Bet on the Nationals when they take on Max Scherzer and the Mets on Friday night

Max Scherzer helped lead the Washington Nationals to the World Series back in 2019, but now he's on the struggling New York Mets. He'll face his former team on Friday night in Queens, and I think it sets up for a great time to bet on the underdog Nationals.

Let's take a look at the odds for the game and then I'll break down why I think Washington is a great bet.

Nationals vs. Mets odds, run line, and total

Nationals vs. Mets prediction and pick

The Mets have been a disaster this season, but there's one specific area they've struggled in more than others, especially of late. Over the last 30 days, they're 28th in Major League Baseball in OPS against lefties, sporting a number of just .605 while batting .201.

That's bad news for Mets fans as they're set to take on a lefty in Mackenzie Gore on Friday night.

Gore has also been finding his stride lately. He's coming off a 5.0 inning performance against the Giants where he gave up only four hits and zero earned runs.

Max Scherzer has been bad, there's no other way to put it. In July, he has a 5.25 ERA in four starts. This is coming off a month of June where he had a 4.25 ERA in six starts.

At +162, I think the Nationals present fantastic value against the Mets on Friday night.

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.