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The San Francisco Giants just two seasons ago won 107 games and the National League West, now they return home to host the New York Mets after a 6-11 start to the season.
New York Mets (-135, 8.5) vs. San Francisco Giants
The Giants are hoping Thursday’s starter, Sean Manaea, can return to peak form as he’s posted a 4.94 ERA with 1.6 home runs per nine innings since the start of the 2022 season after registering a 3.68 ERA with just 1.2 home runs and 1.9 walks per nine innings allowed from the 2018-21 seasons.
Manaea gets the break of facing a Mets lineup that has gotten off to a slow start to the season with a .227 batting average, which is the second-lowest in the National League.
The Giants rank 19th in batting average and have relied heavily on home runs, ranking second in the National League in home runs, but figure to have a tough time sustaining this power in their ballpark.
Baseball Savant ranks Oracle Park as the second-worst ballpark for home run hitters in the National League with St. Louis being No. 1 and it’s shown with the Giants averaging two home runs per game on the road and just one at home.
This should portend success for Mets starter Kodai Senga, who had question marks coming over from the Nippon Baseball League, where he had a 1.89 ERA last season with 0.4 home runs per nine innings allowed.
Though his first three starts have come against the Miami Marlins twice and the Oakland Athletics, Senga has looked sharp with a 3.38 ERA and 11.8 strikeouts per nine innings.
With San Francisco being one of the most pitcher-friendly ballparks in baseball coupled with Sean Manaea having allowed three runs or fewer in five straight starts, dating back to last season, the bats will be held silent on Thursday.
The Play: Mets vs. Giants Under 8.5