Back Favored Senga against Dodgers in LA

When: Thursday, April 20 at 9:45 PM ET
Who: Mets at Giants
Starting Pitchers: Kodai Senga and Sean Manea
Where: Oracle Park in San Francisco, California

The New York Mets continue their California road trip by heading to San Francisco to take on the Giants. Kodai Senga will be on the mound for the Mets, while the Giants will be sending out Sean Manea.

Before continuing, we must advise you to check out our MLB Betting Guide, which will help you prepare for any MLB props you may be interested in.

Game Preview

The Mets are coming off a series win against the Dodgers and have won 6 of their last 7 games. While on the other side of the diamond, the Giants haven't been as fortunate, losing 5 of their last 7 games.

Senga is unbeaten this season for the Mets, posting a 2-0 record with an ERA of 3.38 and 21 strikeouts. The Mets have won every game he's pitched for them, although it's early, the Senga addition looks like a fantastic move from the Mets front office.

Kodai Senga's 3Ks in the 2nd.

Two Ghost Forks and a 96mph Fastball.👻🍴 pic.twitter.com/s2DcE18mse

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) April 15, 2023

Manaea has been much more unpredictable for the struggling Giants. He hasn't pitched enough to record a decision in his 3 starts. He only managed to pitch 3.1 innings against the Tigers before he was pulled.

Sean Manaea faces off against Joey Wentz as the Giants head to Detroit to start a three-game series against the Tigers. https://t.co/MOS1TQLUxC pic.twitter.com/V57geaF962

— McCovey Chronicles (@McCoveyChron) April 14, 2023

The Giants lost to the Tigers 7-5 in extra innings after Manea had allowed 2 early runs despite striking out 4. This pitching acquisition has yet to pay off for the Giants and it's difficult to see it changing any time soon.

Money Line

Oddsmakers have priced the Mets as -135 favorites in this one indicating this game is going to be closer than expected.

Money Line
Mets	-135	-129	-130
Giants	+113	+119	+120

When comparing the team's records, the Mets seem like the clear favorite but perhaps the road trip is starting to wear on the team.

Max Scherzer was ejected yesterday after some discussions regarding the so-called foreign substance on his glove.

Max Scherzer has been ejected from today's game for using an illegal foreign substance on his glove

(via @SNYtv)pic.twitter.com/zjPSL2RJcf

— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) April 19, 2023

However, the Mets did still win the game yesterday despite the Scherzer ejection. They have a very solid lineup, while the Giants lineup struggles to score runs.

While everything indicates the Mets should win this game with ease, in my experience you stay away because they're often traps. I can't recommend a contrarian play either and tell you to bet on the Giants.

I would not recommend betting on the Mets or the Giants on the money line for this game.

Mets To win

-135

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Giants To win

+113

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Pitching Props

The prop market for pitchers is usually a consistent one you can take advantage of if you're paying attention.

Senga's strikeout prop for this game is very enticing to me. Senga has started the season averaging an outrageous 11.81 Ks/9.

Strikeouts
Senga O 6.5	-105	-105	-110
Senga U 6.5	-115	-115	-110

Senga is a very talented pitcher the rest of the league is going to take some time to get used to. The Giants don't seem like the type of team that is suddenly going to break out of their hitting funk and figure out Senga.

A disturbing early trend has the Giants on pace to shatter a record they should want no part of (via @PavlovicNBCS)https://t.co/7H1WMfjqQN

— SF Giants on NBCS (@NBCSGiants) April 19, 2023

I love the over on Senga's strikeouts in this game. I would recommend betting on over 6.5 strikeouts for Kodai Senga in this game.

Kodai Senga Over 6.5 Strikeouts

-105

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Total Runs

It certainly feels like the players and teams are getting more used to the new rule changes emphasizing offense. Scoring is up across the league, so when I saw this total sitting at 8.5 runs at first I didn't think twice.

Total Runs
Over 8.5 Runs	-110	-105	-110
Under 8.5 Runs	-110	-115	-110

Upon closer inspection, this feels like way too high of a number. The Giants are leading the league in strikeouts and are struggling to score runs, while the Mets are in the midst of a 10-game road trip.

Something has to give and unfortunately in this game, it's going to be the offense.