Mets at Giants
Even with one of their best pitchers sidelined, the San Francisco Giants managed to add to the best record in baseball during a seven-game road trip. Now they're headed back home and getting their rotation back to full strength as they prepare to open a three-game series with the visiting New York Mets on Friday. The Mets have seen their hot streak fizzle out after being swept in a three-game set against the Chicago Cubs.
The Giants have compiled the best record in the majors in spite of the absence of right-hander Matt Cain, who is ready to return from his second stint on the disabled list this season. Cain comes back against a Mets team that struggled mightily in clutch situations against the Cubs, going 4-for-30 with runners in scoring position during the series and stranding 31 runners. San Francisco is beginning a 10-game stand at AT&T Park, where it owns the majors' best home mark at 19-9.
TV: 10:15 p.m. ET, SNY (New York), NBC Bay Area (San Francisco)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Mets LH Jon Niese (3-3, 2.69 ERA) vs. Giants RH Matt Cain (1-3, 3.66)
Niese has not allowed more than three earned runs in any of his 11 starts in 2014 and he has eight quality starts among them. He turned in a strong outing in his last turn, holding Philadelphia to two runs over eight innings, but wasn't rewarded with a win in a 4-3 victory. Niese is 1-2 with a 2.96 ERA in five games (four starts) against the Giants and suffered a tough-luck loss in the only meeting last season.
Cain has missed four starts over his two stints on the shelf, most recently with a strained hamstring suffered after three scoreless frames at Colorado on May 21. The three-time All-Star is 52-47 with a 3.16 ERA in 140 career starts at home, but he struggled to a 4-8 mark at AT&T Park a year ago. Cain is 5-5 with a 3.57 ERA in 12 starts versus the Mets and is winless in three outings against them since 2011.
WALK-OFFS
1. Mets 3B David Wright is 11-for-25 with six doubles against Cain.
2. Giants RF Hunter Pence is riding a six-game hitting streak but is 3-for-26 with seven strikeouts versus Niese.
3. Mets OF Curtis Granderson has reached base in 18 straight games, the second-longest active streak in the majors.