After playing a pair of games in New York on Thursday, the Mets hit the road on Friday to face the Cincinnati Reds.
New York Mets vs. Cincinnati Reds (-142, 9)
While the Mets bullpen got both Tuesday and Wednesday off, the team will likely have to throw a lot of guys out for a second consecutive day, a core that ranked 22nd in bullpen ERA without Edwin Diaz in 2023.
This puts the onus on starting pitcher, Jose Quintana, to deliver a good start. He has a 3.59 ERA in 14 starts since joining the Mets in 2023 while getting 7.2 strikeouts and 2.9 walks per nine innings and his ERA jumping to 4.19 on the road.
Last season, the Mets offense averaged more runs per game on the road than at home and will look to get online after notching 11 total runs in their first five games of the season, having these struggles despite having two games go to extra innings.
For the Reds, Hunter Greene gets the start on the mound and will look to improve upon his performance at home, posting a 5.13 ERA at home with 2.7 home runs per nine innings allowed while registering a 4.65 ERA on the road with just 0.9 home runs per nine innings allowed.
The Reds ranked ninth in Major League Baseball last season in scoring with over 4.8 runs per game and are off to a fast start this season with nearly 6.7 runs per game at home.
With Greene’s pitching struggles at home and the Mets bullpen coming off of a heavy workload on Thursday, Friday’s series opener in Cincinnati will pack lots of offense.
The Play: Mets vs. Reds Over 9 Runs
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