by Chuck Sommers
Monday, Apr 18, 2022
Time: 7:10 p.m. ET
Venue: Citi Field, Flushing, NY
Where to watch: NBC Sports Bay Area, SNY
Opening Odds at USA Sportsbooks
DraftKings: Mets -125, Giants +105
BetMGM: Mets -120, Giants +100
Caesars: Mets -125, Giants +105
Season record
Giants: 7-2
Mets: 7-3
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Giants - Mets preview and analysis
Look, I get that we’re only two weeks into the new baseball season and overreactions are what fuels the early talks before we get to October, but if anyone thought we would be talking about an early-season showdown featuring the San Francisco Giants and New York Mets as the top teams in the NL East, then laughter would likely ensue.
But here we are with both teams at seven wins to begin the new season, and as expected, both are being carried by their pitching and timely hitting. The Giants are coming off a three-game sweep of the Cleveland Guardians to push their winning streak to five heading into this showdown at Citi Field.
Joc Pederson and Brandon Crawford had two hits each, and Thairo Estrada and Brandon Belt went yard to give enough cushion for Alex Wood to dominate over five scoreless innings and five strikeouts.
“Everybody’s really happy with the start we’ve had as a staff,” Wood said. “And I think we’ve got some competitive juices flowing and guys want to back up what the guy did the day before. It’s been a lot of fun so far.”
The Giants had a lot to answer to after losing Kevin Gausman, but re-tooled their pitching rotation with Carlos Rodon and have gotten strong starts from Wood, Alex Cobb and Anthony DeSclafani. Once again, if the Giants are going to have a big year, it’ll once again have to due with their rotation.
But here we are talking about rotations and the Mets are obviously at the top. And that, of course, is without the services of Jacob deGrom who will likely be out until May. But the addition of Max Scherzer has put a jolt into this rotation in their first year under new manager Buck Showalter.
The Mets took two of three over the weekend against the Arizona Diamondbacks and clinched the series with a 5-0 win on Sunday at home. Pete Alonso hit a two-run homer in the seventh to put it away, but the Mets were on a tear thanks to their aggressive base running. Seems like a Showalter-managed team, if you ask me.
"Seven-and-three, that's what it is. That's a fact," Alonso said. "We have been really playing good team baseball. Today was a great example of it. We had excellent pitching. We had high-quality team at-bats later in the game and we got it done. I feel like our start is great. Obviously, we have a lot of baseball [left], but our start has been really good. It has been fun so far."
The Mets have been in need of a jolt in order to get back on track as a franchise, and so far, the aggressive base running and the timely hitting has put some faith in this group. And once deGrom comes back and if he’s healthy, the Mets are going to have one of the best teams in the league.
Tylor Megill, one of the two starters off to a strong start, will take the mound for the Mets. Alex Cobb, also a winner in his first start of the season after 10 strikeouts in 5 innings against San Diego, will be opposite on the mound.
Prediction
If you’re a fan of pitching, get ready for what should be one hell of a series. But given that it’s at Citi Field and teams haven’t found a way to solve Megill, I think they’ll get the better of the Giants and set the tone for the rest of this series. Mets win 4-3
Betting trends
Giants are 68-47 on the road over the past three seasons.
Giants are 99-60 the past three seasons against right-handed starters.
Mets are 39-49 the past three seasons when the ML is between +125 and -125.
Projected lineup
Giants:
Mike Yastrzemski (L) RF
Brandon Belt (L) DH
Darin Ruf (R) 1B
Joc Pederson (L) LF
Brandon Crawford (L) SS
Wilmer Flores (R) 3B
Thairo Estrada (R) 2B
Steven Duggar (L) CF
Curt Casali (R) C
Alex Cobb (RHP) 1-0, 3.60 ERA
Mike Yastrzemski (L) RF
Brandon Belt (L) DH
Darin Ruf (R) 1B
Joc Pederson (L) LF
Brandon Crawford (L) SS
Wilmer Flores (R) 3B
Thairo Estrada (R) 2B
Steven Duggar (L) CF
Curt Casali (R) C
Alex Cobb (RHP) 1-0, 3.60 ERA
Mets:
Jeff McNeil (L) LF
Starling Marte (R) RF
Francisco Lindor (S) SS
Pete Alonso (R) DH
Eduardo Escobar (S) 3B
Dominic Smith (L) 1B
Travis Jankowski (L) CF
James McCann (R) C
Luis Guillorme (L) 2B
Tylor Megill (RHP) 2-0, 0.00 ERA
Jeff McNeil (L) LF
Starling Marte (R) RF
Francisco Lindor (S) SS
Pete Alonso (R) DH
Eduardo Escobar (S) 3B
Dominic Smith (L) 1B
Travis Jankowski (L) CF
James McCann (R) C
Luis Guillorme (L) 2B
Tylor Megill (RHP) 2-0, 0.00 ERA
Statistical leaders
Giants:
Batting average: Brandon Belt -- .345
Hits: Brandon Belt -- 10
Home runs: Brandon Belt -- 3
RBI: Thairo Estrada -- 8
Wins: Seven tied -- 1
Saves: Camilo Doval -- 2
ERA: Logan Webb -- 1.29
Mets:
Batting average: Jeff McNeil -- .344
Hits: Jeff McNeil -- 11
Home runs: Two tied -- 3
RBI: Pete Alonso -- 14
Wins: Three tied -- 2
Saves: Edwin Diaz -- 1
ERA: Tylor Megill -- 0.00
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Chuck Sommers
About the Author:
Chuck Sommers has camped outside of sportsbooks since he can remember, learning the tricks and nuances of the trade. He still has nightmares of betting $5,000 on the Raiders in the Tuck Rule game but has since turned that to 25 years of veteran handicapping greatness. You can find him mostly in the shadows at the Red Rock or Aliante casinos wondering if the over is cashing on any given Sunday.
