The first game of the series starts on Tuesday night at Citi Field between the Mets and Nationals.
Griffin Canning is scheduled to pitch for New York, while MacKenzie Gore will take the mound for Washington.
Mets vs. Nationals prediction, preview
Griffin Canning is having a fantastic season for the Mets. Over his past three seasons in Los Angeles, Canning had a 4.96 ERA. The Mets decided to buy low on Canning, and the decision has turned out great. Through 12 starts this season, Canning has a 2.90 ERA and has been a key part of the Mets’ incredible pitching staff. The Mets are the only team in baseball with an ERA under 3.00, with both their starting rotation and bullpen contributing to this achievement. Canning should feel confident heading into this game, as his previous start was arguably his best of the season. He went six shutout innings on the road against the Dodgers, completely shutting down one of the best lineups in baseball. Canning has already faced the Nationals once this season and went five shutout innings in that outing.
MacKenzie Gore is on the bump for the Nationals. Just like Griffin Canning, MacKenzie Gore is having a career-best season for the Nationals. In his first three seasons in Major League Baseball, Gore had a 4.20 ERA. So far this season, Gore has an ERA of 2.87. Most notably, Gore has been a strikeout machine this season. He is averaging 12.9 strikeouts per nine innings, the best mark of his career and the best mark in the National League this season. The Mets have struck out the seventh-least amount of times of any team in baseball, so Gore will have a challenge to continue his great numbers in New York. Batters like Pete Alonso and Francisco Lindor are on fire at the moment, so it should be a great matchup at Citi Field.
Mets vs. Nationals pick, best bet
The Mets have been on fire over the past few weeks. They are 12-3 in their last 15 games and coming home after a very successful West Coast trip. This will be the first game of a three-game series between the Mets and Nationals. The two NL East rivals have had one four-game series so far this season, and they split that series with two wins apiece. The Nationals have some exciting young pieces, but they still rank 18th in baseball in runs scored, compared to the Mets, who rank eighth in runs scored. The Mets also rank seventh in home runs, compared to the Nationals, who rank 21st. Both teams have starting pitchers who have been great this season, and this game should stay under the total. The Mets have a couple of superstars in their lineup who could win the game with one swing of a bat. My favorite bet is a same-game parlay, where the game stays under 7.5 runs and the Mets win. Both starting pitchers should perform well, but someone like Pete Alonso or Francisco Lindor could make the one swing that lifts the Mets to a win.
