MLB Betting: Mets, Giants conclude series

The New York Mets and San Francisco Giants conclude a four-game series with Sunday's matchup at AT&T Park. The Mets currently reside in second place in the National League East standings despite their dismal 18-25 road record. The Giants, 26-17 at home, are in fourth place in the NL West but only 3 ½ games off the pace.

New York southpaw Johan Santana (7-5, 2.98 ERA) enters this matchup riding a personal two-game winning streak while not allowing a run the past 16 innings. The Venezuela native blanked Atlanta last Sunday as a 136 home ‘chalk,' 3-0.

Guaranteed MLB picks

Santana went seven scoreless innings on five hits with three walks and five strikeouts on 107 pitches. The ‘under' has now cashed in his last five starts.

Santana picked up a no-decision against the Giants May 8, tossing 7 2/3 innings while surrendering four runs on eight hits with no walks and six strikeouts on 101 pitches. The Mets eventually won as a 191 home favorite, 5-4, while the combined nine runs went ‘over' the eight-run closing total. The ‘over' has now cashed the past three times Santana has faced San Francisco.

New York is just 3-8 its last 11 road outings. The ‘under' is 16-5 in the Mets' past 21 games on grass. New York continues its lengthy 11-game West Coast road trip after this matchup with games against Arizona and Los Angeles.

San Francisco's Jonathan Sanchez (7-6, 3.47 ERA) picked up a no-decision in a July 10 effort versus Washington. The five-year veteran survived just 3 2/3 innings, allowing five runs on five hits (one home run) with two walks and six strikeouts on 85 pitches.

The Giants came back and won that contest as a 107 road selection, 10-5, while the combined 15 runs soared ‘over' the 8 ½-run closing total. The ‘over' is now 8-1 in Sanchez's past nine outings.

Real time odds

The Puerto Rico native fell to the Mets May 7 as a 112 road underdog, 6-4. The left-hander went seven innings, allowing four runs on seven hits (three home runs) with a walk and three strikeouts on 115 pitches. The combined 10 runs eclipsed the 7 ½-run closing total.

San Francisco maintains a 7-3 record in Sanchez's previous 10 home starts. The Giants embark on a seven-game NL West road trip following this series with games against Los Angeles and Arizona. The ‘under' has prevailed the first two meetings this series.

Sunday's home-plate umpire will be veteran Phil Cuzzi, who has seen the ‘over' go 10-6 his 17 games behind the dish. There has been an average of 10.1 runs per game, along with 5.7 walks and 13.6 strikeouts.

Sunday's forecast for San Francisco, California calls for partly cloudy skies, with a high of 69 degrees and a low of 55.