Losers of four in a row, the New York Mets (14-11, 4-4 home) battle the Washington Nationals (9-14, 7-5 away) in the three-game NL East series finale. The Nationals won the first two contests, outscoring the Mets, 9-1.
First pitch of Thursday’s contest is at 7:10 p.m. EST inside Citi Field in Queens, New York. New York is the betting favorite (-250 moneyline), and the over/under tally is 8.5 runs.
What to Know – Washington Nationals
Washington has won four of its last five games after a slow start through the first month of the season. Even with the Nationals trending in the right direction the team remains in the cellar of the NL East.
The expected starter for the Nats is right-hander Trevor Williams (1-1, 3.38 ERA, 1.08 WHIP). Williams has been solid on the mound to begin the season, allowing three earned runs or less in all four starts. The 31-year-old has thrown 21.1 innings, allowing eight earned runs on 19 hits and four walks while striking out 13 batters.
Offensively, the Nationals are 14th in the league sporting a .249 team batting average but producing only 3.7 runs per game. The pitching staff for Washington is 11th in the MLB, showcasing a 3.92 team earned run average.
Washington has only swatted 12 home runs as a team, and four of those have come off the bat of Jeimer Candelario who’s hit four longballs and driven in a team-best 12 runs and 12 runs scored.
What to Know – New York Mets
Four-straight losses against teams under .500 is not what the Mets expected heading into the week. New York has fallen to three-games back of Atlanta in the standings with its longest losing streak of the season.
Looking to get the Mets back on track is lefty Joey Lucchesi (1-0, 0.00 ERA, 0.86 WHIP). The southpaw was brilliant in his first appearance of the season, firing seven shutout innings, scattering four hits, walking two, and striking out nine batters. Lucchesi missed a majority of the 2011 season and all of 2022 after undergoing Tommy John surgery.
The Mets offense has struggled lately and sits 20th in the majors with a .234 team batting average and tallying 4.5 runs per outing. New York’s pitching staff is 16th in the league with a 4.19 team ERA.
The bats have gone cold for New York with arguably its top two hitters, Pete Alonso and Francisco Lindor, a combined 2-for-32 at the dish during the four-game losing stretch. Brandon Nimmo, who leads the team in batting average, has also seen his average drop from .368 to .337 over the last four games.
The Pick is In
Lucchesi showed no rust in his debut after over a year away from the game and the Mets offense is too good to continue their woes at the plate. A close matchup earlier, New York opens it up in the middle innings to pull away and break the losing streak.
The Pick: New York Mets -1.5
