It’s an even year and yes the San Francisco Giants are back playing October baseball. This year they will face against defending National League Champions New York Mets who have a completely different looking roster than Opening Day. The Mets have lost almost every starting pitcher and key position players, but somehow they managed to get it done night after night.
Case Why The Giants Will Win
Madison Bumgarner is pitching tonight. Does anything else need to be said? Bumgarner is 4-0 at Citifield with an astonishing 0.62 ERA. If he can deliver like he normally does in the postseason, the Mets will be in big trouble. San Francisco needs him to be big tonight because their bullpen has proven unreliable. Not only has Bumgarner been getting it done on the mound, but he is also a threat at the plate.
The Giants are a veteran team who knows how to win. Winning includes fouling off a lot of tough pitches to drive up Syndergaard’s pitch count. If the Giants can get baserunners, Syndergaard has really struggled all season holding runners on.
Case Why The Mets Will Win
The Mets definitely have their work cut out for them tonight, but that is how it has been pretty much all season for this team. Getting to Bumgarner can be done, but it won’t be easy. The team did score four runs off of him in a previous game, a Justin Ruggiano grand slam. Of course, Bumgarner hit a two-run home run that put the Giants on top in that game. Syndergaard is capable of matching zeros with Bumgarner and the Mets bullpen has actually been one of their strengths this season. If he can keep the game at least tied, the Mets have a better chance of getting a hit off the Giants bullpen than vice versa. The Mets still have major power threats in their lineup including Curtis Granderson and Jay Bruce who have both been very hot at the plate recently. However, this offense runs through Yoenis Cespedes and if he is a factor in this game offensively, the Mets will likely be moving on to play Chicago.
