There are many reasons to like the underdog Mets here. Situation, pitching matchup and the possibility the Giants are going to be without their two best offensive players head the list.
Let's begin with the spot. It's terrible for the Giants. They had to play a night game in Atlanta Thursday night, losing 11-10 . The game was delayed nearly 1 1/2 hours because of rain. So the Giants didn't get home from the long journey until this morning. They've been on the road for eight days. Not only are they going be down physically, but their focus and concentration figure to be off, too. It was unfair the Giants had to play a night game, not a day game on Thursday, knowing they had to return home to play tonight. Things are made worse for them by the long rain delay.
Because of this, there's the strong chance the Giants will rest star catcher Buster Posey, who has played 10 straight days. San Francisco also likely is to be missing Eduardo Nunez. He's been dealing with a hamstring injury and could go on the DL. Nunez is second to Posey in team batting and has 17 steals. No other Giant has more than six steals.
The Mets have been in California having just wrapped up a three-game series with the Dodgers. The Mets have a better road record than home mark. San Francisco is four games below .500 at home.
The pitching matchup is Seth Lugo versus Ty Blach.
Lugo is no Tyler Pill. In other words, he's not a stiff, but a below-the-radar, underrated pitcher who is overlooked because he's been out with an elbow injury and the Mets are loaded with good, young arms. This will be Lugo's third start of the season since returning from injury. He has a 2.63 ERA. The Giants rank last in the majors in runs scored and second-to-last in homers. I'm expecting a strong performance from Lugo.
Blach started out well in replacing injured Madison Bumgarner. Lately, though, the opposition has adjusted to Blach as he's 0-2 with a 7.36 ERA in his last three starts.
The weather forecast is for wind to blow out to left field at around 15 mph making right-handed Yoenis Cespedes the most dangerous hitter in the game.