Sunday Night Baseball features a National League battle between the San Francisco Giants (46-37) and the New York Mets (37-46). The Mets will host this one at Citi Field, with first pitch scheduled for 7:10 pm ET.
This will be a rubber match as the Giants took the opener 5-4, and the Mets took Saturday’s contest 4-1. In Saturday’s win, the Mets hit three home runs, including Francisco Lindor’s 17th.
The Mets are the slight favorites to win at home in this primetime matchup. They are -116 to win, while the Giants’ moneyline sits at -102. The runline features New York +1.5 (-200), and the over/under for total runs is nine (-110).
Giants Look To Take Rubber Match On The Road
At 46-37, the San Francisco Giants sit in third in the NL West, three games behind the Arizona Diamondbacks. They will look to keep pace in the division Sunday while also improving their road record, which currently sits at 23-18.
Trying to help the club take the rubber match will be veteran righty, Ross Stripling. In 10 games, the 33-year-old is 0-2 with a 6.88 ERA, 1.56 WHIP, and he has 29 strikeouts in 35.1 innings. In his last three starts, he has given up a combined eight runs in 9.2 innings of work.
Offensively, the Giants rank 10th in the majors, averaging 4.83 runs per game. They are better on the road this year as they average 5.43 runs per game away from home.
Leading the offense is outfielder Michael Conforto. Despite hitting just .236/.333/.422, he leads the team with 12 home runs. He also has 42 runs batted in and 39 runs scored.
Mets Trying To Shake Disappointing First Half
The New York Mets might be one of the most disappointing teams in all of baseball. Despite going on an offseason spending spree, the Mets sit in fourth in the NL East, a whopping 18.5 games behind the Braves. They will try to shake their disappointing season at home, where they are 19-19 thus far.
Lefty David Peterson will take the ball in this one. In nine games, the 27-year-old is 2-6 with a 7.00 ERA, 1.69 WHIP, and he has 50 strikeouts in 45 innings. Peterson did pitch well in his last start, going six scoreless innings in a victory over the Brewers.
The Mets rank 17th in the league in scoring, averaging 4.44 runs per game (4.05 at home).
Pete Alonso continues to lead the charge in the Mets’ offense. In 277 at bats, he is hitting .217/.311/.505 with a team-leading 24 home runs and 55 runs batted in.
Francisco Lindor is also having a nice season, hitting .225/.305/.450 with 17 home runs and 55 runs batted in.
Take The Giants To Win
The Giants come into this one having gone 14-5 in their last 19 games. They are also 13-3 in their last 16 games against National League teams.
For the Mets, they are just 3-8 in their last 11 games and 2-6 in their last eight games at home.
While neither of these starting pitchers exactly inspire confidence, it is the Giants who have been playing better ball both lately and in the season as a whole. For that reason, take the Giants to continue their better play Sunday and to win the series.
Take the Giants to win straight up at -102.
