The New York Mets will look to wash their hands of the three-game sweep they just endured against the Milwaukee Brewers when the Detroit Tigers travel to Queens on Monday night.
Here’s a look at the matchup.
| Team | Runsline | Moneyline | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tigers | +1.5 (-188) | +116 | o7.5 (-110) |
| Mets | -1.5 (+155) | -136 | u7.5 (-110) |
Detroit is hot off sweeping the Chicago White Sox in a series where it delivered brilliant pitching, maintaining a 2.57 ERA over three games.
Granted, this was to a Chicago lineup that manufactured an offensive WAR of 2.4 last season, which ranked second-to-last in baseball.
Even so, this is another favorable matchup lined up against a Mets club that has been failing to get men on base.
They have a .255 on-base percentage through their first three games.
Sean Manaea will make his debut in New York after signing a two-year deal in the offseason. He’s seeking a redemption campaign after producing a 4.73 ERA in his last two years with the Padres and Giants.
The left-hander has struggled with walks over the last four seasons; his walk rate has progressively regressed in that time to 8.4 percent in 2023.
Another concern for Manaea has been a high volume of barrels and lofty percentages in exit velocity.
His spring had some instability at times; he finished with a 3.31 ERA in four starts, allowing 18 hits in 16.2 IP.
The primary point against Manaea is that the Tigers have a few players in their lineup who can smack lefties around, most namely the emerging Spencer Torkelson, who hit 11 home runs off of them a season ago.
Reese Olson, who gets the start for the Tigers opposite Manaea, will try to compound an encouraging rookie year.
He had some exposure with high-contact rates last season, but otherwise found success in strikeouts, posting an above-average mark of 24.4 percent.
The Mets have had issues with hitting fastballs, which Olson delivered 28.6 percent of the time in a six-pitch arsenal.
It’s only a three-game sample, but Detroit’s pitching staff is holding the second-best walks per nine innings rate of 1.61.
Neither offense projects to knock out consistent numbers this season, but I’m taking the young pitcher to make April fools of the frustrated Mets — even with the overnight travel in consideration.
Pick: Tigers ML (+118 Caesars)