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The New York Mets and Washington Nationals square off on Wednesday with first pitch set for 7:05 p.m. ET. The game takes place at Nationals Park in Washington D.C., and will only be available on local TV or through an MLB.tv subscription. Tylor Megill will get the ball for New York while the Nats will put Aaron Sanchez on the hill.
The Mets are chugging along at the top of the NL East and come into this game on a two-game winning streak. New York has won six of its last 10 games too, including a 4-2 win in the first game of this series last night. Their offense has been fine, scoring just over four runs per game over the last week, but their pitching has been doing the heavy lifting over that span. Megill, who was the team’s Opening Day starter, has been phenomenal this year. In 33.1 innings of work, he’s allowed just nine earned runs on 23 hits while striking out 36 hitters. He should continue to thrive against a Nats lineup that struggles and that he already beat once this season when he tossed five innings and allowed three hits and no runs in the win.
Washington is in a bit of a mess right now. The team sits in the cellar of the NL East and they’ve lost five of their last six games. The offense is very inconsistent, having scored double-digit runs three times in their last 10 games, but the crew is still averaging just six runs per game in the last 10 because of a shutout and several low scoring performances. Sanchez is going to have to put his best performance forward on the hill too. He’s had a rough start to his year, allowing 13 earned runs on 18 hits in just 13.1 innings pitched. He’s also allowed two long-balls while striking out just nine hitters.
Mets vs. Nationals
Pitchers: Tylor Megill vs. Aaron Sanchez
First pitch: 7:05 p.m. ET
Mets local broadcast: SportsNet New York
Nationals local broadcast: MASN
Live stream: MLB.tv (subscription)
Moneyline odds: Mets -180, Nationals +155
Picks & predictions
Moneyline pick: Mets -180
The drastic difference in pitching consistency between Sanchez and Megill is one factor that should have you leaning toward the Mets. But the other is that New York has won four of the five total matchups between these two teams this season, including last night’s series opener.
Player prop pick: Megill over 5.5 strikeouts (+125)
This will be Megill’s second time facing the Nationals. In his first start of the season, he pitched five innings and gave up three hits while striking out six against Washington. Megill is coming off a start where he had nine strikeouts. His momentum should see him tally at least six punchouts against a poor Nats lineup.
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