Game 1 is in the books and the New York Mets emerged with the thrilling 4-2 win over the Chicago Cubs on Saturday night. Now, all the focus shifts to the approaching Game 2 tonight, wherein an intriguing duel between the Jake Arrieta and Noah Syndergaard is guaranteed to provide us yet another promising outcome.
Who will be able to lead their respective clubs to victory? Will Arrieta continue imposing his dominance? Or will Syndergaard rise to the occasion and make it two straight wins for the Mets? Read on below for a detailed breakdown of this battle.
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[sc:MLBArticles ]Chicago Cubs vs. New York Mets Preview
Where: Citi Field, New York City, New York
When: Sunday October 18, 8:07 PM ET
Line: Chicago Cubs (-170) vs. New York Mets (+150); Total: 5.5—View all MLB Lines
Betting on the Chicago Cubs
Following a tough 4-2 loss in the NLCS opener on Sunday night, the Chicago Cubs will now be putting their trust on, Jake Arrieta (22-6, 1.77 ERA) to help them even their series up for tonight’s second meeting against New York Mets at Citi Field.
[sc:MLB240banner ]Arrieta wasn’t his usual dominant self during his previous start in Game 3 of the NLDS opposite the Cards as he gave up four earned runs on five hits in 5 2/3 innings of work. Fortunately, he was still able to overcome this uncharacteristically poor performance thanks to a much-needed offensive boost—eight runs—from his teammates which eventually handed them the victory.
Moreover, all signs are looking good for Arrieta to have a promising outing this time around. The 29-year-old righty is very comfortable on playing away from home and also against the current NL East champions. He owns a 13-1 record with a 1.60 ERA in over 18 road starts. Against the Mets, meanwhile, he boasts a 2-1 record and a staggering 1.81 ERA across five career starts.
But of course, Arrieta will need to be backed up with some timely runs on offense in order for to win this one.
That being said, the Cubs are likely going to rely on the duo of Kyle Schwarber and Anthony Rizzo in lighting up the plate. Schwarber has been phenomenal in the postseason thus far, going 8-for-17 with four home runs and six RBIs through six games. Rizzo, on the other hand, is only 3-for-20 in the same stretch but holds a triple-slash line of .300/.406/.556 versus the Mets throughout his career.
Also, it’s worth noting that Kris Bryant can have an offensive outburst at any given moment. Bryant, who had 31 homers and 99 RBIs in the regular season, has had the upper hand opposite Noah Syndergaard, going 2-for-3 with a triple off the righty.
Chicago is 9-1 straight up in its previous 10 meetings with New York.
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Betting on the New York Mets
Matt Harvey had a pretty efficient start that was just enough to allow the New York Mets edge out the Chicago Cubs in Game 1 of the NLCS. Now, the Mets look to their rookie, Noah Syndergaard (9-7, 3.27 ERA), to deliver the goods as well for Game 2 later this evening.
Syndergaard made his first ever MLB relief appearance on Thursday night’s NLDS clincher against the Dodgers, wherein he fired for a scoreless inning and struck out two batters. Prior to that game, however, the 23-year-old righty had a shaky start in Game 2 versus the same team, as he was charged with six hits and three earned runs through 6 1/3 innings in the eventual 5-2 defeat. At home this season, Syndergaard holds a 7-2 record with a respectable 2.46 ERA, a .82 WHIP and .196 opponents’ batting average in over 12 turns.
Over on offense, the Mets are certainly going to keep relying on their second baseman in Daniel Murphy, who carries a team-best .281 batting average. Murphy is 8-for-25 with four homers and six RBIs in his last six outings and is a .305 lifetime hitter against the Cubs.
Meanwhile, Curtis Granderson and Lucas Duda are expected to give Arrieta a tough time on the mound later. The two are batting .333 and .364 respectively opposite the former Orioles pitcher.
New York is 4-4 in Syndergaard’s past eight starts.
Writer’s Prediction:
Arrieta pitches a gem to help Chicago (-170) take Game 2 and even the series up.
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