The San Francisco Giants try to improve upon the best home record in baseball on Sunday when they attempt to complete a three-game sweep of the New York Mets at AT&T Park.
San Francisco improved to 21-9 at home on Saturday, as Michael Morse stroked a game-winning single in the bottom of the ninth inning to send the Giants to a 5-4 victory.
New York closer Jenrry Mejia took the mound in the ninth with his team leading 4-3 and got Angel Pagan to swing at strike three in the dirt. However, the ball skipped away from catcher Anthony Recker, who's throw to first pulled Lucas Duda off the bag just enough to allow Pagan to reach safely.
"I just tried to rush it and didn't have to," Recker said of his throw. "I could have definitely taken my time a little more."
Hunter Pence followed with a double into the left-field corner to score Pagan from first before moving to third on Buster Posey's fly out to left.
Mejia (4-3) then intentionally walked Pablo Sandoval to get to Morse, who scorched the first pitch he saw into right-center field to send San Francisco to its fourth straight victory.
"This is a group of guys that never give up on each other," Pagan said. "We'll pick each other up whenever we're struggling and I think that's the best chemistry you can bring for a good team, a winning team."
Pagan and Pence each had three hits, while Jeremy Affeldt (2-1) picked up the victory after spinning a hitless top of the ninth.
Recker finished with two hits and drove in two runs for the Mets, who have dropped five straight games.
Now the Giants turn to righty Tim Lincecum, who was awful his last time out. Lincecum absorbed the loss in Cincinnati on Tuesday, as he was rocked for eight runs in 4 1/3 innings to fall to 4-4 on the year to go along with a 5.01 ERA.
"It is frustrating, because you want to look for something where you put everything together," said Lincecum. "I haven't really been doing that any time this year. It's been things here and things there. I'm trying to find a way to get to that. Maybe it will be my 13th start."
Lincecum, though, has dominated the Mets over the course of his career, going 5-1 against them with a 2.73 ERA.
The Mets will counter with righty Zack Wheeler, who was a first round pick of the Giants back in 2009. Wheeler was brilliant against the Chicago Cubs on Tuesday, but did not get a decision, despite throwing 6 2/3 scoreless innings in his team's 2-1 loss.
Over his last three starts Wheeler, whom the Mets acquired for Carlos Beltran in a 2011 deadline deal, has pitched to a 1.37 ERA over his last three starts, but is just 1-1 in those outings.
Wheeler is 1-0 in two starts versus the Giants with a 3.75 ERA.
The Mets had won five straight against the Giants at AT&T Park before losing the first two games of this series.
[SportsNetwork.com]
