First pitch: Sunday, 8:00 p.m. ET
Line: N/A, Total: N/A

The Mets and Giants meet in San Francisco for a big Sunday night battle.

Both New York and San Francisco are losing their footing, but the teams are in different situations right now. While the Mets currently find themselves sliding down the standings in the NL Wild Card race, the Giants have recently blown a huge lead in the NL West and are looking for a way to get that back. A win over New York on Sunday night could help, as it would be a huge confidence boost to defeat a pitcher like RHP Noah Syndergaard (10-7, 2.76 ERA, 171 K). The guy that will need to try to outduel Syndergaard is RHP Jeff Samardzija (10-8, 4.24 ERA, 112 K) for the Giants. On paper, this will look like a matchup that is destined to be won by Syndergaard, but Samardzija is capable of turning in a gem every now and then. Samardzija will also have the benefit of pitching against a Mets lineup that is banged up and struggling to score runs on a nightly basis.

The Mets still believe they have a shot at an NL Wild Card spot, but this team must turn things around fast. A couple of wins in a row would be huge for New York and Noah Syndergaard knows he must deliver in this big Sunday night spot. The righty has, however, had some issues over the past few weeks. While Syndergard has not pitched poorly, he is not giving the Mets a lot of innings. He has pitched less than seven innings in nine of his past 10 starts and it’d be huge for New York if he can start to use less pitches to make his impact. One thing that should spark this Mets team is that OFs Yoenis Cespedes and Jay Bruce should be in the lineup together on Sunday. Cespedes has been battling injuries recently, but he’s healthier now and New York should be pretty dangerous with the two of them together. It’d also be huge if 2B Neil Walker is back in the lineup for this one.

Jeff Samardzija has been extremely solid his last two times on the mound and the Giants are hoping that he has turned a corner. If he can be the pitcher San Francisco thought it was signing in the offseason for the remainder of the year then this team should be dangerous come postseason time. In his past two starts, Samardzija has allowed just three earned runs in 11.2 innings of work. If he can turn in a quality start in this game then the Giants will be extremely happy with him. Offensively, C Buster Posey is somebody to keep an eye on in this game. Posey is 3-for-6 against Syndergaard in his career and should be able to get on base a few times in this one as well. It’d also be big if SS Brandon Crawford is on his game for San Francisco. Crawford is 2-for-5 against Syndergaard in his career and has also been one of the Giants’ best hitters this season. The team needs both of them to find a way to drive in runs against a very good pitcher.