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The New York Mets will look to achieve their first 3-0 since 2012 versus the Washington Nationals on Saturday night in the nation's capital. Join us for our MLB odds series, where our Mets-Nationals prediction and pick will be made.
The Mets have quickly gotten off to a hot start as New York was victorious yet again on Friday versus Washington, downing the ‘Nats by a score of 7-3. New York will send out right-hander Chris Bassitt to face off against the Washington lineup, as the former All-Star Athletic finished the 2021 season with a 3.15 ERA.
Although the Nationals are 0-2 to start the year, the Nationals are still confident in their roster after only being two and a half years removed from a World Series title. Washington will be putting their faith in 23-year-old rookie Joan Adon, who only started one game for the Nationals last year, striking out nine batters in 5 1/3 innings pitched while allowing only two earned runs.
Courtesy of FanDuel, here are the Mets-Nationals MLB odds:
MLB Odds: Mets-Nationals Odds
New York Mets: +1.5 (+112)
Washington Nationals: +1.5 (-134)
Over: 9.5 (-110)
Under: 9.5 (-110)
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Why the Mets Could Cover the Spread
After a disheartening third-place division finish that saw the Mets go 77-85 last season, the chance to go 3-0 for the first time in a decade has to be encouraging to say the least. On Friday, the Mets excelled at capitalizing with runners in scoring position, as New York found a way to punish Nationals pitching by going 5-14 in that department. Credit infielder Jeff McNeil, whose three hits including a solo jack on his 3oth birthday paved the way to a Mets victory.
After a brief benches-clearing brawl ensued when SS Francisco Lindor was hit by a pitch in the face during a bunt attempt, hostilities soon mellowed in the final stages of the contest. With tempers flaring in the first two games played between these bitter division rivals, keep an eye on if any extracurricular activity takes place, as four Mets have already been hit with pitches in eighteen innings played thus far.
Through two games, New York leads the majors in batting average at .347, are first in OBP at .453, and have the second-most runs scored with 12. The season may be extremely young, but if the Mets keep ripping the cover off the ball and are pitching to extreme efficiency, then New York has a fantastic chance to cover the spread in every game they play in moving forward.
Why the Nationals Could Cover the Spread
At first glance at the pre-season power rankings, the Nationals were considered one of the bottom-ten squads in the league after being defeated nearly 100 times during the 2021 season.
In order for Washington to turn the tide and change the nationwide narrative about them as the baseball season progresses, the Nationals need to find more consistency both at the plate and on the mound. Washington is allowing the highest batting average to opposing hitters at a .347 mark, and the ‘Nats will turn to a rookie hurler in order to sustain some stability. Not much is known about Adon, as the youngster does not have a large enough sample size to judge whether or not he can be an effective major league pitcher. However, the Nationals seem to have confidence in the kid after his lone start versus the Red Sox near the end of last season.
At some point, Washington is due to put all of the pieces together at some point, and if that is going to be on Saturday night, expect arguably the best hitter in the game in OF Juan Soto to break out of his early-season funk. Through two games, Soto is only hitting .167 in a minuscule sample size of six at-bats.
Final Mets-Nationals Prediction & Pick
Cover your ears Nationals fans. Unfortunately, with All-Star Bassitt on the mound and a rookie with only one start under his belt taking the reigns for the ‘Nats, the odds are stacked against Washington covering the spread. Although it's been a small sample size, the Nationals have not shown any reason to put money on them thus far. New York wins this one going away and will look for the four-game series sweep on Sunday morning.
Final Mets-Nationals Prediction & Pick: Mets -1.5 (+112)
