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The New York Mets and San Diego Padres square off on Tuesday with first pitch set for 9:40 p.m. EST. The game takes place at Petco Park in San Diego, California and will only be available on local TV or through an MLB.tv subscription. Taijuan Walker is set to start for the Mets, while Yu Darvish will start for the Padres.
The Mets have been one of the best teams in the MLB in Buck Showalter’s first season as manager, even with star pitcher Jacob DeGrom on the IL. Heading into Tuesday’s outing, they sit atop the NL East with a nine-game lead over the braves. Hitting-wise, Jeff McNeil has been their best hitter, hitting .314 with three home runs and 27 RBIs, though New York has seen contributions from the majority of the lineup throughout the season. On the mound, Taijuan Walker has surprised a few people with his success this season, currently 3-1 with a 2.88 ERA on the season.
The Padres have played good baseball this season, sitting just 2.5 games behind the Dodgers atop the NL West. They’ve done it all without star shortstop Fernando Tatis, who will likely make his season debut in July. Manny Machado has been a big reason for the Padres' success this year, hitting .327 with nine home runs and 32 runs batted in. On the mound, Yu Darvish has been up and down, but throughout his career, this has been the stretch where he starts finding success. On the season, Darvish is 4-3 with a 4.03 ERA.
Mets vs. Padres
Pitchers: Taijuan Walker vs. Yu Darvish
First pitch: 9:40 p.m. EST
Mets local broadcast: SNY
Padres local broadcast: Bally Sports San Diego
Live stream: MLB.tv (subscription)
Odds, picks & predictions
Point spread: Padres -1.5
Run total: 7.5
Moneyline odds: Padres -130, Mets +110
Moneyline pick: Padres -130
Coming off a tough loss, I like the Padres a lot in this one. While the Mets have been great, I don't see the Padres losing two in a row at home. While Darvish has had his struggles, I think this is a game where we see him throw 6-7 innings giving up two or fewer runs.
Player prop pick: Yu Darvish over 5.5 strikeouts (+100)
In his last three outings, he’s totaled 16 strikeouts, averaging 5.3 per game. While that's not looking great for this bet, I expect more from him tonight. In a must-win game for the Padres, look for Darvish to be at his best in this one. The Mets rank second in the MLB with 518 strikeouts on the season.
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