After having their game on Saturday postponed, the Cleveland Guardians (20-24) and New York Mets (23-23) will battle it out in a day-night doubleheader on Sunday. Focusing on the evening game, the Mets will host this one at Citi Field with first pitch scheduled for 7:10 pm ET.
The Mets were able to take the opener on Friday 10-9. In the win, the Mets blasted three home runs including Pete Alonso hitting his 17th. Josh Naylor had a nice game in the loss for Cleveland, ending with three hits, including a home run, and five runs batted in.
The Mets are the favorites in the nightcap playing at home. They are -162 to win, while the Guardians’ moneyline sits at +136. The runline features Cleveland +1.5 (-154), and the over/under for total runs is seven.
Guardians Trying To Stay Competitive In AL Central
Despite entering Sunday just 20-24, the Guardians have the benefit in playing in the worst division in the American League. They sit third in the division, but they trail the first place Minnesota Twins by just 3.5 games.
Trying to get some momentum, the Guardians will hope to have some success on Sunday.
Taking the ball in the primetime matchup will be veteran Shane Bieber. In nine games, Bieber is 3-2 with a 3.20 ERA, 1.22 WHIP, and he has 43 strikeouts in 56.1 innings. In his last start, Bieber went 4.2 innings in a loss to the White Sox, allowing five earned runs on 12 hits.
Offensively, Josh Naylor has led them in the power department. In 133 at bats, he leads the team with seven home runs and 31 runs batted in.
After being gone on the bereavement list, the Guardians will welcome back All-Star Jose Ramirez to the lineup. IN 154 at bats, he is hitting .279/.365/.448 with four home runs, 22 runs batted in, 23 runs scored, and five stolen bases.
Mets Look To Move Over .500
While the Guardians might be in one of the worst divisions in baseball, the Mets are in one of the best. At .500, they sit 5.5 games behind the Atlanta Braves and will need to find some consistency if they want to keep up with the others in their division. They will first look to improve on their 10-9 home record to this point.
While they have not formally announced it, Justin Verlander is expected to get the ball in the evening game. After signing a rich offseason deal, Verlander has only pitched in three games, going 1-2 with a 4.76 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, and he has 15 strikeouts in 17 innings. He will look to improve on this mark as he matches up with the Guardians.
Offensively, the Mets currently rank 19th in the majors in scoring, averaging 4.35 runs per game. Pete Alonso has been a major part of the offense, hitting .233/.330/.547 with a team-leading 17 home runs, 41 runs batted in, and 31 runs scored.
In their careers against the Guardians’ Shane Bieber, both Eduardo Escobar and Starling Marte have homered off the righty. Escobar actually has five hits in six total at bats.
Take The Guardians On The Runline
With a battle of two bonafide aces, it is not surprising that the over/under is set at just seven runs. While both have had their moments of struggle this season, both have the ability to shutdown an opposing offense on any given night.
With such dominance on the mound, the real value in this one is taking the runs on the runline. In this case, that means taking Cleveland +1.5 (-154).
