New York @ Washington preview

Nationals Park

Last Meeting ( Jul 4, 2010 ) NY Mets 9, Washington 5

The New York Mets visit the Washington Nationals on Monday in the first game between two teams that are focusing on the future as their disappointing seasons wind down.

New York (67-70) avoided a three-game sweep while visiting the Chicago Cubs with a big 18-5 victory on Sunday. It was a series that showcased a bit of what Mets fans can expect from their young players coming up through the system.

New York’s 20-year-old shortstop Ruben Tejada belted his first big-league home run and drove in five runs on Sunday.

Tejada was hitting just .185 coming into the contest with only eight RBIs in 56 games, but is one of the Mets’ top prospects. He headlined a list of six players in Sunday’s starting lineup that had spent at least some time in the minors this year. The club expects more call-ups once the Triple-A season ends.

On Saturday, it was 20-year-old Jenrry Mejia making his first MLB start for the Mets, becoming franchise’s youngest starter since Dwight Gooden took the hill as a 19-year-old. Mejia showed some promise, but has some work to do after giving up four runs on eight hits over five innings in the 5-3 loss.

Mike Pelfrey (13-8, 3.72 ERA) looks to add to his impressive season numbers on Monday when he takes the hill. Pelfrey is coming off a 4-1 loss against the Atlanta Braves but has been one of New York’s most consistent players all year, allowing more than four runs only once over his last nine outings.

The Nationals (59-78) get another look at 6-foot-2 starter Jordan Zimmermann (0-0, 4.50 ERA) on Monday. This will be Zimmermann’s third start after Tommy John surgery ended his rookie season in 2009 and the Nationals expect big things from him. He shut out the Florida Marlins over six innings while striking out nine in last week’s 1-0 extra-innings loss.

Zimmermann said his arm felt great after the big performance, which has to be reassuring for the Nationals after phenom Stephen Strasberg underwent Tommy John surgery last week.

Washington took two out of three from the Pittsburgh Pirates over the weekend with some nice production from the offense. The Nationals have put up at least eight runs in six of their last 10 games and head into Monday’s game having taken seven of their last 12 meetings with the Mets.

New York looks to win back-to-back games for the first time since Aug. 20-21.

Pages Related to This Topic

About Units and “ROI”

Units are a standardized measurement used to determine the size of each of your bets relative to your bankroll. For example, if you have a bankroll of $200 and you bet 5% of your bankroll each time, each of your units is worth $10. A bettor with a $2000 bankroll who bets 5% per bet has units of $100. We use the number of units to standardize the amount the trend is up or down across different bet amounts.

ROI is the best indicator of success and measures how much you bet vs. how much you profited. Any positive ROI is good in sports betting with great long-term bettors sitting in the 5-7% range.

Sports Betting Bankroll Management and ROI Guide

Weather Forecast