Who wins big series between Mets, Nationals?
Having watched their top flamethrower engulf the Nationals on Tuesday, the Mets send a different sort of weapon to the mound tonight in the hope of clinching a key early-season series.
The two National League East rivals meet at 7:10 p.m. ET in a tough call for oddsmakers. Online sports book Bovada.lv currently lists last year’s division champions as +102 underdogs, while Washington enters as a 1.5-run favorite. The over/under run total sits at seven.
Dusty Baker’s crew got blown away by Noah Syndergaard in the opener of the three-game set. New York’s dominant righty fanned 10 in seven innings, and outfielder Curtis Granderson went yard to give Flushing’s finest a 2-0 triumph. With a victory this evening, the Mets would move atop the standings.
Bartolo Colon’s the man entrusted with making that happen. The veteran carries a 1-1 mark in three home starts so far, and his most recent turn at Citi Field produced especially sparkling results. Colon (3-2, 3.53 ERA) logged eight scoreless frames to defeat Atlanta on May 2.
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On the Nats’ side, Gio Gonzalez (2-1, 1.93) receives the ball. He rebounded from his worst outing of 2016 by twirling five innings and surrendering no earned runs in a 5-3 win over Miami on Friday. Gonzalez is also 6-1 with a 1.54 ERA in 11 appearances in Queens, giving him a 9-4 record and 2.66 ERA across 17 career starts vs. the Mets. As an added bonus, the southpaw shouldn’t have to confront either Lucas Duda (back) or David Wright (stiffness).
Even though New York owns eight of the past 10 Ws in the series, the Nationals seem poised to capitalize on the host club here. Colon’s highly unlikely to get through Bryce Harper and the rest of the lineup unscathed, and we’re honestly skeptical about the durability. Roll with Washington to extend its NL East lead at the moment.
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