New York Mets vs Chicago Cubs betting Preview— 8/27/18

MLB action on Monday evening and we will see the New York Mets grapple with the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field in Chicago in game one of a three-game set. The Cubs took all four games from the Mets in New York earlier in the year. The Mets have gone 30-32 on the road, while the Cubs have gone 42-23 here at home. This game has a start time of 8:05 pm.

Lines: New York +136… Chicago -145… O/U 10       

Pitching Matchup

Noah Syndergaard will toe the slab for the Mets and he has gone 9-3 with a 3.38 ERA in 18 starts on the year, including 3-2 with a 3.42 ERA in eight starts on the road. In his career, he has gone 13-11 with a 3.32 ERA in 37 starts on the road and 9-5 with a 4.08 ERA in 16 starts during the month of August, while against the Cubs he has gone 1-1 with a 2.00 ERA in three starts, including 0-1 with a 2.45 ERA in two starts here at Wrigley Field.

Taking the hill for the Cubs will be Jon Lester and he has gone 14-5 with a 3.64 ERA in 26 starts on the year, including 5-3 with a 4.23 ERA in 13 starts here at home. In his career, he has gone 30-17 with a 3.41 ERA in 67 starts here at Wrigley Field and 28-18 with a 4.02 ERA in 66 starts during the month of August, while against the Mets he has gone 6-1 with a 3.26 ERA in eight starts.

Game Analysis

It has been another lost year for the Mets as injuries have taken its toll for much of it. New York enters this game off a 15-0 shellacking at the hands of the Nationals and that was a bit unexpected. The Mets had shut out Washington in the first two games of that series and held them to just one through seven innings in the finale, but Washington exploded for 14 runs over the final two innings of that game. Steven Matz went the first seven innings, but the pen had a major meltdown after he left. That pen has been an issue for the Mets all year and is currently ranked 27th in ERA at 4.88. That compares to a 3.85 ERA from their starters. The Mets are just playing out the string and they have been playing better of late as they have won 12 of their last 19 games. We Also note that they are 30-32 on the road, compared to 28-40 at home. The Mets are 3rd in the league in scoring on the road at 5.23 rpg, but last in scoring at home at 3.19 rpg. The Cubs better be careful here.

The It took a while this year, but the Cubs did eventually grab the lead in the National League Central. They are starting to create some distance as they now have a four-game lead over the Cardinals and a 4.5 game lead over the Brewers. The Cubs just completed a four-game sweep of the Reds here at home and it was their 5th win in a row overall. The Cubs have outscored their opponents 37-11 in those five games. They look to keep it going in this one against the lowly Mets, but they have to be careful as the Mets have been better on the road, especially on offense. New York has averaged over 2.00 rpg more on the road than at home. The Cubs have been a strong home team as they are 42-23 here at Wrigley so far and they have averaged 5.09 rpg and have allowed 4.08 rpg in those games. Jon Lester has struggled of late but he does have a 1.03 ERA in his last four starts against the Mets.

This is an interesting game as Syndergaard has pitched better than Lester of late and the Mets have a much better offense on the road than at home. Still, we also note that Lester has good numbers against The Mets of late and Chicago has been a strong home team this year. This should be a good game.