DraftKings Sportsbook<\/a>, while Arizona sits as a +135 underdog. The game total is set at O\/U seven runs.<\/p>\nDiamondbacks vs. Mets Preview<\/p>\n
Arizona Diamondbacks<\/p>\n
The Diamondbacks have gotten off to a respectable start in 2026, trailing only the reigning champion Dodgers for the top spot in the saturated NL West.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Especially impressive is that they\u2019ve stayed competitive without much offense in the early goings. Star right fielder Corbin Carroll is the lone exception, hitting .333 with a 1.099 OPS, 196 wRC+, two home runs, and 11 RBIs through his first 12 games. (Not bad for someone who broke his hand in February.) But outside the two-time All-Star, Arizona\u2019s lineup has stalled; Ketel Marte, Nolan Arenado, and Geraldo Perdomo all carry an OPS under .600. The D-Backs currently sit in MLB\u2019s bottom 10 in wRC+ (25th), runs scored (22nd), and home runs (27th).\u00a0<\/p>\n
Arizona\u2019s pitching has also raised some initial red flags. While the club\u2019s rotation has posted the league\u2019s seventh-lowest ERA at 3.02, its 4.83 xERA plummets to 26th. Meanwhile, the bullpen has been brutal either way you look at it. As a whole, the pitching staff is liable for the second-lowest K\/9 in baseball (6.86).\u00a0<\/p>\n
On Thursday, the Diamondbacks will hand the ball to veteran lefty Eduardo Rodriguez. After flourishing for Venezuela in the WBC, the veteran southpaw has opened the 2026 campaign with 12 shutout frames thanks to a primary emphasis on his changeup. But coming off a 5.02 ERA in 2025, he\u2019ll look to keep riding his hot streak \u2014 and leave the bullpen out of it as long as possible.\u00a0<\/p>\n
New York Mets<\/p>\n
Less than two weeks into the season, New York has already been hit with a notable setback: superstar outfielder Juan Soto landed on the 10-day IL with a calf strain.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Without their hottest hitter, the Mets\u2019 lineup is far less imposing \u2014 especially when Francisco Lindor and Bo Bichette have each posted an OPS under .600. Fortunately, the young core \u2014 particularly Mark Vientos and Francisco Alvarez \u2014 has stepped up in Soto\u2019s absence. Meanwhile, Luis Robert Jr. has looked completely rejuvenated in Queens, his .895 OPS being the highest it\u2019s been since the 2021 campaign.\u00a0<\/p>\n
While the Amazins are still searching for power on offense, their pitching staff has been absolute nails. Much of New York\u2019s pitching success has come from the back end, with its bullpen pairing MLB\u2019s third-lowest ERA (1.71) with the third-highest left-on-base percentage (82.7%). That\u2019s not to say the rotation is slouching; while Mets starters rank near the middle of the road with a 3.78 ERA, their 3.12 xERA sits in the league\u2019s top four. They also lead the majors with a 50.3% ground-ball rate.\u00a0<\/p>\n
On Thursday, the Mets will hand the ball to exactly who they want in a series-clinching situation: burgeoning ace Nolan McLean. The nasty right-hander \u2014 fresh off dazzling for Team USA in the WBC \u2014 will look to build off an impressive pair of starts in 2026, currently holding a 2.61 ERA (2.31 xERA) with a 0.87 WHIP and 12 strikeouts (10.45 K\/9) across 10.1 frames.<\/p>\n
Diamondbacks vs. Mets Pick, Best Bet<\/p>\n
Even without Soto, New York is more complete on both sides of the ball. Looking under the hood, Arizona\u2019s pitching, especially Rodriguez, seems primed for a blowup outing, giving the Mets a chance to finally wake up offensively. Expect strong run support for McLean as he stifles the one-dimensional D-Backs lineup Thursday night.<\/p>\n
Best Bet: New York Mets -1.5 Runs (+135)<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Cooper Albers previews Thursday\u2019s MLB game between the Arizona Diamondbacks and the New York Mets at Citi Field.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":671809,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2404],"tags":[146,22,4314,5,38,4],"class_list":{"0":"post-671808","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-arizona-diamondbacks","8":"tag-arizona","9":"tag-arizona-diamondbacks","10":"tag-arizonadiamondbacks","11":"tag-baseball","12":"tag-diamondbacks","13":"tag-mlb"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@mlb\/116376022781455381","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/671808","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=671808"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/671808\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/671809"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=671808"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=671808"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=671808"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}