San Francisco @ New York preview
Citi Field
Last Meeting ( May 8, 2010 ) San Francisco 4, NY Mets 5
Judging by the last two days, the New York Mets have three things: A flair for the dramatic, a good situation behind the plate and a home park that seems to suit them.
Catchers Rod Barajas and Henry Blanco have taken turns playing hero for the Mets so far in their series against the San Francisco Giants, with each hitting a walk-off home run to help New York extend its home winning streak to nine games and climb within a game of Philadelphia in the National League East.
Barajas’ ninth-inning blast off Sergio Romo was the first game-ending home run in the brief history of Citi Field, where New York hasn't lost since an April 21 defeat to the Cubs.
The Mets didn't wait long to deliver the second such occasion, as Blanco's 11th-inning shot off Guillermo Mota came less than 24 hours later.
It marks the first time the Mets have won consecutive games with walk-off homers since Robin Ventura and Mike Piazza did it in July 2001.
Blanco got the start behind the plate because Barajas - who has hit six home runs in his last six games - was bothered by a bruised index finger on his left hand. Barajas expects to be back in the lineup today but, as Blanco showed with three hits Saturday, the Mets are in good shape either way.
If the Mets are going to ding the Giants' bullpen again today, they'll first have to get to it, which is no easy task against starter Tim Lincecum. Although Lincecum has yet to record a complete game this season, he had four last year and two in 2008.
Lincecum is looking for his first win since April 23, having taken no-decisions his last two times out after winning his first four starts. He gave up three runs on five hits over seven innings Tuesday at Florida, striking out a season-high 13.
The Giants need the two-time Cy Young Award winner to be at his best as they try to bounce back from suffering consecutive defeats for only the second time this season and the first since a four-game losing streak April 18-21. They lost ground in the NL West on Saturday, falling 1 1/2 games behind first-place San Diego.
There was one bit of good news buried in Saturday's loss, though, as slumping slugger Pablo Sandoval broke out of an 0-for-15 skid with a single and a sacrifice fly.
On the other side, Mets third baseman David Wright went 0-for-3 Saturday, ending his hitting streak at 10 games.
The Mets have won consecutive games for only the third time this year, and they send left-hander Oliver Perez to the mound to try to make it three in a row.
Perez has been inconsistent and the Mets are 1-4 in his starts. In his last outing, Perez allowed two runs on six hits over six innings in a 3-2 loss at Cincinnati.