Matt Moore (7-9, 4.14 ERA) and the San Francisco Giants (68-54) go up against Bartolo Colon (10-7, 3.38 ERA) and the New York Mets (60-62) in the third of a four-game series at AT&T Park. The Giants won the last game 8-1, and San Francisco leads the series 2-0. The game starts at 4:05 p.m. ET on Saturday, Aug. 20 and will air on FS1, CSBA and SNY.
In his last start, Moore pitched 6.0 innings, allowing five runs, striking out five and walking three in an 8-5 loss to the Pirates. Brandon Belt (.278, 58 Rs, 14 HRs, 61 RBIs) continued his strong season yesterday, going 2 for 5. The Mets were unsuccessful against the Diamondbacks 10-6 the last time Colon pitched. He went 4.0 innings, allowing five runs (three unearned), striking out one and walking two. Yoenis Cespedes (.289, 49 Rs, 22 HRs, 59 RBIs, 2 SBs) went 1 for 4 yesterday.
San Francisco is a -146 favorite in this game and the Over/Under (O/U) is set at eight runs. The Giants are in an interesting position this season. While they have a notable winning record in games where they’re the favorite (50-30), their overall money line (-20) is less impressive. The Giants are an exceptional hitting team with 9.1 hits per home game, one of the highest marks in the NL. They typically aren’t overmatched by pitchers, leading the NL with an average of only 6.6 strikeouts per home game. Turning to the pitching and defensive side, teams routinely struggle to score runs against the Giants, who allow only 4.1 runs per game. The Giants are fifth in the league in WHIP at 1.232.
Moving on to the away team, the Mets come into this game with a weak win percentage of .385 when playing as the underdog (15-24) and an overall money line of -1,758. Over the last 10 games, the team is winless as the underdog with a 0-4 record and 3-7 SU. The last 10 games have really brought the worst out of the New York pitchers. They allowed 6.9 runs per game during that span, which is higher than their season average of 3.9.
The Giants are 3-2 against the Mets this season. The Giants will take on a right-hander (Colon) in this game and have a 44-39 record against right-handed starting pitchers this season. Taking the hill against the Mets will be the left-hander Moore. They sport a 14-18 record against southpaws.
Predictions: SU Winner – SF, O/U – Over
Notes
San Francisco is 2-4 SU in its last 6 games.
The total has gone OVER in 6 of San Francisco’s last 7 games.
The total has gone OVER in 6 of San Francisco’s last 7 games at home.
San Francisco is 2-4 SU in its last 6 games at home.
San Francisco is 13-6 SU in its last 19 games when playing NY Mets.
The total has gone OVER in 5 of San Francisco’s last 5 games when playing NY Mets.
The total has gone OVER in 8 of San Francisco’s last 12 games when playing at home against NY Mets.
San Francisco is 6-2 SU in its last 8 games when playing at home against NY Mets.
New York has won 47% (21-24) of its games when leading after seven innings. However, San Francisco has won 57% (25-19) of its games when taking a late lead.
Having scored one run in their last game, the Mets are going to have to step it up if they want to win this matchup. The Giants have a 29-2 record in games where opponents scored one run or less.
When they are outhit, the Giants are 12-36. The Mets have an 18-47 record when opponents outhit them.
San Francisco ranks near the bottom of the league when it comes to home runs, hitting 100 this season. New York ranks in the top 10 at seventh with 158.
Ranking 15th, New York is in the top half of the league in hits, notching 7.99 per game. San Francisco ranks in the top five at fourth with 9.01.
Ranking 23rd, New York is near the bottom of the league for its on-base plus slugging percentage (.715). San Francisco ranks in the bottom half at 16th with an OPS of .739.
The Mets are 26-45 in games where they allow one or more home runs. The Giants are 31-43 when they allow at least one homer.
