After completing Thursday’s suspended game, the New York Mets and St. Louis Cardinals will continue their series Friday night at Citi Field. Regardless of how the first game ends, the Mets are -125 favorites to win Friday’s regularly scheduled game.
If the Mets can find a way to take both games on Friday, they will swiftly move from a game below .500 to a game over .500. They have quietly won five of their last seven games, a small sign that they’re coming around. However, they face a challenging schedule for the rest of June after completing this weekend’s series with the Cardinals, so this series is an important one.
St. Louis, meanwhile, sits at .500 amidst Thursday’s suspended game. Despite taking two of three from the Marlins earlier this week, the Cardinals are just 3-5 in their last eight games, falling five games behind the Brewers in the NL Central. They are in the midst of a stretch against teams hovering around .500 just like them, so they’ll feel that they should be winning these games.
The Conquistador
Rookie Daniel Ponce de Leon will start for the Cardinals on Friday. He had some promising outings in a cameo last season and made one start for St. Louis back in April, giving up just one run over five innings against Milwaukee. He’ll now make his second big league start of the season, taking Adam Wainwright’s spot in the rotation after the veteran went to the IL earlier this week.
Offensively, the Mets have been hot and cold this year, so you never know what you’re going to get. Ponce de Leon will get a little break, with the likes of Robinson Cano and Brandon Nimmo on the IL. However, the heart of the Mets batting order still includes rookie slugger Pete Alonso and his 22 home runs, as well as Michael Conforto, Todd Frazier, and J.D. Davis, who are all going good right now.
Good Lefty, Bad Lefty
Steven Matz will start for the Mets on Friday. At times this season, Matz has looked like a front line pitcher. However, there have been other times when he’s gotten knocked around, particularly in the first inning of games. Overall, he’s 5-4 with a 3.88 ERA over 12 starts, numbers that more or less please the Mets. But when Matz struggles in the first inning, he can dig an early hole that the Mets can’t climb out of.
At the moment, Marcell Ozuna and Harrison Bader are doing most of the heavy lifting for the Cardinals. If Matz can keep those two contained, he should be in good shape. However, the lefty has had his struggles against Ozuna and Paul DeJong during his career. He’ll also have to worry about Paul Goldschmidt and famous Met killer Yadier Molina.
Who Do You Trust?
Matz has pitched well recently, but he’s not always trustworthy, nor is the New York bullpen. Finishing Thursday’s game also adds a twist because the game is tied in the ninth, so both bullpens could be taxed before Friday’s game begins. That could give the edge to the Cardinals, who have the better bullpen. Bet on St. Louis to beat the Mets on Friday.
