The ice-cold Washington Nationals will try to avoid losing their fifth straight game they play host to the New York Mets at Nationals Park. The matchup will be televised nationally on ESPN and the game gets underway 8:08 p.m. ET.
New York Mets vs. Washington Nationals Odds
Washington (+135) is coming into this one as the underdog to New York (-155) and Vegas has put the Over/Under for this one at 8 runs. Odds for wagering on the games total sit at -105 for the under and -115 for the over. Bettors can also wager on the games runline with the most recent odds sitting at Mets +1.5 runs (+140) and Nationals -1.5 runs (-150).
The Mets are 6-1 SU and have gone 5-1 against the spread (ATS). They’ve accumulated 4.4 units for moneyline gamblers this year and 6.0 units ATS. The Nationals are 4-4 SU and 3-4 ATS. They’ve lost 0.8 units for bettors taking the moneyline and 1.1 units ATS.
Washington games have an over/under record of 4-1-2 so far in 2018. New York has an over/under record of 3-3.
The Mets have gained 4.4 units and are 5-1 ATS when facing a righty starter this season. The over has cashed in three of those games, compared to three that’ve gone under against right-handed starting pitchers. On the other hand, the Nationals have lost 1.9 units and are 2-4 ATS when facing a righty starter. The overs hit in four of those games, compared to one that went under the total.
Matt Harvey (0-0, 0.00 ERA) will get the nod for New York. The right-handed Harvey started 18 games last year and finished the season 5-7 overall with a 6.70 ERA and a 1.69 WHIP.
The Nationals will be turning to righty Tanner Roark (1-0, 1.29 ERA), who recorded 166 strikeouts over 181 innings last year (30 starts). Roark finished the season 13-11 overall with a 4.67 ERA and a 1.33 WHIP. He recorded two starts against the Mets a year ago and registered a 1-0 record with a 4.26 ERA and 14 strikeouts.
Washington’s pitching staff has yielded 5.5 runs per game overall in 2018 as a unit. Its starters have a 3.97 ERA, 1.39 WHIP and 10.5 strikeouts per nine innings. The bullpen has a 6.57 ERA, 1.26 WHIP and 10.6 K/9. In five games against NL East foes, Nationals starters have an ERA of 6.00 and the bullpen’s ERA is 5.63.
The Washington hitters are putting up 5.0 runs per contest, including 3.8 per game over their last five. The team has slashed .214/.337/.351 over its last five matchups and is 1-4 SU during that span.
Outfielders Bryce Harper and Adam Eaton have led the Nationals offense this year. Harper is slashing .292/.486/.917 with seven hits, five homers, 10 RBIs and eight runs scored, and Eaton is batting .435 with 10 hits, five RBIs and 10 runs.
Eaton enjoyed batting against righties at home last season, slashing .389/.463/.611 across 41 such plate appearances (his overall season line was .297/.393/.462).
In the other dugout, New York’s pitchers have allowed 2.4 runs per game and its starting pitchers own a 2.78 ERA, 1.07 WHIP and 11.61 K/9. The bullpen has logged an excellent ERA of just 1.32, along with a K-per-9 of 11.85.
Mets hitters have slashed .260/.370/.404 on their way to 4.7 runs scored per game this year, including over the teams last five contests (4-1 SU).
Outfielders Brandon Nimmo and Yoenis Cespedes have led New York’s offense. Nimmo is hitting .375/.643/.500 with three hits, zero RBIs and four runs scored, while Cespedes is hitting .222/.344/.556 with six hits, three homers, seven RBIs and six runs scored.
New York Mets vs. Washington Nationals Pick
Predictions: SU Winner – Nationals, ATS Winner – Mets, O/U – OVER
Betting Trends
- The Mets went 6-13 SU against the Nationals last season.
- The Nationals bullpen managed an ERA of 3.54 against the Mets last year.
