Giants head to Big Apple to meet the Mets
Giants head to Big Apple to meet the Mets
San Francisco is still in the thick of the NL Wild Card race. The Mets? They're done. But that doesn't mean New York can't play spoilers down the stretch beginning with this four-game at Citi Field.
The San Francisco Giants are baseball’s Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Incredibly profitable at AT&T Park, the Giants are a total money drain when they hit the road.
That’s exactly what bettors need to keep in mind when San Francisco takes on the beleaguered New York Mets in a four-game series beginning on Friday night at Citi Field.
San Francisco (-105) at NY Mets (-115)
The Giants (62-52, +9.00 units) and their vaunted pitching staff love their spacious waterfront digs by the Bay, and it’s paid off for bettors. San Fran is 39-20 at home this season, up +14.41 units on the MLB moneylist. It’s another story for the Giants on the road, where they’re only 23-32 (-5.41 units).
That being the current reality, it’s not as if San Francisco tore it up during its recent six-game homestand before its series with the Mets (53-61, -7.38 units). The Giants squandered a golden opportunity to take control of the National League Wild Card earlier this week, not to mention a chance to make the Dodgers squirm in the NL West.
San Fran went a disappointing 2-4 against the moneyline over the six games, dropping two of three to lowly Cincinnati before doing the same against its bitter rivals from southern California. The Giants are now 6.5 games back of the Dodgers in the division, and one game behind Colorado for the Wild Card.
Bruce Bochy’s club really needed some paydays this week, because now they’re about to embark on a season-high 11-game road trip – not exactly peaches and cream for a team in the thick of the playoff race. New York should be a relatively easy mark for San Francisco, but every bit of handicapping on the series has to be tempered by the Giants’ inconsistent ways on the road.
Barry Zito (8-10, 4.40 ERA) gets the ball from Bochy in Friday night’s opener (7:10 PM ET), while the Mets send Bobby Parnell (2-4, 3.94 ERA) to the hill for his second start of the season. 5-9 with a 5.09 ERA at the All-Star break, Zito is 3-1 with a 2.32 ERA since, including moneyline victories in his last three outings.
New York comes into the four-gamer with only three wins in its last 11 games, after it dropped three of four at San Diego and two of three at Arizona during its recent West Coast swing. The Mets are a respectable 30-25 (+1.45 units) at Citi Field this season, and you’d have to think they’d be more profitable if they didn’t have all the injuries they’ve had for months.
It looks like Jose Reyes (hamstring) and Carlos Beltran (knee) are out for the season, making Carlos Delgado’s comeback almost a moot point. Delgado (hip) is fielding grounders and taking light batting practice, and should make a return by the end of the month. Not that it’ll matter: The ship sailed on all those futures bets on New York months ago, especially with John Maine (shoulder), and J.J. Putz (elbow) also on the disabled list.
Saturday’s second game (4:10 PM ET) has everyone watching, with the Giants’ Matt Cain (12-4, 2.44 ERA) matching up with Mets ace Johan Santana (13-8, 3.00 ERA). Cain has a ton of trends backing him up in this one, until you consider San Fran’s road record and Santana’s success at Citi Field. Santana is 8-2 with a 2.07 ERA at home this season, and is 2-0 with a 2.35 ERA over his last three starts.
The under is also worth capping for Game 2: San Francisco is 7-14 O/U when Cain toes the rubber this season, while New York has played under in 14 of Santana’s 22 outings.
After Santana, the Mets have not yet announced who they’ll go with on Sunday (1:10 PM ET) and Monday (7:10 PM ET), with the Giants turning the ball over to Jonathan Sanchez (5-10, 4.61 ERA) and rookie Joe Martinez (2-1, 6.00 ERA). San Fran is only 3-9 against the moneyline in Sanchez’s 12 starts away from home this season, with the lefthander putting up a 5.53 ERA in those contests.
New York took three of four when the clubs met in San Francisco back in May, scoring 24 runs off Giants pitching in its three ML paydays. The Giants cashed the series finale 2-0 as -108 chalk on May 17, as Cain tossed six scoreless innings to earn the win.
