On Tap: Mets V. Giants

The Mets return home from a dreadful road trip (2-4) to face the San Francisco Giants this weekend.

Tonight's series opener (SNY) will feature Jonathan Sanchez Vs. Mike Pelfrey. Sanchez is 2-2 to start the season with a respectable 2.48 ERA. Pelfrey has caused the Mets and their fans a little concern when it was learned that he has had shoulder stiffness. His MRI results showed no damage, and Pelfrey said he will start tonight's game. Pelfrey is off a to good start, going 4-1 with a 2.40 ERA. He was leading the majors in ERA until his last start, where the Mets lost to Philadelphia 10-0. Pelfrey was victimized by two poor defensive plays, one by Jose Reyes, the other by Alex Cora, in one inning, where the Phillies blew the doors open. Big Pelf has been pretty solid in his other starts.

Saturday May 8, 2010 - 1:10 PM (WPIX)

The second game of the series will pit Todd Wellemeyer against Johan Santana. Wellemeyer has a 1-3 record with a 5.55 ERA. Santana is 3-2 this season, with a bloated 4.50 ERA. Johan needs to bounce back after his worst career outing against the Phillies, where he surrendered 8 runs and only lasted 3.2 innings. Santana had been staked to a 5-2 lead, which he promptly gave back (and then some) to the Phillies in the bottom half of the same inning. The Mets lost 11-5. Santana said afterward that he not only couldn't locate his pitches, he was having difficulties hitting the strike zone. The Mets need Johan to bounce back and give a dominant performance.

Sunday May 9, 2010 - 1:10 PM (SNY)

The series finale will showcase the reigning Cy Young winner over the last two seasons, Tim Lincecum, Vs. Oliver Perez. Lincecum has been nothing short of dominant with a 4-0 record to go along with his anemic 1.70 ERA. Perez has pitched better of late, but is 0-2 on the season with a 4.05 ERA. The Mets would truly benefit from a brilliant performance against Lincecum and the Giants.

As my colleague stated, the Mets could really start to take off if Jason Bay busts out of this slump, and hits a few dingers. The Mets offense can be tremendous if Mr. Bay and the rest of the line-up starts to fire on all cylinders.

Source: CBS Sportsline