Dog of the day: After a rough weekend, Mets look to get back on track
The New York Mets seemingly had things figured out. Then came a trip to Tampa Bay.
The Mets won seven in a row before being swept by the Rays over the weekend. It was an ugly series, with a couple of bullpen meltdowns and then a 7-1 loss on Sunday.
But it's baseball. Momentum is a day-to-day thing. And the Mets are getting an underdog number with a starting pitcher who has been surprisingly good all season.
The Mets are +125 at BetMGM against the Atlanta Braves, and look like a pretty solid underdog play.
Taijuan Walker wasn't expected to be a big part of the Mets rotation, but he has a 2.20 ERA (and a good 2.94 FIP, for advanced stats folks) and the Mets are 6-1 in his starts. He has given up more than two earned runs in a start just once this season. You'd like him to walk fewer batters, and his home run-to-fly ball rate is unsustainable so far, so there's some danger in a regression-fueled blowup start. But that's part of the reason the Mets are getting a good number.
The Braves have been a disappointment so far at 19-21. Max Fried, Monday's starter, is a good pitcher but the results have been bad so far. He has a 6.55 ERA and the advanced stats aren't much more promising.
There could be concern about the Mets bullpen and a late lead — the Mets are +135 for the first five innings at BetMGM, if that's a worry — but that's another reason they're underdogs. Overall, it's a good spot for the Mets to get back on track.
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