MLB Saturday June 22nd Mets at Cubs Betting Preview
New York Feeling Good Right Now
The old adage when an offense explodes in a blowout victory is to “save some for the next game” and that’s again the them in the June 22nd Mets at Cubs betting matchup after New York rolled to an 11-1 win on Friday at Wrigley Field.
With the series opening loss Chicago has fallen to 3-4 on their current home stand yet they are still very slight -110 favorites on Saturday (NYM -106). It takes some guts to bet on the Cubs in this spot but 56% of the betting public is on the North Siders at home.
Why the Mets Have Value on Saturday
The fact you can get the Mets at -106 on Saturday is astounding, even though New York was a +133 underdog on Friday. NYM is fresh off handing Cubs starter Shota Imanaga the worst outing of his short MLB career, tagging him for 10ER over just 3.0 IP when he entered the game with a 1.89 ERA.
New York and Chicago have entered different trajectories in their 2024 seasons. The Mets have won 12 of their last 15 and aside from the dominating win on Friday New York also has an 11-6 win over San Diego and a 14-2 victory in Texas over their last five games so this offense is dialed in. Brandon Nimmo is leading the way with a .462 averaged in the last week and J.D. Martinez has 3 HRs in his last six games.
Jose Quintana had an ERA over 7 in May, but he held the Cubs offense scoreless over 6.1 IP on Friday. That gives Tylor Megill (2-3, 3.52 ERA) confidence as he starts for the Mets on Saturday picking up his first two wins of the season over his last three starts.
Why the Cubs Have Value on Saturday
Chicago had a bad game on Friday, but they had been playing better in winning the previous series against the Giants and scoring 5+ runs in four of their last six. The Cubs are also still 21-17 at home this season.
The Cubs hope to get their offense back on track Saturday and Megill does have a 5.40 ERA on the road compared to 2.61 at home. Megill gave up 4ER over 5.0 IP in his last road start at Washington at the beginning of the month, and Chicago’s Seiya Suzuki has a HR in his lone appearance vs. the Mets starter.
Jameson Taillon (3-3, 3.08 ERA) is up for the Cubs hoping to fare better than Chicago pitchers who had the team down 10-0 heading into the bottom of the 4th in Friday’s game. Taillon has strung together two solid outings, throwing 6.0 IP against both the Rays and Cardinals while allowing just 2 total runs.
Free June 22nd Mets at Cubs Betting Pick
The Mets are red hot and are also 3 games over .500 on the road this season. With the way New York is manufacturing runs, and with a hot and humid day at Wrigley combined with wins blowing out to left center at up to 20 MPH you take the better offense.
Free Pick: Mets -106
