The New York Mets and Washington Nationals had an adventurous start to the 2021 season with their first series postponed by COVID, and now the weather will impact their first game of the 2022 season.
The Opening Day tilt between the NL East rivals has already been pushed back because of the forecast, moved from a day game to a night game. First pitch at Nationals Park in Washington D.C. is now set for 7:07 p.m. ET on regional TV.
Last season the Mets won the season series 11-8 and outscored Washington 92-74. The Nationals went 6-4 in the ten games at Nationals Park with a pair of walk-off wins. Neither team made the playoffs as the Mets went 77-85 and the Nationals were 65-97.
Mets Go All-In for 2022
After a non-playoff season in 2021, the Mets hired veteran skipper Buck Showalter and spent money in the offseason. Among the new acquisitions are Cy Young winner Max Scherzer and Chris Bassitt for the rotation and bringing Starling Marte and Mark Canha into the lineup. Scherzer should start game two on Friday, while ace Jacob deGrom is likely out at least a month.
With deGrom and Scherzer both getting hurt in spring training, the Mets will give the Opening Day start to Tylor Megill. The right-hander had a great spring training with 6 ⅔ shutout innings, and he is stretched out to go 80-90 pitches on Thursday.
As a rookie last year, he had 99 strikeouts with a 4.52 ERA in 89 ⅔ innings. Megill faced Washington twice in 2021 with a 1-1 record and a 4.91 ERA in 11 innings of work.
The Mets lineup will be different on Thursday, with lefty Patrick Corbin on the mound as they stack the right-handed bats. Look for Marte, Francisco Lindor, and Alonso to take the heart of the order ahead of J.D. Davis, Canha, and another new player in Eduardo Escobar. Alonso hit three homers off Corbin last season while Davis also went deep and Lindor was 4-for-10.
All About Soto for the Nats
The Nationals were busy at both the 2021 trade deadline and in the off-season, retooling around superstar Juan Soto. After trading Scherzer, Trea Turner, and Kyle Schwardber last summer for prospects, they are clearly rebuilding for manager Davy Martinez. Adding Nelson Cruz and Cesar Hernandez in the off-season, they also brought in Maikel Franco and Dee Strange-Gordon while adding Sean Doolittle and Steve Cishek to the bullpen.
The Nats brought in some veteran experience to surround Soto in the lineup as they rebuild, notably Cruz. The leadoff spot is up for grabs and could be taken by Hernandez, while youngsters Keibert Ruiz and Lane Thomas should be in for Opening Day starts. Hernandez has a career .349 on-base percentage, and the top half of the Nats lineup will be formidable, but the bottom part is loaded with question marks.
Thomas and Josh Bell both homered off Megill last year, as did Alcides Escobar. Soto was 0-for-2 against the right-hander. Bell hit .261 with 27 homers and 88 RBI in 2021, his first year with the Nationals. Soto is a MVP caliber player, hitting .313 with a .465 OBP last season with 29 homers and 95 RBI.
Corbin made an Opening Day start in 2018 with the Diamondbacks and gets the ball on Thursday. The lefty had a MLB-high 5.32 ERA in 31 starts last season, a far cry from his 2019 output when the Nationals won it all. Overall last season, he was 9-16 and Corbin is just 11-23 in 42 starts the last two seasons.
Last year he faced the Mets three times, going 1-1. Corbin allowed four runs in four innings in an April road loss and picked up a home win in June with two runs allowed over six innings. In September, he took a no-decision at home, allowing three runs on 11 hits over seven innings.
Betting Analysis
- New York Mets -1.5 run line (+125). Money Line -130
- Washington Nationals +1.5 run line (-145). Money Line +110
- Total runs: 9. Over -110, Under -110
The Mets are clear National League contenders when healthy, and they have the money to add pieces as needed during the season. Both teams have injured aces to start the season, but the lineups are healthy. The weather could impact this game but with Megill and Corbin on the mound, look for runs to be scored.
Betting Pick: Over 9.0 runs (-110)
Keep up with your latest MLB news coverage and betting pick previews at NJ Sportsbook.