Washington Nationals vs NY Mets: Preview & Prediction
By Sascha Paruk in MLB Baseball
Published:
The Mickey Callaway era is off to a roaring start in New York as the first-year manager has the Mets at 6-1 just over a week into the 2018 season. Tonight (8:00 PM ET, Sunday, April 8), New York will send the “Dark Knight,” Matt Harvey, to the hill looking to sweep Tanner Roark and the reigning division champion Washington Nationals, who have followed a four-game season-opening win streak with four straight losses.
Will the Mets stay scorching hot or will the Nats stem their losing streak? Get the early odds, statistical comparison, betting trends, weather forecast, and score prediction below.
Opening Odds
| MONEYLINE | RUNLINE | O/U RUNS |
|---|---|---|
| METS (+133) | METS +1.5 (-160) | OVER 8.0 (-116) |
| NATIONALS (-143) | NATIONALS -1.5 (+140) | UNDER 8.0 (-104) |
Despite trending in opposite directions, Washington opened as a significant favorite at home, where they have yet to win this year. Roark was excellent in his first start of the season, going seven strong and giving up just four hits and one earned run in an 8-1 win over Atlanta, but he was the weakest part of the rotation last year, sporting an ERA well over four (4.67) and a 1.33 WHIP.
Though he only worked five innings, Matt Harvey was equally impressive in his first start, surrendering just one hit, one walk, and no runs en route to a 2-0 win against the Phillies. The only concern was his velocity, which was mired in the low 90s. Still, it was a promising salvo for the former Cy Young winner after his disaster of a 2017, which saw him post an ERA approaching seven (6.70) in 18 starts.
Team Stats
| 4-4 (0-2 Home) | RECORD | 6-1 (2-0 Away) |
| Tanner Roark: 1-0, 1.29 ERA | PROBABLE STARTER | Matt Harvey: 0-0, 0.00 ERA |
| .215 BA, .684 OPS | LINEUP VS OPPONENT STARTER | .254 BA, .794 OPS |
| 6.86 ERA | BULLPEN ERA | 1.16 ERA |
| .797 | TEAM OPS (On-Base + Slugging %) | .793 |
| 13-8 | 2017 + 2018 HEAD-TO-HEAD | 8-13 |
Betting Results & Trends
| NATIONALS | TREND | METS |
|---|---|---|
| Lost 4 | WIN/LOSS STREAK | Won 4 |
| 1-4 | LAST 5 | 4-1 |
| 3-5 | RUNLINE RECORD | 6-1 |
| 4-2-2 | OVER/UNDER SPLIT | 3-4 |
| Under 1 | OVER/UNDER STREAK | Under 1 |
The Mets took the second of the three-game series yesterday morning, 3-2, extending their win streak to four games.
Weather Forecast at Opening Pitch
| TEMPERATURE | 46° |
| HUMIDITY | 27% |
| WIND SPEED | NW 11MPH (in from left field) |
| P.O.P. | 0% |
Score Prediction
| METS | 4 |
| NATIONALS | 6 |
It would be nice to think that Harvey is back to his Cy Young form, but the velocity numbers indicate otherwise. Washington’s bats, which started the year en fuego (33 runs in first six games), will wake up from the current drought (five runs in last three games), and both these teams will regress to their own means.
Managing Editor
Sascha has been working in the sports-betting industry since 2014, and quickly paired his strong writing skills with a burgeoning knowledge of probability and statistics. He holds an undergraduate degree in linguistics and a Juris Doctor from the University of British Columbia.
