by Chuck Sommers
Tuesday, May 31, 2022
Time: 7:10 p.m. ET
Venue: Citi Field, Flushing, NY
Where to watch: MASN, SNY
Opening Odds at USA Sportsbooks
DraftKings: Mets -180, Nationals +155
BetMGM: Mets -175, Nationals +145
Caesars: Mets -179, Nationals +160
Season record
Nationals: 18-32
Mets: 33-17
This has been a weird season to this point as we get through the second month of baseball season. The last 30 days, we've seen Jim Feist rack up plenty of good wins going 48-42-4 over the last 30 days. It's been an unpredictable season so far, but our champion handicappers have been doing well all season. Get on board and join the ride. Catch Jim's plays available right now at the Shop Picks page, where you can find all of the Best Bets from our champion sports handicappers.
Nationals - Mets preview and analysis
OK, here’s the thing. I get the New York Mets are supposed to do this to the inferior teams in their division. I completely understand that they are the cream of the crop right now in the National League East and they should easily dismantle the Washington Nationals like they did on Monday night.
But how in the world do they keep doing this? Is it really the Buck Showalter effect going on in Citi Field right now? Because the Mets are 16 games over .500, they don’t have Max Scherzer or Jacob deGrom at their disposal right now, and it’s the bats that are carrying this group to the best record in the NL to this point.
And what’s crazy is there’s no signs of slowing down for this group. What’s even crazier is they’re finding ways to do this with different people every night. Like for Monday, it was Starling Marte and Nick Plummer homered and drove in four RBI each. It’s not the usual names of Pete Alonso, Jeff McNeil or Francisco Lindor carrying the torch in this game. That’s not to discredit Lindor going 3-for-5 with two RBI of his own, but you get the picture.
"It's fun, because you get to score a couple of runs quick, especially after they got up 3-0," Lindor said as he snapped his fingers. "You go back, boom, you immediately score two, it's like, all right, down by one. It's 1-0."
But it’s the likes of Plummer that have really turned things around. After batting just over .220 in April with two homers, the rookie has hit .347 with 14 RBI during May. One of those came on Sunday with the game-tying homer in the ninth in the eventual comeback to defeat the Philadelphia Phillies.
"He's been a little more selective," Mets manager Buck Showalter said. "He's a strong young man. I don't think he ever goes up there trying to hit a home run. I just think he reacts. I think he's really trusting himself and letting the ball travel."
"It's awesome — Cisco (Lindor) made sure that I turned around," said Plummer, who spent five-plus seasons in the minors before getting recalled by the Mets on Saturday. "It's great. This is what you envision, coming over here, being part of this club and ultimately coming out with a win."
For the Nationals meanwhile, it’s been a bit of a disappointment but a surprise at the same time. Cesar Hernandez has come alive and is batting .295 and providing that pop offensively they’ve desperately needed with Juan Soto off to a slow start, but Josh Bell has also provided some contact at the plate. Alas, it hasn’t helped the Nats in any retrospect.
Erick Fedde didn’t even make it out of the second inning, and now have to hope that Patrick Corbin can actually do some good things in back-to-back starts, which hasn’t happened in a long while.
"It just wasn't there for him today," Nationals manager Dave Martinez said of Fedde after allowing six runs and eight hits in just 1.1 innings. "His misses were almost right down the middle to a good-hitting team."
Prediction
Trevor Williams gets the call for the Mets despite the fact he’s 0-3 this season, but it’s an all-hands-on-deck approach for New York until their aces get back. But considering the way they’ve been hitting the ball, I like the Mets’ chances to keep things rolling.
Betting trends
Nationals are 5-11 against division opponents this season.
Nationals are 30-54 the past three seasons as an underdog between +125 and +175.
Mets are 8-2 this season when playing on Tuesday.
Mets are 50-33 as a favorite of -150 or more the past three seasons.
Projected lineup
Nationals:
Cesar Hernandez (S) 2B
Keibert Ruiz (S) C
Juan Soto (L) RF
Nelson Cruz (R) DH
Josh Bell (S) 1B
Lane Thomas (R) LF
Maikel Franco (R) 3B
Victor Robles (R) CF
Alcides Escobar (R) SS
SP - Patrick Corbin
Mets:
Luis Guillorme (L) 2B
Starling Marte (R) RF
Francisco Lindor (S) SS
Pete Alonso (R) 1B
Jeff McNeil (L) DH
Eduardo Escobar (S) 3B
Mark Canha (R) CF
Nick Plummer (L) LF
Tomas Nido (R) C
SP - Trevor Williams
Statistical leaders
Nationals:
Batting average: Josh Bell – .299
Hits: Cesar Hernandez – 61
Home runs: Juan Soto – 9
RBI: Josh Bell – 28
Wins: Josiah Gray – 5
Saves: Tanner Rainey – 5
ERA: Josiah Gray – 5.08
Mets:
Batting average: Jeff McNeil – .308
Hits: Pete Alonso – 54
Home runs: Pete Alonso – 13
RBI: Pete Alonso – 47
Wins: Two tied – 5
Saves: Edwin Diaz – 11
ERA: Chris Bassitt – 3.66
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Chuck Sommers
About the Author:
Chuck Sommers has camped outside of sportsbooks since he can remember, learning the tricks and nuances of the trade. He still has nightmares of betting $5,000 on the Raiders in the Tuck Rule game but has since turned that to 25 years of veteran handicapping greatness. You can find him mostly in the shadows at the Red Rock or Aliante casinos wondering if the over is cashing on any given Sunday.
