Mets vs Nationals Prediction, Odds & Best Bet for May 14 (Take Note of Max Scherzer's Early Struggles)

Mets vs Nationals Prediction, Odds & Best Bet for May 14 (Take Note of Max Scherzer's Early Struggles)

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The New York Mets (19-20) will aim to keep pace in a tough NL East division when they visit the Washington Nationals (16-22) in the final matchup of their three-game series on Sunday, May 14.

Mets vs Nationals Game Info

  • Date: Sunday, May 14, 2023
  • Time: 4:35 p.m. ET
  • Venue: Nationals Park -- Washington, DC
  • Coverage: SNY and MASN

The Mets were able to sneak by the Nationals by a score of 3-2 back on Friday as Francisco Lindor sparked a 3-run rally in the top of the sixth inning. Keep in mind Game 2 of this series was rained out after only two innings and will be be played before Sunday's originally schedule game takes place.

Mets vs Nationals Odds & Spread

  • All MLB betting lines, odds and prop bets are from FanDuel Sportsbook.
  • Moneyline: NYM: (-196) | WSH: (+164)
  • Spread: NYM: -1.5 (-118) | WSH: +1.5 (-102)
  • Total: 9 -- Over: (-110) | Under: (-110)

The Mets enter this contest as road favorites on the moneyline and spread per FanDuel Sportsbook's odds. This 4:10 p.m. ET clash also features an over/under of 9 runs with both sides available at -110 odds.

Mets vs Nationals Betting Trends

  • The Mets are 2-7 straight up in their last nine away games.
  • The total has hit the under in six of the Mets' last eight games.
  • Washington is 4-2 straight up in its last six home games.
  • The total has hit the under in each of Washington's last five home games.

Mets vs Nationals Prediction & Pick

It has not been the start that Mets fans were expecting heading into the 2023 season as the team currently sit 6.0 games out of first place. The biggest concern may be the struggles of Max Scherzer, who has pitched to a disappointing 5.56 ERA and 1.41 WHIP across his first five starts (2-2 record).

Scherzer will take the mound on Sunday afternoon and be countered by Jake Irvin of the Nationals. Irvin has looked stellar through the first two starts of his MLB career, giving up just 1 earned run on 6 hits and 7 walks across 10.2 innings of work. The 26-year-old has also racked up 8 strikeouts so far.

Name recognition makes this seem like a pitching mismatch, but Scherzer is in an ugly stretch right now and Irvin has done what he has been asked to do. The Mets only rank 23rd in runs per game and haven't scored more than 3 runs since Tuesday. Give me Irvin & company to pull off a notable upset.

Final Score Prediction: Mets: 3 | Nationals: 4

Mets vs Nationals Best Bet

Let me reiterate that it has not been an amazing start for Max Scherzer. Not only is he giving up runs left and right, but he is failing to make batters whiff. The 38-year-old has logged less than 6 strikeouts in three of his last four starts and is far from healthy, too. He has not thrown more than 75 pitches in a game since April 10 and saw this start delayed by a few days because of right side/back soreness.

Bet: Max Scherzer Under 5.5 Strikeouts (-122)

Larry Rupp is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Larry Rupp also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username phillyfan424. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel. 

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.