Noah Syndergaard (10-7, 2.76 ERA) gets the ball for the New York Mets (61-62) as they meet Jeff Samardzija (10-8, 4.24 ERA) and the San Francisco Giants (68-55) in the last of a four-game series at AT&T Park. The Mets won the last game 9-5, and San Francisco leads the series 2-1. The game gets underway at 8:08 p.m. ET on Sunday, Aug. 21 and will air on ESPN.
In his most recent outing, Samardzija pitched 6.0 innings, giving up three runs, striking out five and walking one in a 4-3 loss to the Pirates. Hunter Pence (.280, 36 Rs, 8 HRs, 41 RBIs) played well again yesterday, going 2 for 3 with one run. The Mets were victorious over the Diamondbacks 7-5 the last time Syndergaard pitched. He went 5.2 innings, allowing four runs (two unearned), striking out eight and walking two. Yoenis Cespedes (.293, 51 Rs, 24 HRs, 62 RBIs, 2 SBs) has been doing well offensively for the Mets, going 3 for 5 yesterday with two runs, two home runs, and three RBIs.
San Francisco is a +110 underdog in this game, and the Over/Under (O/U) is set at seven runs. The Giants are 18-24 as the underdog and have an overall money line of -175. The Giants rank third in the NL in hits at home with 9.1 per game. They typically aren’t overmatched by pitchers, leading the NL with an average of only 6.6 strikeouts per home game. Transitioning to the San Francisco defense and pitching staff, teams routinely struggle to score runs against the Giants, who allow only 4.1 runs per game. The Giants are fifth in the NL in hits allowed with just 8.4 per game.
On the other side, the Mets have a record of 45-38 when they are favored and are -1,613 overall with the money line. New York has been playing better lately, averaging 4.9 runs per game, more than their season average of 3.8. New York’s pitching staff has allowed an average of 7.1 runs per game during the last 10 games, higher than their season average of 3.9.
This game will feature Syndergaard (RHP) on the mound against the Giants, who have a 44-40 record when they take on a right-handed starter. The right-handed Samardzija will take the mound against the Mets, who have a 46-44 record against righty starters this season.
Predictions: SU Winner – SF, O/U – Over
Notes
The Giants managed to give up four walks in their last game. They’ll have to pick it up against the Mets who are coming in with a 25-18 record against opponents who give up that many walks or more.
When they are outhit, the Giants are 12-37. The Mets have an 18-47 record when opponents outhit them.
Ranking 29th in home runs, San Francisco has hit 101 this season. New York ranks seventh with 161 home runs.
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 (.718). San Francisco ranks in the top half with an OPS of .740.
When the Mets allow at least one home run, they are 27-45. When the Giants allow one or more homers, they have a 31-44 record.
