Mets, Padres Total National League Best Bets for August 18

There are multiple games today beginning this afternoon on the National League schedule, and there’s value to target in these spots. Below, you can find both games from the National League and some of our best bets on the FanDuel Sportsbook.New York Mets (-132) vs. Atlanta Braves (+112) Total: 7 (O -102, U -118)

The New York Mets and Atlanta Braves will conclude their four-game series this evening from Truist Park. The Braves opened up the series with two straight victories and had won eight consecutive games heading into last night before the Mets ended their winning streak and picked up a 9-7 victory. This has been a fun series between these two NL East foes, and there’s a lot on the line in this series finale, with the Mets owning a 4.5-game lead over the Braves for the top spot in the division. A lot of eyeballs should be on this contest with what should be one of the best pitching matchups this season. If the Braves have hopes of staying within striking distance in the division, they’ll need a victory in this game, but that certainly won’t be an easy task. 

Pitching has been a strong suit for both clubs, and tonight fans will be treated to what should be an electric matchup. The Mets are expected to send righthander Jacob deGrom to the mound, while the Braves will be countering with lefthander Max Fried. With deGrom dealing with injuries to start the season, he owns a 2-0 record with a 1.62 ERA and 28 strikeouts, while Fried is 10-4 with a 2.60 ERA and 127 punchouts. This has the makings for a great pitcher’s duel, highlighted by the low total set at seven. With that, these teams combined for 16 runs in yesterday’s game, which also featured a good pitching matchup, so it’s difficult to say what you can expect tonight.

There’s slight separation between the Braves and Mets on the moneyline and two of the best pitchers in the game going head-to-head, but the Mets are slightly more attractive. New York’s star hasn’t missed a beat since rejoining the rotation, and he’s difficult to pass up at -132.

Best Bet: Mets moneyline (-132)

The Washington Nationals and San Diego Padres will begin a four-game weekend series tonight from Petco Park. These two teams met for a series just a week ago, which saw the Padres win two-of-three games. Entering this matchup, the Nationals dropped two-of-three games to the Chicago Cubs, while the Padres lost two-of-three to the Miami Marlins. The Nats have posted a 3-7 record over their past ten games, while the Padres are 5-5 over that same sample size. Things haven’t been perfect for the Padres since the trade deadline, and there are clear adjustments that are needed if they have hopes of doing damage and qualifying for the postseason. Playing the Nationals for four games shouldn’t hurt, and there’s the potential this matchup could help jumpstart their offense.

Pitching hasn’t been a strong suit for the Nationals this year, while it’s also been a struggle for the Padres of late despite their overall success on the mound. The opening pitching matchup of this series is expected to see the Nats send Anibal Sanchez to the mound, while the Padres should be countering with Yu Darvish. The Nats’ righthander owns a 0-5 record and 7.20 ERA, paired with 22 strikeouts, while Darvish is 10-6 with a 3.40 ERA and 141 punchouts. If you look at the odds, the Padres are massive favorites at -405 on the moneyline, which is one of the higher numbers posted this season. As a result, there’s nothing to look toward for the overall outcome of this contest, but there is value in the total. 

The total for this contest is set at eight, with the over having better value at -118. Darvish has been relatively consistent for the Padres, but with their team’s up and down play, there’s certainly the potential for runs to be scored. Sanchez has been poor for the Nationals, and the Padres lineup should be able to feast, so targeting the over eight makes a lot of sense. 

Best Bet: Over 8 (-118)