Home » Picks » 2016 NL Wild Card Game – San Francisco Giants at New York Mets – Free Betting Preview and Prediction

2016 NL Wild Card Game – San Francisco Giants at New York Mets – Free Betting Preview and Prediction

After a wild finish to last night’s AL Wild Card Game, the Blue Jays will head to Texas to take on the Rangers in the ALDS. The NL Wild Card is still to be decided tonight in a game between the Giants and Mets. The winner will face the Chicago Cubs in a series that begins on Friday, October 7^th.

Madbum versus Thor

Tonight’s contest features two of the best pitchers in all of baseball. The total is just six runs at most sportsbooks, which is one of the lowest

San Francisco southpaw Madison Bumgarner has been a clutch postseason performer for quite some time. He put together another stellar season in 2016, notching 15 victories and a 2.74 ERA over 226 innings.

Noah Syndergaard is just in his second year but has already established himself as one of the game’s top pitchers. The right-hander improved on his rookie 2015 season with a spectacular 2.60 ERA over 183 innings.

Neither team has had much success against either starter. Active numbers show the Mets with just a .234 batting average against Bumgarner and the Giants with a .176 average against the Syndergaard.

Betting Odds

The betting odds opened at -109/-101 with San Francisco and Bumgarner as the favorites. These odds are now at Giants (-117) and the Mets at (+107) at BetOnline.ag. Close to 70 percent of wagers are come in on San Francisco.

The total opened at 6 points. It has stayed on that number, but the vigorish has moved considerably. The odds are currently Over 6 (+110) and Under 6 (-130) at BetOnline. So far, about 55 percent of wagers have been bet on the over.

Betting Prediction

It’s tough to want to go against Bumgarner in a playoff game, but there is a good chance that bettors are overrating him in comparison to Syndergaard. “Thor” has been fantastic and many advanced statistics have him having a better season than Bumgarner. He is also coming off seven days of rest.

The Mets have come into the postseason playing quite well. They are 17-10 this month and won their final three games of the regular season and four of their last five. San Francisco has struggled over the same period, going just 13-15 last month.

It’s always tough to wager against Bumgarner and Bruce Bochy, who have had more success than any manager-starting pitcher than other pairings could dream of, but this is still an excellent spot for the Mets.

Syndergaard and Bumgarner should both have strong performances in this one, which may leave this the game up to the bullpen. New York has the edge in the bullpen, and they also have been excellent this season against left-handed pitching, giving them a chance to do a little more damage to Bumgarner than most teams.

Pick: Mets +107