The Mets are facing a dire schedule situation due to Hurricane Helen.
Back-to-back games this week have been postponed, forcing a doubleheader in Atlanta on Monday.
A potential wild-card series would begin on Tuesday, less than 24 hours after the conclusion of Game 2.
Travel would be taxing, and burning up quality weapons in Monday's matchup and the following three days of playoff games would also be disastrous.
The Mets (87-70) begin a three-game series Friday in Milwaukee, one game ahead of the Braves (86-71) and effectively tied with the Diamondbacks (88) in the NL Wild Card race. are. -71), who played more games.
Mets vs. Brewers odds
| team | money line | run line | total |
|---|---|---|---|
| mets | -115 | -1.5 (+150) | o7.5 (-115) |
| brewer | -105 | +1.5 (-180) | u7.5 (-105) |
Mets vs. Brewers predictions
With the Padres clinching the top wild card spot, the Mets, Diamondbacks and Braves will compete for the final two spots in the National League. Here are the tiebreaker positions going into Friday's play:
- The Mets and Braves both won tiebreakers against the Diamondbacks.
- Atlanta currently has a doubleheader on Monday, winning the tiebreaker against the Mets with a series record of 6-5.
There's a realistic scenario in which the Mets could come out victorious by Monday's doubleheader. Of course, that would be very beneficial, but those scenarios include winning at least two of the three games against the Brewers.
The Mets have a chance to win Friday's game in Milwaukee, when left-hander Sean Manaea will take the mound to face veteran right-hander Frankie Montas.
Manaea contributed to the Mets' midseason turnaround with his dominant play. In his last outing, he showed solidity again with an important win against the Phillies.
Since the All-Star break, Manaea has pitched 81 2/3 innings with a 3.09 ERA and just 0.87 WHIP. He has posted a 2.36 ERA in his past five starts and has held his opponents to a mere .133 batting average.
His underlying numbers through these games are also strong (3.56 xFIP, 0.204 xBA).
His opponent batting average is just .198 this season, ranking him third among eligible starters behind Philadelphia's Zach Wheeler and Houston's Ronel Blanco.
Montas has struggled with a 5.49 ERA in 12 starts since the All-Star break.
In his past five starts, he has posted a 5.81 ERA, 21.2 K-BB%, and .231 xBA.
Over that span, he had a 67.5% strand rate and allowed 23.3% HR/FB in those starts. His pitching+ rating of 101 is also better than league average.
The Mets' offense has been more effective than the Brewers' recently, and they should be able to field a near-top lineup defense with only Jeff McNeil absent for Friday's matchup.
Last month, the Mets had a wRC+ of 108 compared to the Brewers' 93.
Additionally, the Mets had a wRC+ of 107 in 1,740 at-bats against right-handed pitchers in the second half of the season, while Milwaukee had a wRC+ of 97 against left-handed pitchers during the same period.
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Mets vs. Brewers picks
While these games are technically meaningless for Milwaukee, Pat Murphy's organization wants the Mets to play a meaningful game on Monday and get into the playoffs, so they could simply make a move on Friday or in this series. Don't expect it to happen. A powerful form.
So, while we have to hope the Brewers bring the A's to the table Friday night, it still looks like it's worth backing the Mets at -130 with Manaea on the mound.
choose: Mets Moneyline (-115, BetMGM)
