NL East foes will close out a three-game series on Sunday afternoon when the New York Mets visit the Miami Marlins at loanDepot Park. The Mets will be going for the sweep after winning the first two contests including a 4-0 victory on Saturday to cash in as a -189 favorite. New York is atop the division at 63-37, while the Marlins are in fourth place at 47-54.
This has been a fairly one-sided head-to-head matchup this season with the Mets holding a 9-4 advantage.
After falling into a tie with the Atlanta Braves for the division lead just a few days ago, the Mets have managed to get a three-game separation with a recent run as they handled the Marlins again on Saturday. Jeff McNeil opened the scoring with a solo homer in the third before Francisco Lindor had an RBI single later in the inning, while both Lindor and J.D. Davis went deep later in the eighth.
Carlos Carrasco earned the win with 7.2 scoreless innings, allowing just four hits and two walks while striking out seven. Lindor had a three-hit game, while McNeil went 2-4 with an RBI and a run scored.
The Mets are up a huge amount on the money line for the season while going 53-47 on the run line. Overs are 49-44-7 for the Mets, with two of their last three games going under the betting total.
This is a top five scoring offense in baseball at 4.67 runs per gam e on a .724 team OPS. New York is also in the top five on the pitching side with a 3.59 collective ERA including a mark of 3.50 from a strong bullpen.
Pete Alonso is one of the most prolific power hitters in the game with an .896 OPS, 26 homers and 84 driven in. Starling Marte has proven to be a wise offseason addition with a .305/.353/.482 line, 11 homers, 12 stolen bases and 57 runs scored.
Taijuan Walker is set to make his 18th start of the season, looking to continue a fantastic campaign as he's 8-2 with a 2.67 ERA across 97.2 innings. The 29-year-old is coming off a win over the rival New York Yankees on Tuesday, when he allowed three runs on seven hits and one walk while striking out three across six innings.
Catcher James McCann (strained oblique) and Dominic Smith (sprained ankle) are on the IL. Ace Jacob deGrom (scapula) will make his season debut on Tuesday, while Joey Lucchesi (Tommy John surgery) an d Tylor Megill (strained shoulder) are sidelined. Relievers John Curtiss (Tommy John surgery), Sean Reid-Foley (Tommy John surgery), Trevor May (stress reaction in elbow) and Drew Smith (strained lat) are out.