Major pitching duel highlights Mets-Cubs finale
Others around Jon Lester have faltered during the Cubs’ monthlong skid, but the No. 2 man in Joe Maddon’s rotation remains pretty much unflappable.
The three-time All-Star must stay that way if Chicago has any aspirations of taking down a fellow National League titan this afternoon. New York hosts Lester and his pals at 1:10 p.m. ET, with oddsmakers unwilling to predict a clean sweep. Online sports book Bovada.lv gives the Cubbies odds of -125 to salvage the series fiale, whereas Terry Collins’ crew enters as a +105 underdog. The over/under run figure holds steady at 6.5.
Since Thursday evening, the Mets have outscored the NL Central leaders by a margin of 18-8 at Citi Field. Last night’s 4-3 outcome was particularly impactful given the fact that Flushing’s finest knocked off 12-game winner Jake Arrieta. The visitors thus dropped their fourth contest in the past week alone.
Can Lester ride to the rescue? After all, he went 4-0 with a 1.41 ERA in June. Lester actually totes the second-best ERA in the senior circuit at 2.03 and is on pace to register 18 victories in a season for just the second time in his career.
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Noah Syndergaard, naturally, embraces such a challenge. New York’s fireballer suffered a rare misstep in his most recent outing, surrendering five runs in three innings of an 11-4 defeat to division rival Washington. There’s mild concern about a bone spur in the second-year sensation’s right elbow, too, even though Syndergaard seems nonplussed by the subject.
Nonetheless, the Mets aren’t a bunch to trifle with at present. These two stud starters could well cancel each other out, meaning both Jeurys Familia and Hector Rondon must be ready to rock. We’ll lean toward the former at every turn.
SUNDAY MLB 2016 FREE PICK: METS +1.5
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