Matt Harvey (4-0, 3.04 ERA) and the New York Mets (15-8) square off against Max Scherzer (1-2, 1.26 ERA) and the Washington Nationals (10-13) in a game that has the potential to be low scoring. This is the second of a four-game series at Citi Field. The Nationals won the last game 8-2 and Washington leads the series 1-0. Action begins at 7:10 p.m. ET on Friday, May. 1 and can be seen on MASN and SNY.
Harvey is 2-1 with a 0.82 ERA in his appearances against the Nationals, and goes up against a below-average Washington offense which is batting just .236 this season. Lucas Duda (.325, 13 Rs, 2 HRs, 12 RBIs) continued his strong play yesterday, going 2 for 3. Scherzer is 2-1 with a 2.05 ERA against the Mets in his career. He takes on a below-average New York offense that’s batting just .240. Bryce Harper (.286, 18 Rs, 5 HRs, 15 RBIs) has been successful at the plate for the Nationals, going 2 for 4 yesterday with one run and three RBIs.
New York is a slim -111 favorite at home against Washington. The Over/Under (O/U) is sitting at six runs for this matchup. The Mets have recorded an overall money line of +887 and have shown high-level performance as a favorite this season with a record of 10-1. New York is unbeaten as the favorite and has a 6-4 SU record in its last ten outings. The Mets have no trouble scoring as they rank second in the NL in home offense with 5.3 runs per game. The Mets are one of the best in the NL in terms of hits at home with an impressive 8.6 per game. New York leads the whole NL in walks at home, earning an average of 4.2 per game. Crossing over to the pitching staff, the Mets are the fourth-best team in the league at limiting hits and walks to their opponents, recording a WHIP of 1.13 so far this season.
Over in the other dugout, Washington is coming in with an overall money line of -751 and a disappointing record of 2-3 as the underdog. They have managed to pull off a perfect record while playing as the underdog against teams in their division, and have a 7-9 SU record.
The Mets have a perfect 9-0 record at home (12-6 overall) against right-handed starting pitchers, which is what they’ll be facing when Scherzer takes the mound. Harvey (RHP) will be on the hill against the Nationals, who have a 6-11 record against right-handed starting pitchers.
Predictions: SU Winner – NYM, O/U – Over
Notes
When leading after 7 innings, New York is 10-3, while Washington is 6-7.
After a weak showing last week where they got in seven hits, the Mets need to step it up. The Nationals have a record of 6-3 when opponents get seven hits or fewer.
It looks like the Nationals have a slight leg up on the Mets, as the Nationals have won their last three games while the Mets have lost their last three.
When they outhit their opponents, the Nationals are 7-1. The Mets have an 8-1 record when outhitting opponents.
Ranking 12th in runs, New York has earned 97 this season. Washington ranks ninth with 103 runs.
New York and Washington both rank in the top 10 of the league in walks. New York sits at ninth with 73 this season and Washington ranks sixth with 77.
The Mets are 8-3 in games where they hit one or more home runs. The Nationals are 8-6 when they hit at least one homer.
