Thursday, September 24, 2020, Nationals Park, Washington, D.C., 6:05 p.m. ET
Mets at Nationals Betting Preview: Mets (-106), Nationals (-110)
New York Mets
While the Tampa Bay Rays celebrated winning the American League East on Wednesday following an 8-5 win over New York, the Mets (25-31) were pushed to the brink of elimination from postseason consideration. New York, which is guaranteed a seventh sub-.500 record in 12 seasons, essentially needs to sweep the four-game series with Washington and have Philadelphia and Miami lose all of their remaining games.
Dominic Smith, who belted a solo homer on Wednesday, is 6-for-20 (.300) with three home runs, seven RBIs and five runs against Washington this season. Andres Gimenez and Todd Frazier also went deep for New York in the series finale against Tampa Bay.
Rookie left-hander David Peterson (5-2, 3.80 ERA) will get the nod on Thursday after allowing one run on three hits in six innings of a 7-2 victory over Atlanta in his last outing. He fanned 10 and walked four in the Saturday contest. The 25-year-old won his lone outing against Washington this season, permitting one unearned run on one hit in five innings of an 8-2 triumph on Aug. 13.
Washington Nationals
Juan Soto, who homered in his second consecutive contest Wednesday during the Nationals’ 12-3 loss to Philadelphia, has battered New York this season. The 21-year-old has gone deep four times among his nine hits and collected nine RBIs and six runs in five games vs. the Mets this season.
Soto had manned right field each of the past two days for the Nationals (23-33) as manager Dave Martinez openly shuffles the deck with an eye toward the future. Asdrubal Cabrera saw his five-game hitting streak end Wednesday, although he is 7-for-22 (.318) with two homers and five RBIs against his former team this season.
Left-hander Patrick Corbin (2-6, 4.76 ERA) hasn’t had much success this season, except when he faces the Mets. The New York native, coming off a disastrous seven-run, 14-hit performance in a 7-3 setback at Miami on Saturday, is 2-0 with a 3.09 ERA against New York this season. In his career, Corbin is 4-5 with a 4.28 ERA in 16 games (15 starts) vs. the Mets.
Mets at Nationals Betting Pick for September 24, 2020
The Mets dropped four of six contests on a homestand that could have gone a long way toward making their season. Now, the team hits the road for a four-game set that essentially will end it. Washington will make hay against a New York bullpen that sports a 9.00 ERA in the past six games.
Mets at Nationals Betting Pick:
Nationals 6, Mets 4
Mets at Nationals Best Bet for September 24, 2020
Soto, who leads the Nationals in a majority of offensive categories, won’t slow down at the Mets’ expense. Trea Turner, who will be refreshed after a night off, has hit safely in five consecutive games heading into the series opener.
Mets at Nationals Best Bet: OVER 9 total runs (+100)
–Field Level Media
