A pair of NL East squads are set to get the Thursday MLB schedule underway when the Washington Nationals and New York Mets meet up at Citi Field at 1:10 p.m. ET. The Mets are rolling early in 2019, coming into play on Thursday with a 5-1 record overall. They just completed a sweep of the Marlins and took two of three against the Nats to open the season. Washington, meanwhile, pulled out a 9-8 victory over the Phillies on Wednesday night to get to 2-3 after it had dropped three of four to open the season. New York is a -132 favorite (risk $132 to win $100) on the money line, with the over-under for total runs set at 6.5 in the latest Mets vs. Nationals odds. Before locking in any Mets vs. Nationals picks of your own on Thursday, be sure to see the MLB predictions from the proven model at SportsLine. 

The model, which simulates every game 10,000 times, has raked in the winnings for those following its picks and is off to a profitable start on its top-rated MLB money-line picks this season. The model has a proven track record of hitting on its top picks in baseball, football, basketball, hockey and more. Anyone who has followed it is way up.

Now, the model has zeroed in on Mets vs. Nationals. We can tell you it is leaning over, and it also says one side of the money line has all the value. You can only see that pick at SportsLine. 

The model has taken into account that the Mets are off to one of the strongest starts of the season around Major League Baseball. Their pitching was dominant in a season-opening 2-0 win over the Nationals, and the bats have picked up since since that point, scoring at least five runs in every game since. 

Noah Syndergaard will be on the hill for the Mets on Thursday. He's coming off his best season in 2018 when he went 13-4 with a 3.03 ERA and a WHIP of 1.21. His control was masterful with just 39 walks against 155 strikeouts last year. Backed by an offense that has scored the fifth-most runs in the league thus far in 2019, Syndergaard and New York have a great chance to pick up the win on Thursday. 

But just because Syndergaard is on the hill doesn't mean New York is the best value on the Mets vs. Nationals money line.

That's because the Nats are sending a big arm of their own out with Stephen Strasburg in line to get the start. He's coming off a strong 2018 as well with a 3.74 ERA. That number was higher his career average, but few debate that he still has enough talent to be a front-line starter.

And even with Harper now in Philly and Trea Turner (finger) on the disabled list, Washington still has the lineup to be competitive with players like Juan Soto (.300), Anthony Rendon (.474), Victor Robles (.294) and Adam Eaton (.300) off to a hot start at the plate this season. 

So who wins Nationals vs. Mets? And which side of the money line has all the value? Visit SportsLine now to see which side of the Nationals vs. Mets money line to jump on, all from the advanced model that simulates every MLB game 10,000 times.