Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports /Sipa USA

New York Mets vs Washington Nationals: A NL East matchup

The Washington Nationals are hosting the New York Mets tonight at Nationals Park to close out  the four-game series.

Can the Mets make a step towards the playoffs?

The New York Mets are third in the NL East with a 42-42 record, including 21-17 on the road. They have won 6 of the last 9 games. The Mets have a 4.17 ERA, a .233 batting average, a .321 on-base percentage, and 1.32 walks plus hits per inning pitched. Francisco Lindor leads the team with 86 hits and 57 runs while Pete Alonso is on top with 18 home runs.

Can the Nationals save the season?

The Washington Nationals are fourth in the NL East with a 40-46 record, including 18-21 at home. After losing three consecutive games, the Nationals won 7-5 last night against the Mets. Washington has a 4.03 ERA, a .249 batting average, a .310 on-base percentage, and 1.27 walks plus hits per inning pitched. CJ Abrams is the best player on the team, with 88 hits, 53 runs, and 13 home runs for the season.

Betting Trends

The Nationals are 2-7 SU in their last 9 games overall, 8-4 SU in their last 12 home games and 1-5 SU in their last 6 games against the Mets. Washington has played over the total run line in 8 of the last 12 games overall, 4 of the last 6 games against the Mets and 5 of their last 6 games against teams from the NL. The Mets are 14-5 SU in their last 19 games overall and 10-3 SU in their last 13 games on the road. New York has played over the total run line in 7 of their last 8 games overall, 6 of their last 7 games played on Thursday and 5 of their last 6 games as favorites.

Prediction and Conclusion

This has been a very interesting series, with the Mets winning the first two games in the tenth inning and the Nats responding with a 7-5 win last night. Washington will try to build on that one starting Jake Irvin tonight, who is 6-6 for the season with a 3.03 ERA, 86 K, 98 IP, and 1.06 WHIP. The Mets will have Jose Quintana on the mound, who is 3-5 for the season with a 4.57 ERA, 65 K, 82.2 IP, and 1.37 WHIP. Neither pitcher is very confident this season, and just like the previous three games of the series, this one will go over 9 runs in total.