Giants Heating Up in NY

After late game heroics, team looks to take game two.

The San Francisco Giants are heating up, while the New York Mets are cooling considerably.

Pablo Sandoval looks to keep the Giants rolling and extend his season-opening hitting streak to the team's longest in 52 years Saturday when they face the Mets at Citi Field.

You can watch a live pitch-by-pitch tracker here.

San Francisco (7-6) has won six of eight and three in a row after opening this four-game wraparound series with a 4-3 victory in 10 innings Friday.

The loss was the third in a row for New York (7-6) after winning seven of its first 10.

Sandoval, who had two hits Friday, is batting .340 with nine RBIs during a 13-game hitting streak, the longest by a Giant to open a season since Rich Aurilia in 2001. No San Francisco player has put together a longer hitting streak to start a season since Willie Mays had a 16-game run to open 1960.

Sandoval owns a .325 average in 19 career meetings with the Mets.

Buster Posey is also thriving at the plate, as his season average has spiked 125 points to .375 thanks to a 9-for-16 stretch over the last four games.

Posey made his season debut at first base Friday, and manager Bruce Bochy may decide to leave him there after backup catcher Hector Sanchez had two hits, including a go-ahead RBI single in the 10th.

"He trusts me," said Sanchez, batting .300 with four RBIs in five games. "This is great for me."

The Giants will turn to Ryan Vogelsong, who made his season debut Sunday and battled through 102 pitches, allowing two runs, four hits and three walks in 6 1-3 innings of a 4-1 loss to Pittsburgh.

"Just inconsistent," said the right-hander, who started the season on the disabled list due to lower back spasms. "Fighting myself all day just trying to find some kind of rhythm. I was kind of in-and-out with it."

Perhaps a start on the road could get him going. Vogelsong went 6-1 with a 3.57 ERA in 13 appearances - 12 starts - away from home last year. However, he was hit hard in his only career outing at Citi Field last May 3, surrendering five runs, five hits - two homers - and four walks in four innings of a 7-6, 10-inning win.

The Mets will counter with Mike Pelfrey (0-0, 3.09), who is looking for some help from the bats as he goes for his first home victory since beating the Los Angeles Angels on June 18. The right-hander is 0-5 with a 4.97 ERA and .320 opponent batting average in nine home starts since.

Pelfrey yielded one run and scattered eight hits in six innings of Sunday's 8-2 loss at Philadelphia.

"He was outstanding," manager Terry Collins said. "It was another good start for him. He had a good curveball and got a lot of groundballs."

Pelfrey is 2-0 with a 1.84 ERA in four home starts against the Giants, all of them ending in Mets wins.

David Wright remains tied with Darryl Strawberry for the franchise record of 733 RBIs after going 1 for 3 with two walks in the series opener.

The third baseman is batting .486 with at least one hit in each of the 10 games he's played. However, he's 4 for 24 with one RBI in his last eight home games versus the Giants.

San Francisco has won nine of its last 12 meetings with the Mets.
 

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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