Chris Heston (8-5, 3.78 ERA) and the San Francisco Giants (42-41) go up against Jon Niese (3-8, 3.90 ERA) and the New York Mets (42-41) in the first of a three-game series at AT&T Park. The Giants enter this series on a six-game losing streak. The game starts at 10:15 p.m. ET on Monday, Jul. 6 and will air on SNY and CSN-BAY.
In his last start, Heston pitched 6.0 innings, allowing three runs, striking out one and walking three in a 6-5 loss to the Marlins. Buster Posey (.304, 44 Rs, 14 HRs, 57 RBIs, 1 SB) went 1 for 3 yesterday. In his pitching opportunities against the Giants, Niese is 1-3 with a 2.92 ERA. He gets a strong San Francisco offense that’s batting .268. Curtis Granderson (.253, 43 Rs, 13 HRs, 29 RBIs, 5 SBs) has been doing well offensively for the Mets, going 2 for 5 yesterday with one run and one RBI.
San Francisco, a -148 favorite, will look to capitalize at home against New York. The Over/Under (O/U) for the matchup is seven runs. The Giants are 20-23 as the favorite and have an overall money line of -207. The most recent 10-game stretch for the Giants has gone great. Over that span, San Francisco is averaging 5.4 runs per game, well over their season average of 4.2. They typically aren’t overmatched by pitchers, leading the NL with an average of only 6.5 strikeouts per home game. Below average play has been the norm lately for the San Francisco pitchers. The Giants have given up an average of 5.1 runs to opponents in their last 10 games, above their season average of 4.0 runs per game.
Switching gears, the Mets come into this game with a weak win percentage of .222 when playing as the underdog (8-28) and an overall money line of -144. The Mets will be looking to pick it up in this one after recent offensive struggles. In their 10 most recent games, New York’s run production has dropped to 2.0 runs per game, compared to 4.2 for the duration of the season. The Mets are one of the top NL pitching staffs on the road, essentially shutting down opponents to the tune of four runs allowed per away game. They have a WHIP of 1.19, second best in the MLB.
In their previous three games this season, the Giants have a 2-1 record. The Giants will take on a left-hander (Niese) in this game and have an 11-7 record against left-handed starting pitchers this season. Taking the hill against the Mets will be the right-hander Heston. They sport a 34-34 record against righties.
Predictions: SU Winner – SF, O/U – Over
Notes
San Francisco has won 50% (13-13) of its games when leading after 7 innings. However, New York has won 53% (18-16) of its games when taking a late lead.
Having scored one run in their last game, the Giants are going to have to up their game if they want to win this matchup. The Mets have a 19-4 record in games where opponents scored that many runs or fewer.
When they are outhit, the Giants are 3-25. The Mets have an 11-34 record when opponents outhit them.
San Francisco and New York both rank near the bottom of the league in home runs. San Francisco sits at 21st with 68 home runs this season and New York ranks 24th with 65.
Ranking first in hits, San Francisco has earned 9.26 per game this season. New York ranks 15th with 7.66 hits.
Ranking 29th, New York is near the bottom of the league for its on-base plus slugging percentage (.656). San Francisco ranks in the top 10 at eighth with an OPS of .730.
When the Mets allow at least one home run, they are 17-27. When the Giants allow one or more homers, they have a 21-28 record.
