First pitch: Tuesday, 7:10 p.m. ET
Line: San Francisco +110, New York -120, Total: 8.0

It’s gut-check time for the Giants, who can really use a victory over the Mets in New York on Tuesday.

San Francisco is a perennial World Series contender, but this team is really in a bad way right now. Dealing with injuries to stars like LHP Madison Bumgarner (Ribs) and SS Brandon Crawford (Groin), the Giants have dug themselves a major hole at 11-22. This team is still good enough to find its way back in the playoff hunt, but they’ll need to start putting together some winning streaks soon. A blown lead against the Mets on Monday night certainly didn’t help, and this is exactly the type of team that San Francisco must find a way to beat. The Mets have also struggled to open the year, but it actually seems like they have turned things around here. New York has won four of its past five games and seven of its past 10. If the Mets win on Tuesday then they will have secured a fourth consecutive series victory. The Mets will be confident in their ability to earn this victory too, as they have gone 8-7 against the Giants over the past three seasons. The starters in this Tuesday night matchup will be RHP Jeff Samardzija (0-4, 5.03 ERA, 46 K) for San Francisco and RHP Zack Wheeler (1-2, 4.78 ERA, 25 K) for New York. The Giants are just 2-9 against the money line when the total is between 8 and 8.5 with Samardzija on the hill over the past two seasons. That should have the Mets rather giddy when they step onto the field for this one.

The Giants were considered to be serious contenders to win the NL West, but they currently sit in last in the division standings. It’s time for that to change, and it’s also time for Jeff Samardzija to earn his first win of the season. The righty has been spectacular in his last two trips to the mound, allowing only two earned runs in his last 15 innings of work. Samardzija struck out 16 batters in those games, and he’ll look to continue to miss bats on Tuesday. Offensively, the Giants need some of their bats to wake up in this one. One guy that has gotten it going lately is C Buster Posey (.363 BA, 3 HR, 6 RBI). Posey is currently fourth in the NL in batting average, and he homered against the Mets on Monday. Zack Wheeler is prone to making mistakes over the middle of the plate, so expect Posey to make him pay if he does. The team will, however, need somebody else to step up. One guy that could help Posey provide some runs is 1B Brandon Belt (.228 BA, 4 HR, 14 RBI). Belt is off to a slow start this season, but his power could be an issue for Wheeler on Tuesday. If he can find a way to go yard then that would be big for Samardzija and the Giants.

The Mets are rolling right now and they have an opportunity to get back to .500 with a win on Tuesday. Zack Wheeler will be taking the ball for them and he is coming off of a decent outing for New York. Wheeler faced the Nationals on Apr. 29 and allowed only one earned run in 4.2 innings of work. He will, however, need to start working further into games. He has only pitched seven innings in a game once this year and that is rather unacceptable for a starting pitcher. The Mets will be hoping Wheeler can eat some more innings on Tuesday. Offensively, OF Curtis Granderson (.142 BA, 2 HR, 10 RBI) could be ready to turn things around for New York. Granderson has slumped hard to open the year, but he pinch hit last night and came away with a huge RBI double. The Mets will be hoping that gave him some confidence moving forward. OF Jay Bruce (.281 BA, 9 HR, 25 RBI) could be in for a big game on Tuesday, though. Bruce has been absurd at the plate this season, and his power could be a good match for Samardzija’s style of pitching. It wouldn’t be shocking if he hit a bomb on Tuesday.