First pitch: Tuesday, 7:10 p.m. ET
Line: New York -120, San Francisco +110, Total: 7.5

Two teams that are competing at the top of their respective divisions, the San Francisco Giants and New York Mets, take aim at each other in the first of three games on Tuesday night.

The Giants come into this one just a half game behind the Dodgers in the NL West, but have been rocked lately with losses in six of their last eight games. During that period they were swept by the Pirates over three games, but were able to do much better when they traveled to Philadelphia over the weekend and took 2-of-3 games while scoring a total of 16 runs. They were unable to get the sweep on Sunday, though, when the Phillies won 6-4 as each team reached double-digit hits. San Francisco ended up going a mere 3-for-15 with RISP, leaving 11 men on base, but did get a three-hit afternoon from 2B Joe Panik (.316) who is currently riding a 12-game hitting streak in which he is 19-for-45 (.422) with nine runs scored. The Mets kicked off the season with an amazing start, but have not played as well since and hold a mere half game lead over the Nationals in the NL East. They’ve lost six of their past 10 games and have failed to win their last three series with each of the last two coming on the road. A recent visit to Arizona resulted in a split over four contests in which New York scraped out a 6-3 win on Sunday behind four homers and a strong outing (7 IP, 2 ER, 5 H, 10 K) from starter Jacob DeGrom. Two of the long balls came off the bat of OF Curtis Granderson (.236) who has a four-game hitting streak heading into this one and is sixth in the National League in walks (32). The pitching matchup for this contest will feature RHP Chris Heston (5-4, 4.29 ERA) of the visiting Giants as he faces the young phenom in 22-year-old Noah Syndergaard (2-3, 3.77 ERA) of the host Mets. The road has not kept the San Francisco talent at bay this year as it is a solid 16-12 in away games and will be taking on this New York group which has been phenomenal (21-8) in front of its fans. The two teams have played 13 times since the start of the 2013 campaign with the Giants holding an 8-5 edge and defeating the Mets at Citi Field in 5-of-7 attempts. Some trends to watch include that San Francisco is 99-65 (.604) when the total is seven to 8.5 since the start of last year as New York is 20-3 (.870) as a home favorite of -110 or higher in 2015. On the injury front, OF Hunter Pence (Wrist) is expected to return to the lineup for the Giants as 3B David Wright (Hamstring) along with 2Bs Daniel Murphy (Quad) and Dilson Herrera (Finger) remain sidelined for the host team.

Heston was never much of a top prospect while in the Giants farm, but surprised many with his impressive starts early on in the 2015 season. He has remained in the starting rotation despite allowing five or more runs in four of his past six outings while showing flashes of brilliance as he totaled 16.1 IP with 1 ER on six hits and 16 strikeouts (1 walk) in the other two starts in that period. His strikeouts (7.6 K/9) and control (2.5 B/9) have been solid as he gets hitters to put the ball on the ground 54% of the time. He has yet to face this Mets team in his career and will need to be careful around both 1B Lucas Duda (.275) and SS Wilmer Flores (.249) who are tied for the team lead with nine balls leaving the park. Meanwhile, C Kevin Plawecki (.211) has struggled since joining the club and is striking out in 26.5% of his at-bats. The Giants relievers have combined to go 7-5 with a 3.44 ERA (1.27 WHIP) and are 18-for-21 (86%) in save opportunities. Santiago Casilla (2.59 ERA, 17 saves) has three blown saves this year and has struck out more than a batter per inning (9.3 K/9).

Syndergaard has not spent too much time at the Major League level just yet, getting five starts to date, but looks like he will certainly have staying power. The tall lefty has struck out 32 batters in his 28.2 innings pitched (10.1 K/9) and continues to show control beyond his years (1.6 BB/9). Over his first four outings, he gave up a mere five earned runs in 24.2 innings, but was lit up when he faced the Padres in his last game, getting through four innings and allowing seven runs on 10 hits, but still striking out 10 batters. With this being so early in his MLB career, Syndergaard has not had the chance to take on this Giants team in the past and will need to pitch nearly flawless as eight of the San Francisco starters have an average better than .280; with OF Nori Aoki (.321) leading the way. While OF Angel Pagan (.292) is certainly part of that group, he has not hit with much authority; knocking out nine doubles and no homers on the year. A big part of the Mets having a successful season has been their bullpen which is 5-4 with a 2.69 ERA (1.08 WHIP) and has successfully saved 19-of-23 (83%) games. Jeurys Familia (1.30 ERA, 17 saves) has struck out 10.4 batters per nine innings with just one blown save on the year.