A huge NL East matchup is set to go down Friday night in Flushing where the Mets will send Noah Syndergaard to the bump to match wits with Nationals’ staff ace Stephen Strasburg in a matchup of NL East heavyweights – get your popcorn ready!
You can bet on MLB odds at BookMaker.eu every day of the season.
ODDS ANALYSIS
Only the Giants and Cubs sport better overall records than that of Dusty Baker’s Nats in the National League. Though they just dropped the first two of their current series to the Brewers, the club was running hot before that in coming out on top in six straight and seven of their last eight. Washington currently holds a four game lead over NY for the top spot in the division, and finds itself up $134 overall even though its 24-20 road record has cost MLB bettors just over $150 for the season.
Just when you think you’ve got this game pegged, the baseball gods serve up a team like the Mets who can go out and clobber the Cubs by the aggregate score of 32-11 and then struggle with the division rival Marlins in the next two games. For all intents and purposes, they should likely be down 0-2 in the series with Miami but was able to fight back from a 6-0 deficit to take the opener 8-6. The Mets have cost their betting backers a shade of $530 to date, but has been a bit better at home where they’ve played .585 ball overall (-$189).
PROBABLE PITCHERS
The back injury that forced the “Strasborg” to the DL didn’t seem to bother the righty one iota in his return as he carved up the Cincinnati Reds through 6.2 scoreless innings. The win moved him to a perfect 11-0 overall and inched him ever so closer to Clayton Kershaw as a potential NL Cy Young contestant. Hardware aside, Strasburg is in the midst of his best season as a pro. Opponents are batting just .208 against him to date, and he’s allowed just 75 hits in just under 100 innings of work. He’s logged quality starts in both outings against the Mets this season, and stands 5-1 with a 0.97 WHIP lifetime at Citi Field.
Bone spurs, shmone burrs! Not even bone fragments hanging off his arm got in the way of Syndergaard mowing people down last time out against the Cubs. A start removed from his worst outing of the season, Thor calmly went about his business allowing Chicago just seven hits and 1 ER with eight strikeouts and no walks through seven innings. The Mets have won 11 of his 17 overall starts, and he’s been at his best at home where he’s 5-1 with a 2.02 ERA and he’s 2-1 with a 2.70 ERA in his career against the Nationals.
LIVE BETTING
Syndergaard was embarrassed by the Nats when he last threw at them back on June 27. He gave up 5 ER and seven hits through just three innings of work. That outing will be fresh in his mind, so you can expect him to go all out this time around.
Strasburg has given up more than 2 ER in just five starts this season, so it’s safe to say he’ll have the Mets offense in check in this one as well considering he’s racked up 21 Ks in nearly 13 combined innings against them to date.
I expect both starting pitchers to be on top of their game in this one, and will be hitting the first five innings under the total pretty hard because of it.
QUICK PICK
While I love what I’ve seen from Strasburg this season, I can’t help but think Thor will be talking it to the next level here after getting humbled by the Nats 10+ days ago. Jeurys Familia has been a stone cold lock in the back end, and it wouldn’t shock me if Syndergaard built the bridge to him all by himself.
MLB Odds: Mets 2, Nationals 1
Load your betting bankroll from your smartphone with BookMaker’s new cashier feature! Depositing and withdrawing funds from your account has never been easier. BookMaker's live betting platform means you always have access to odds and lines to every sporting event. Click here and start wagering today! First pitch for the game between the Washington Nationals and New York Mets is scheduled for Friday, July 8, 2016 at 7:10 p.m. ET at Citi Field. You can watch the contest live on the MLB Network.
