Pitching takes the spotlight in this New York Mets vs. Los Angeles Dodgers National League Division Series. The starting rotation for each team is just loaded with stud arms. The Dodgers have arguably the best one-two punch in the majors with Zack Greinke and Clayton Kershaw, while the Mets have the strong arms of Jacob deGrom and Matt Harvey.
It’s going to be a tight series for these two teams, and we’ve got you all covered below with our look at the entire battle ahead. Our complete Game 1 preview can be found here for an even closer look at the critical opening match. You could also check out our breakdown for the Texas Rangers vs. Toronto Blue Jays ALDS to dip your toes in the American League after this.
[sc:MLBArticles ]New York Mets vs. Los Angeles Dodgers Series Preview
Series Schedule
Game 1 – Thursday, October 8, 9:45 PM ET, New York Mets at Los Angeles Dodgers – view all MLB lines
Game 2 – Friday, October 9, 12:45 PM ET, New York Mets at Los Angeles Dodgers
Game 3 – Sunday, October 11, 8:10 PM ET, Los Angeles Dodgers at New York Mets
*Game 4 – Monday, October 12, Los Angeles Dodgers at New York Mets
*Game 5 – Wednesday, October 14, New York Mets at Los Angeles Dodgers
*If necessary
Betting on the New York Mets
The New York Mets are looking pretty much like the Dodgers, only they have a deeper starting rotation that could help their bid for an upset. The Mets’ starting rotation is solid with Jacob deGrom at the helm, Noah Sydergaard and Matt Harvey. deGrom (14-8, 2.54 ERA) has been the Mets’ most solid starter. He has a team-high 205 strikeouts along with a 0.98 WHIP. And Harvey (13-8, 2.71 ERA) isn’t that far off with 188 strikeouts and a 1.02 WHIP himself.
[sc:MLB240banner ]The wild card would be Bartolo Colon (14-13, 4.20 ERA), who could be as good as he is not. Colon has shown that he could shut out opponents during the regular season, but he could also give up as much as eight earned runs in 4.1 innings. Colon did have a solid outing against the Dodgers, allowing just one earned run on five hits in eight innings in July.
The Mets also have a handful of big bats that could light it up at the plate. Daniel Murphy leads New York with a .281 batting average; Lucas Duda leads the Mets in home runs (27) and RBIs (73); while Curtis Granderson has a solid .364 on-base percentage.
A Met that could sneak by against the Dodgers is Ruben Tejada. He has the best performance against Kershaw among current Mets with 10 or more at bats against the Dodgers southpaw. Tejada has hit 5 of 14 with three walks lifetime against Kershaw.
But if there’s a hot bat that could light it up in this series, it probably belongs to Yoenis Cespedes. He had an excellent regular season with 35 homers and 105 RBIs (17 and 44 respectively with the Mets) having played 102 games in Detroit and 57 with the Mets.
Betting on the Los Angeles Dodgers
The Los Angeles Dodgers seem to have everything they need to take this series against the New York Mets. An excellent pitching staff is headed by Cy Young Award contender Clayton Kershaw (16-7, 2.13 ERA). Kershaw was spectacular in ending the regular season, going 5-1 with a 1.84 ERA in September. He is the majors’ strikeout king after racking up 301 K’s through the regular season.
Kershaw is already a handful to face in a series, but the Dodgers have the luxury of sending another solid pitcher on the mound in the subsequent game in Zack Greinke (19-3, 1.66 ERA), who owns the majors’ best earned run average. However, there’s a rather steep decline after Kershaw and Greinke. Game 3 starter Brett Anderson had the most losses (nine) among the Dodgers’ starting rotation and has allowed a team-high 18 home runs.
The Dodgers’ pair of trade deadline acquisitions in Alex Wood and Mat Latos hasn’t been solid either. Wood has gone 5-6 with a 4.35 ERA in 12 starts for Los Angeles, while Latos is 0-2 with a 6.56 ERA in five starts. Los Angeles’ relievers are also pretty lackluster with a combined 3.91 ERA. If the Dodgers are going to win plenty of games, they’ll have to rely a lot on their pair of aces.
While the Dodgers could certainly use some more firepower at the plate—they rank just eighth in the NL in runs scored—they do have a solid batter who could erupt at any given moment. Adrian Gonzalez leads the Dodgers in home runs (28), RBIs (90), batting average (.275) and on base percentage (.350). He’s been pretty solid against the Mets too, hitting .350 with seven homers and 16 RBIs in a hundred career at bats.
Justin Turner and Andre Ethier could also provide strong presences at the plate. Turner is hitting .296 in his career against the Mets, while Ethier is hitting .250. With their solid one-two punch of Kershaw and Greinke paired with some big bats, the Dodgers are +200 favorites against the Mets in the NLDS.
Writer’s Prediction
The Mets upset the Dodgers in five games. Create a betting account now and enjoy the amazing MLB postseason with some solid betting action of your own.
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