8th Sept - Nationals vs Mets

There are five games separating the New York Mets and Washington Nationals in the National League East standings. A home series against their rivals is a great chance for Washington to gain a little ground, but they have their work cut out for them after losing the first game on Monday night.

The Nationals’ hitters probably will feel like they missed some good opportunities to get on the board in last night’s 8-5 loss, something that is reflected by the fact that the Nationals only had one less hit and actually got more men on base than the Mets.

Red hot Jordan Zimmerman will look to continue his good form with the ball in his hand. He’s allowed just two runs in his last two starts and is 4-0 in his past four. He has been hit hard previously by the Mets with Curtis Granderson, Daniel Murphy and Lucas Duda all homering in the last matchup in Citi Park on August 2.

The Mets are closing in on a first postseason appearance since 2006. They’re playing good baseball and a one-on-one series against Washington is a nice opportunity for them as well. Yoenis Cespedes has slipped nicely into a lineup that is led by Murphy and David Wright.

Meanwhile, there’s been plenty of speculation about Matt Harvey, how much he’ll pitch, whether he’ll skip starts and more. Harvey is on the mound tonight and the Mets need their star starter to do a job in this matchup. He didn’t enjoy his last trip to Washington in July when the Mets lost 2-1 and it’ll be interesting to see how much the off-field talk influences the flow of this match-up.

Three Reasons for Betting Tips

1. Harvey question marks

Is there a worry about his health, will the pre-game talk be about an early pull? Whether it happens or not, it puts Harvey at a significant disadvantage in a clash with a pretty strong young pitcher in Zimmerman.

2. Nationals will take their chances

It was a mediocre effort from the Nationals that cost them in the game last night, they didn’t convert their scoring chances (partly due to some good pitching), we’ll back them to do a better job tonight.

3. Ebb and flow of rivalry series

There’s an ebb and flow to these mini-three game match-ups at this juncture of the season. Expect an extra, somewhat unquantifiable push from Washington tonight.