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• New York Mets vs. San Francisco Giants
• Saturday, July 1 at 4:10 PM ET
• Citi Field in Queens, New York
In what has been an incredibly disappointing year for the New York Mets, the time is now for the NL East side to try and close the first part of the season out on the right foot. We are about a week away from the All-Star break arriving, so it’s key for the Mets to post some strong wins. They’ve got a great chance to do that this weekend, taking on the San Francisco Giants. With that, the Mets are hoping to get on track with Justin Verlander on the bump.
In a prime series against the Giants, Verlander will take the bump for the Mets on Saturday. Verlander is in his first season in Queens, but things haven’t exactly gone according to plan for him. As of this writing, the future Hall of Famer has a 2-4 record, with a 4.11 ERA. This is not what anyone was expecting to see out of him. Only two wins and four losses in his starts during the first half of the year? Unreal.
| Mets vs. Giants odds |  |  |  |  |
| Mets to win | -115 | -115 | -115 | -115 |
| Giants to win | +125 | +125 | +125 | +125 |
| Over to hit | -110 | -110 | -110 | -110 |
| Under to hit | -110 | -110 | -110 | -110 |
Things won’t be easy for Verlander on this one, too, as the Giants have quite the lineup. On the year, San Francisco has been quite the surprise, as they’re 45-35 on the year. What’s that, SF is 10 games over .500? Yup, that’s exactly the case, with the team making quite the splash in the NL West. They’ll be hoping to try and steal the division title away from the Los Angeles Dodgers later this year.
According to the best-rated sportsbooks, which includes the reliable Bovada review, the Mets hold -115 MLB betting odds to come out on top. San Francisco, the visiting team, has been set at +125. With this game being played at Citi Field in Flushing, the Mets are going to want to put on a show for the home fans. This game could be a close one, but we’re going with the Mets as our pick to grab the victory.
Francisco Lindor surprised some fans who voted for him to represent us at the All-Star Game! ⭐
🗳️👉 https://t.co/zMPKEXDEQP pic.twitter.com/GOYh3hRogF
— New York Mets (@Mets) June 29, 2023
The Mets have to make a statement sooner than later
It goes without saying, but the Mets have to make a statement sooner than later, which is why this series with the Giants is so important. With the All-Star break almost here, New York is a lowly 36-44 on the season. This is a squad that had a World Series on its mind back when spring training was in full swing. With so much talent on offense, the pieces were in place for the Mets to make a lot of noise.
However, for them to be eight games under .500 at this point in the campaign is a bit of a joke. Not only that, but Verlander and Max Scherzer were expected to be one of the best starting duos in the game. Both players are lethal on the mound. However, Verlander simply has not lived up to the hype since he made the move from Houston to Queens. He can shut a lot of people up by silencing the Giants this weekend. A strong performance is needed from him.
Justin Verlander locked up Owen Miller with a curveball for his 4th K of the game 🔒 pic.twitter.com/i0ops6ZLKv
— SNY (@SNYtv) June 26, 2023
“My release height has been creeping up over the past few years,” Verlander said after a recent loss for the Mets when he was out on the mound as the starter. “In my mind, I think it maybe got a little too high and lost deceptiveness with that. So, trying to bring it back down a bit.”
For one reason or another, Verlander has taken a major step back this campaign. With him not playing so well, it has actually opened the door for trade rumors to arrive. No one in Queens wants to see that happen, as the hope is that Verlander can catch fire and help this team get back in a position to try and sneak into the playoffs. Against the Giants, look for Verlander to be at his best. He’s simply too good of a pitcher to keep on struggling like this.
New York has a lot of work to do to get back into the postseason conversation
As things stand, New York has a lot of work to do to get back into the postseason conversation. With the Mets playing so poorly, they’re currently only projected to finish with 80 wins. That’s not going to cut it. In order for NY to reach the playoffs via a Wild Card Spot, then they’re going to have to look like a completely different squad for the second half of the season.
It will be imperative for Verlander and the starters to be better, but the offense needs to be more consistent as well. Pete Alonso is one of the best home-run hitters in the game, but he can’t provide all of the offensive production for this squad. Francisco Lindor must elevate his game here. Right now, the Mets hold +650 MLB betting odds to make the playoffs. That’s rough. However, not all hope is lost. This team is too good to keep playing so poorly. We’ll have our eyes on them the rest of the way.
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