San Francisco Giants vs. New York Mets Betting Preview

Thursday evening will feature a National League showdown of West versus East as the San Francisco Giants (82-44) square off with the New York Mets (61-65). The Mets will host this one at Citi Field, with first pitch scheduled for 7:10 pm ET.

This will be the finale of a three-game set between the two teams, and the Giants will be looking for the sweep after taking the first two. On Wednesday, the Giants edged out the Mets 3-2.

In the win, Kris Bryant hit his 23rd home run of the season while Johnny Cueto went 4.2 scoreless innings. Tony Watson was officially credited with the win despite giving up a run over one inning. The Mets were able to put together 10 hits in the loss but were only able to muster two runs. Taijuan Walker was solid, pitching six innings of two-run ball, but it was still not enough for the reeling Mets.

San Francisco is the favorite on Thursday despite playing on the road. They are -126 to win while the Mets’ moneyline sits at +108. The runline features New York +1.5 (-160), and the over/under for total runs is 9.

Pitching Matchup

The San Francisco Giants will send veteran lefty Alex Wood to the mound to try to finish the sweep Thursday. On the season, Wood is 10-4 with a 4.11 ERA, 1.22 WHIP, and has struck out 130 in 120.1 innings pitched.

The New York Mets will counter with Carlos Carrasco (0-2, 8.82 ERA). In his last start, Carrasco gave up three runs in five innings in a loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers. Prior to that, he had given up 10 runs over two games, pitching just a combined three innings.

By The Number

Offensively, the Giants have been the much stronger of the two teams. They currently rank ninth in scoring averaging 4.89 runs per game. The Mets dropped to 29th, averaging just 3.75 runs per game (3.45 at home).

It is once again San Francisco that holds the edge defensively. They rank second overall in scoring defense, allowing opponents just 3.69 runs per game. The Mets rank eighth, allowing 4.01 runs (3.30 at home).

Giants Continue To Prove They Are Best In Majors

At 82-44, the Giants have defied odds en route to the best record in all of baseball. In a division that many expected would come down to the Dodgers and San Diego Padres, it is the Giants that currently sit atop the NL West standings.

Part of the reason for their success has been the brilliant play of shortstop Brandon Crawford. On the season, he is hitting .299/.366/.530 with 19 home runs, 73 runs batted in, 58 runs, and 10 stolen bases. Between his work at the plate and his stellar defense, it is no wonder why the Giants recently locked Crawford up to a contract extension.

One player to keep an eye on in this one is first baseman Brandon Belt. Over the last week, he has been the Giants’ hottest hitter as he has slugged three home runs and four runs batted in to go along with a .263/.364/.737 batting line.

Mets Trying To End Slide

For the majority of the season, New York sat in the driver’s seat in the NL East. After going 2-8 in their last 10 games, though, they now find themselves seven games back in the division and the Wild Card.

One bright spot in an otherwise struggling offense has been first baseman Pete Alonso. On the season, he is hitting .259/.341/.502 and leads the team in both home runs (28), runs batted in (73), and runs scored (63).

Over the last couple of weeks, he also leads the team with four home runs, nine runs batted in, and a .304 average over the last 14 games.

The Mets recently activated both Javier Baez and Francisco Lindor from the injured list, but given they are both having subpar seasons, it may be a little too late for the struggling Mets.

Take The Giants To Finish The Sweep

There just isn’t a whole lot to get excited about with the Mets in this one. Carrasco has struggled since returning to the mound, the offense has been putrid, and they are in the midst of playing some really bad baseball.

Conversely, the Giants continue to show why they are the best team in all of the MLB and have a solid, albeit not stellar, pitcher going Thursday in Alex Wood.

At the end of the day, go with the hottest team, and, in this case, that means taking the Giants on the road.