationals in 2017.
- The Nationals bullpen recorded 3.54 ERA against the Mets last year.