San Francisco is still in the thick of the NL Wild Card race. The Mets? They're done. But that doesn't mean New York can't play spoilers down the stretch beginning with this four-game at Citi Field.
The San Francisco Giants are baseball’s Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Incredibly profitable at AT&T Park, the Giants are a total money drain when they hit the road.
That’s exactly what bettors need to keep in mind when San Francisco takes on the beleaguered New York Mets in a four-game series beginning on Friday night at Citi Field.
San Francisco (-105) at NY Mets (-115)
The Giants (62-52, +9.00 units) and their vaunted pitching staff love their spacious waterfront digs by the Bay, and it’s paid off for bettors. San Fran is 39-20 at home this season, up +14.41 units on the MLB moneylist. It’s another story for the Giants on the road, where they’re only 23-32 (-5.41 units).
That being the current reality, it’s not as if San Francisco tore it up during its recent six-game homestand before its series with the Mets (53-61, -7.38 units). The Giants squandered a golden opportunity to take control of the National League Wild Card earlier this week, not to mention a chance to make the Dodgers squirm in the NL West.
San Fran went a disappointing 2-4 against the moneyline over the six games, dropping two of three to lowly Cincinnati before doing the same against its bitter rivals from southern California. The Giants are now 6.5 games back of the Dodgers in the division, and one game behind Colorado for the Wild Card.
Bruce Bochy’s club really needed some paydays this week, because now they’re about to embark on a season-high 11-game road trip – not exactly peaches and cream for a team in the thick of the playoff race. New York should be a relatively easy mark for San Francisco, but every bit of handicapping on the series has to be tempered by the Giants’ inconsistent ways on the road.
Barry Zito (8-10, 4.40 ERA) gets the ball from Bochy in Friday night’s opener (7:10 PM ET), while the Mets send Bobby Parnell (2-4, 3.94 ERA) to the hill for his second start of the season. 5-9 with a 5.09 ERA at the All-Star break, Zito is 3-1 with a 2.32 ERA since, including moneyline victories in his last three outings.
New York comes into the four-gamer with only three wins in its last 11 games, after it dropped three of four at San Diego and two of three at Arizona during its recent West Coast swing. The Mets are a respectable 30-25 (+1.45 units) at Citi Field this season, and you’d have to think they’d be more profitable if they didn’t have all the injuries they’ve had for months.
It looks like Jose Reyes (hamstring) and Carlos Beltran (knee) are out for the season, making Carlos Delgado’s comeback almost a moot point. Delgado (hip) is fielding grounders and taking light batting practice, and should make a return by the end of the month. Not that it’ll matter: The ship sailed on all those futures bets on New York months ago, especially with John Maine (shoulder), and J.J. Putz (elbow) also on the disabled list.
Saturday’s second game (4:10 PM ET) has everyone watching, with the Giants’ Matt Cain (12-4, 2.44 ERA) matching up with Mets ace Johan Santana (13-8, 3.00 ERA). Cain has a ton of trends backing him up in this one, until you consider San Fran’s road record and Santana’s success at Citi Field. Santana is 8-2 with a 2.07 ERA at home this season, and is 2-0 with a 2.35 ERA over his last three starts.
The under is also worth capping for Game 2: San Francisco is 7-14 O/U when Cain toes the rubber this season, while New York has played under in 14 of Santana’s 22 outings.
After Santana, the Mets have not yet announced who they’ll go with on Sunday (1:10 PM ET) and Monday (7:10 PM ET), with the Giants turning the ball over to Jonathan Sanchez (5-10, 4.61 ERA) and rookie Joe Martinez (2-1, 6.00 ERA). San Fran is only 3-9 against the moneyline in Sanchez’s 12 starts away from home this season, with the lefthander putting up a 5.53 ERA in those contests.
New York took three of four when the clubs met in San Francisco back in May, scoring 24 runs off Giants pitching in its three ML paydays. The Giants cashed the series finale 2-0 as -108 chalk on May 17, as Cain tossed six scoreless innings to earn the win.
