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          New York Mets

          Series preview: Mets at Giants

          San Francisco's Madison Bumgarner has a 2.11 ERA, the second-best mark in the National League. Denis Poroy/Getty Images
          • Adam Rubin, ESPN Staff WriterAug 18, 2016, 01:00 PM
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              Adam Rubin has covered the Mets since 2003. He's a graduate of Mepham High School on Long Island and the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. He joined ESPNNewYork after spending 10 years at the New York Daily News.
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          NEW YORK METS (60-60, third place/NL East) at SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS (66-54, second place/NL West)

          Thursday: RHP Jacob deGrom (7-5, 2.30) vs. LHP Madison Bumgarner (11-7, 2.11), 10:15 p.m. ET

          Friday: LHP Steven Matz (9-8, 3.40) vs. RHP Johnny Cueto (13-3, 2.97), 10:15 p.m. ET

          Saturday: RHP Bartolo Colon (10-7, 3.38) vs. LHP Matt Moore (7-9, 4.14), 4:05 p.m. ET

          Sunday: RHP Noah Syndergaard (10-7, 2.76) vs. RHP Jeff Samardzija (10-8, 4.24), 8:05 p.m. ET

          GIANTS SHORT HOPS

          • San Francisco has lost four straight games and now trails the Los Angeles Dodgers by 1½ games in the National League West. The Giants dropped out of first place on Tuesday after occupying the top spot for 97 days. They are an MLB-worst 9-21 since the All-Star break. San Francisco also is 1-8-1 in series during the second half. The Mets haven’t fared much better: They’re 13-19 since the break.

          • Bumgarner tossed seven scoreless innings against the Baltimore Orioles in his most recent start. That snapped a streak of five winless starts. Bumgarner nonetheless owns a 2.11 ERA, which trails only Clayton Kershaw (1.79) among MLB qualifiers. Only one other Giants pitcher has produced a sub-2.20 ERA through 25 starts of a season since the club moved to San Francisco in 1958. That was Juan Marichal, who did it three times (2.06 in 1963, 1.66 in 1965 and 2.05 in 1966).

          • Ex-Met Angel Pagan has a 15-game hitting streak during which he is hitting .355 (22-for-62). It is the longest streak by a Giants player this season.

          • Brandon Crawford produced a franchise-record seven hits in a 14-inning game at Miami on Aug. 8. The production came in eight at-bats.

          • Catcher Buster Posey missed two games earlier this week with lower-back tightness.

          • The Giants acquired Moore from the Tampa Bay Rays on Aug. 1 for Matt Duffy and minor leaguers Lucius Fox and Michael Santos. San Francisco has team options on Moore that could keep the southpaw with the club through 2019. Moore had struck now-teammate Joe Panik in the head with a pitch on June 18. Panik, a St. John’s product, began feeling concussion symptoms 10 days later and ultimately missed 23 games. Moore’s acquisition pushed 15-year veteran Jake Peavy to the bullpen. Peavy had made only one career relief appearance before this season. San Francisco also acquired left-handed reliever Will Smith from the Milwaukee Brewers at the non-waiver trade deadline, for minor leaguers Phil Bickford and Andrew Susac.

          • Hunter Pence returned from the disabled list on July 30 after missing 48 games with a right hamstring strain.

          • Gregor Blanco snapped an 0-for-19 skid Wednesday. He is hitting .125 (6-for-48) in 25 games since the All-Star break.

          • All-Star first baseman Brandon Belt is hitting .217 (23-for-106) with four homers and 14 RBIs in 29 games since the break.

          • Joe Nathan signed a minor league contract with the Giants on Tuesday. He underwent Tommy John surgery in April 2015.

          • The Giants’ next victory will move Bruce Bochy even with Jim Leyland for 15th on the all-time managerial wins list at 1,769.

          • The Giants unveiled a new statue of Gaylord Perry on Saturday. Perry spent the first 10 seasons of a 22-year career with the ballclub. Perry’s statue joins ones honoring fellow Hall of Famers Orlando Cepeda, Willie Mays, Willie McCovey and Marichal outside of AT&T Park. All five attended the dedication.

          METS SHORT HOPS

          • Yoenis Cespedes (quadriceps), Asdrubal Cabrera (knee) and Justin Ruggiano (hamstring) all are expected to be in San Francisco on Thursday. Cespedes completed a rehab assignment on Wednesday with Class A St. Lucie, but is not eligible to be activated from the disabled list until Friday.

          • Struggling Curtis Granderson was dropped to sixth in the batting order on Wednesday. He proceeded to go 1-for-4 with a ninth-inning solo homer and two strikeouts. Granderson is hitting .168 (16-for-95) since July 19. He is hitless in his last 15 at-bats with runners in scoring position.

          • Syndergaard slugged his third homer of the season on Tuesday. That matched Tom Seaver (1972) and Walt Terrell (1983) for the franchise’s single-season home run record by a pitcher.

          • Matz carried a no-hit bid one out into the eighth inning against the San Diego Padres in his last outing before surrendering a single over the first-base bag to Alexei Ramirez.

          • DeGrom is 1-0 with a 0.65 ERA in his last four starts. He has a 1.49 ERA over his last nine starts.

          • Neil Walker has missed two straight games with lower-back tightness. Walker’s wife, Niki, is overdue with the couple’s first child, so he is expected to soon depart on paternity leave.

          • Former Giants farmhand Zack Wheeler, who was acquired for Carlos Beltran, may not appear in the majors this season. Wheeler was diagnosed with a strained flexor muscle on Wednesday in his latest setback as he tries to work back from Tommy John surgery. The procedure was performed in March 2015.