The battle for National League supremacy in the MLB begins tonight, with Game 1 of the NLCS set to begin at 8:15 p.m. ET on FOX. This year's series features one team everyone thought would be here in the Los Angeles Dodgers, as well as another squad many had counted out before May, as the New York Mets come to town.
Let's dive into my Mets vs Dodgers prop bets for Game 1 on Sunday, Oct. 13.
Mets vs Dodgers Prop Bets for Game 1
- Brandon Nimmo Under 0.5 Hits (+150, bet365)
- Max Muncy Over 1.5 Hits + Runs + RBI (+120, DraftKings)
Brandon Nimmo Props: Tough Matchup for NY's Key Role Player
Brandon Nimmo has played a big role in the Mets' playoff run, but he could be neutralized in Game 1, as he'll see Dodgers' starter Jack Flaherty for the majority of his at-bats.
Strangely, Nimmo has had reverse splits this season, hitting righties far worse than lefties. While displaying more power, Nimmo is hitting just .216 off righties this season.
His struggles play right into the strengths of Jack Flaherty. Flaherty has held lefties to just a .215 BAA on the season, and his FIP against them is .42 lower than his season mark.
Flaherty's arsenal has all the tools to get lefties out and Nimmo profiles to struggle against him specifically, as his combined strikeout rate against the pitches Flaherty features is 24 percent while his wOBA is just average at .321.
With Nimmo likely to be blanked for the first half of this game and a strong bullpen behind Flaherty, taking Nimmo to stay out of the hit column has value.
Max Muncy Props: LA's Slugger Primed to Make an Impact
Next, we are going to flip sides and key in on the Dodgers' Max Muncy. Muncy has excellent splits against right-handed pitching, as his batting average off righties is 82 points higher than off lefties.
He is primed to make an impact against Mets' starter Kodai Senga, who will likely only be around long enough to get through the Dodgers' batting order once. Batting in the fifth spot, Muncy is the ideal guy to be a part of the Dodgers' scoring opportunities.
Los Angeles' top three, Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts, and Freddie Freeman, are so hard to deal with that there's always a good chance at least one or a couple of them will be on base ahead of Muncy.
Muncy is a very disciplined hitter who has shown he can do damage against right-handed pitching. At the current odds, he's a great guy to back if the Dodgers get on the board early against Kodai Senga.
