Mets, Nats to find offense amid pitching duel?
In his second start since inking a massive contract extension, Washington’s Stephen Strasburg will take on the Mets’ own handsomely compensated righty. The problem is that Matt Harvey doesn’t look anything like a staff ace these days.
The two NL East rivals square off in tonight’s highly anticipated rubber match, with a 7:10 p.m. ET first pitch in Gotham. Oddsmakers at online sports BetDSI like the road team as a 1.5-run favorite. New York (22-17), conversely, enters as a slight +112 underdog. The over/under run total has dipped to 6.5.
Strasburg (6-0, 2.95 ERA) now boasts the bank account to accompany a torrid start to 2016. The proud owner of a newly minted seven-year, $175 million deal, he goes mano-a-mano with the struggling Harvey (3-5, 4.93) here. Last season’s celebrated return from Tommy John surgery seems like an epoch ago in light of a disastrous month-plus. Harvey was dented for 11 hits and five runs in 5 2/3 innings of Friday’s 5-2 defeat at Colorado. Foes are batting .311 against him, and 17 of 57 hits have been of the extra-base variety.
There may be a tonic for the former All-Star, though – the Nats’ lineup. Harvey typically relishes facing Washington, posting a 1.77 ERA and 0.94 WHIP in 10 career meetings with the franchise. The Nationals (24-16) hit just .210 off the hurler in six 2015 encounters. Bryce Harper seems particularly flummoxed by Harvey, going 0 for 20 in lifetime duels.
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As fun as it is to envision a classic duel between two craftsmen on the bump, however, that forecast of 6.5 runs seems like pie-in-the-sky stuff. Take into consider that Strasburg’s yielded seven runs across his past 13 frames, too. We’re still in store for a high-class finale, but don’t become too smitten with the hype surrounding the mound.
THURSDAY MLB FREE PICK: NATIONALS/METS OVER 6.5 RUNS
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