Indians at Mets 8/20/19 - MLB Picks & Predictions

An important interleague series will get underway on Tuesday night, when the Cleveland Indians invade Citi Field to battle the New York Mets. The Indians split a four-game series against the Yankees over the weekend and are 23 games above .500 overall. On Sunday, SP Mike Clevinger struck out ten batters over five shutout innings to lead Cleveland to an 8-4 victory.

Twenty-four year old righty Shane Bieber (12-5 3.27 ERA) has become a quiet force for the Indians. Through 162 plus innings, Bieber has struck out 200 batters and ranks 3rd in the American League with a ridiculous 1.01 WHIP. The New York Mets have won 34 of their 55 home games and are two games back in the race for the final NL Wild Card spot. On Sunday, Michael Conforto hit a tape measure shot and drove in four runs to power New York to an 11-5 road victory against Kansas City. 1B Peter Alonso hit his 40th home run of the season to break the NL rookie home run record for a season.

The Mets will turn to talented left-hander Steven Matz (7-7 4.33 ERA) in the series opener. Last time out, Matz allowed just two hits and one run over six innings during a 6-4 road loss against Atlanta.