San Francisco @ New York preview
Citi Field
Last Meeting ( Apr 19, 2022 ) San Francisco 1, NY Mets 3
The San Francisco Giants spent the first nine games of the season proving their performance last year wasn't a fluke.
In the span of two games Tuesday afternoon and evening, the New York Mets might have proved there's nothing fluky about their fast start to this season.
The Mets will look to clinch a series win Wednesday night when they host the Giants in the third game of a four-game set.
Right-hander Chris Bassitt (2-0, 0.75 ERA) is slated to start for the Mets against left-hander Carlos Rodon (1-0, 1.50).
The Mets swept a doubleheader on Tuesday. Francisco Lindor delivered a walk-off single in the 10th inning of a 5-4 win in the opener before Max Scherzer carried a no-hitter into the sixth inning en route to a 3-1 victory in the nightcap.
The Mets earned the wins with a formula they've displayed throughout a 9-3 start -- their best record through 12 games since the 2018 team opened 11-1.
In the opener on Tuesday, New York began mounting a comeback from a 4-1, third-inning deficit thanks to timely hitting in the fifth. J.D. Davis led off with an infield single, and Travis Jankowski beat out the back end of a potential double-play grounder before James McCann and Jeff McNeil laced doubles on consecutive pitches. Lindor delivered the game-tying RBI double one out later.
In the nightcap, the Mets scored all three of their runs in the third inning with two outs against Logan Webb, who took the defeat to snap his streak of 22 straight starts without a loss. Of New York's 59 runs this season, 28 have come with two outs.
Scherzer extended his own streak of starts without a loss to 22 after allowing one hit over seven innings and lowering the rotation's ERA to a major-league-leading 1.56.
"It shows you we're a good ballclub -- we can compete with the best," Scherzer said. "They're really good. Got to see it last year, too, how good they were and knowing what they can do. For us to be able to be neck-and-neck with them both games shows that we're a great ballclub as well."
The sweep at the hands of the Mets marked the first hiccup this season for the Giants, who entered the day 7-2 after winning a franchise-record 107 games last season. San Francisco is one of just three teams this year with a run differential of plus-20 or greater, joining the Mets and Los Angeles Dodgers.
Giants starters opened the season by allowing two runs or less in each of the first nine games -- the second-longest streak of all time, two games behind the 1966 Chicago White Sox -- before Alex Cobb gave up four runs (three earned) in 4 1/3 innings prior to departing with a groin injury in the Tuesday opener.
Cobb was placed on the injured list in between games.
"Weird, long day," Webb said.
Bassitt and Rodon both earned a win in their most recent appearance last Friday. Bassitt gave up one run on two hits over six innings as the Mets beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 10-3, and Rodon allowed one run on two hits over seven innings in the Giants' 4-1 victory over the Cleveland Guardians.
Bassitt is 1-1 with a 1.96 ERA in three career starts against the Giants. Rodon has never opposed the Mets.
--Field Level Media