The New York Mets (37-46, 19-19 home) and San Francisco Giants (46-37, 23-18 away) meetup on Sunday Night Baseball for the winner-take-all series finale. San Francisco opened up the series on Friday with a 5-4 victory, and New York bounced back on Saturday, winning 4-1.
The first pitch of the contest is at 7 p.m. EST at Citi Field in Queens, New York. The Mets are the betting favorite (-120 moneyline), and the over/under total is nine runs.
What to Know – San Francisco Giants
San Francisco enters Sunday’s tilt looking to clean up its recent play that has led to a 2-4 record over the last six outings. The Giants remain in a good position in the NL West, trailing the Arizona Diamondbacks by 3.5 games as the first half comes to a close.
On the mound for the Giants is expected to be Ross Stripling (0-2, 6.88 ERA, 1.56 WHIP). The right-hander will be making just his second appearance in a game since May 17th. Stripling has pitched in ten contests this season, tossing 35.1 innings while allowing 27 earned runs, 45 hits, ten walks, and striking out 29 batters.
The San Francisco offense ranks 15th in the majors hitting .249 as a team and averaging 4.8 runs per game. The pitching staff for the Giants is ninth in the league featuring a 3.89 team earned run average.
Michael Conforto and J.D. Davis have led the Giants offensively through the first half of the season. Davis is hitting .285 with ten home runs and 44 RBIs, while Conforto adds 12 home runs and 44 RBIs. Thairo Estrada has touched home plate 45 times thanks to a team-high 18 stolen bases.
What to Know – New York Mets
The investment in top talent has not paid off for the Mets through the first three months of the season. New York is sitting well below .500 and 18.5 games out of the NL East standings.
Southpaw David Peterson (2-6, 7.00 ERA, 1.69 WHIP) takes the ball for the Mets. Peterson has bounced around between Triple-A and the Mets roster this season. The 27-year-old has made nine appearances this year, surrendering 35 earned runs on 59 hits and 17 walks over 45.0 innings while punching out 50 batters.
Offensively, the Mets are 21st amongst league teams batting .239 and scoring 4.4 runs per game. New York’s pitching staff is 23rd in the MLB with a 4.50 team ERA.
Pete Alonso continues to hit home runs and drive in runs at the plate. Alonso has smacked a team-high 24 home runs and is tied with teammate Francisco Lindor with 55 RBIs. The problem for New York is the top two most productive hitters, Alonso and Lindor, are hitting .217 and .225 apiece.
The Pick is In
New York still has the talent to get things turned around, but the Mets need to start immediately. Peterson shined in his last outing, and we like New York to get it done on the diamond in front of its home faithful.
The Pick: New York Mets ML
