Johnny Cueto (13-3, 2.97 ERA) and Steven Matz (9-8, 3.40 ERA) take the hill in the second of a four-game series between the San Francisco Giants (67-54) and the New York Mets (60-61) at AT&T Park. The Giants won the last game 10-7, and San Francisco leads the series 1-0. Action begins at 10:15 p.m. ET on Friday, Aug. 19 and can be seen on CSBA and SNY.
Cueto pitched 6.2 innings in his most recent start, surrendering three runs, striking out four and walking one in an 8-7 defeat to the Orioles. Brandon Crawford (.276, 50 Rs, 11 HRs, 74 RBIs, 4 SBs) continued his strong play yesterday, going 3 for 4 with two runs. Matz went 7.1 innings, surrendering zero runs, striking out eight and walking two in a 5-1 win over the Padres in his last outing. Yoenis Cespedes (.289, 49 Rs, 22 HRs, 59 RBIs, 2 SBs) went 1 for 5 yesterday.
San Francisco is a -145 favorite against New York and the Over/Under (O/U) for this game is sitting at seven runs. Though the Giants have had a tough season in terms of their overall money line (-220), they have done fairly well as a favorite with a record of 48-30. San Francisco is a disappointing 2-5 as the favorite over its last 10 games. The Giants are one of the best in the NL in terms of hits at home with an impressive 9.0 per game. San Francisco strikes out the least of any team in the NL at home, with only 6.6 per game. Turning to the pitching and defensive side, it’s been a struggle for opposing teams to score runs against the Giants. The 4.1 runs that San Francisco’s pitchers allow per game makes them the fifth-ranked staff in the NL. The Giants are the fifth-best team in the league at limiting hits and walks to their opponents, recording a WHIP of 1.233 so far this season.
In games where it is the underdog, New York has a 15-22 record and an overall money line of -1,558. They have been on a bit of a dry streak over their last 10 games. They managed a 0-2 record when playing as the underdog. The Mets allow 3.8 runs per game, but have damaged those numbers in the past 10 games, allowing 5.7 runs per game during that span.
The Giants have a 24-15 record against left-handed starting pitchers on the year, which is what they’ll be facing when Matz takes the mound. Cueto (RHP) will be on the hill against the Mets, who have a 46-43 record against right-handed starting pitchers.
Predictions: SU Winner – SF, O/U – Over
Notes
San Francisco is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games.
The total has gone OVER in 5 of San Francisco’s last 6 games.
The total has gone OVER in 5 of San Francisco’s last 6 games at home.
San Francisco is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games at home.
San Francisco is 12-6 SU in its last 18 games when playing NY Mets.
The total has gone OVER in 4 of San Francisco’s last 5 games when playing NY Mets.
San Francisco is 5-2 SU in its last 7 games when playing at home against NY Mets.
New York has won 48% (21-23) of its games when leading after seven innings. However, San Francisco has won 56% (24-19) of its games when taking a late lead.
The Mets managed to give up four walks in their last game. They’ll have to pick it up against the Giants who are heading in with a 38-21 record against opponents who give up that many walks or more.
When they outhit their opponents, the Mets are 39-11. The Giants have a 48-13 record when outhitting opponents.
Ranking 29th in runs, New York has earned 457 this season. San Francisco ranks 15th with 543 runs.
Ranking 15th, New York is in the top half of the league in walks, notching 369 this season. San Francisco ranks in the top five at fourth with 448.
The Giants are 43-25 when they hit at least one home run. The Mets perform similarly when they hit one or more homers with a 51-33 record.
