San Francisco @ Los Angeles preview

Last Meeting ( Mar 9, 2014 ) San Francisco 3, LA Dodgers 2

The Los Angeles Dodgers won’t have ace Clayton Kershaw for their three-game series against the visiting San Francisco Giants, but are expected to have outfielder Matt Kemp back in the lineup for the opener Friday night. Kemp, the National League home run and RBI leader in 2011, underwent surgery on his left ankle in late October and has been slowly working his way up to speed. His return will be a big boost for a Los Angeles team that learned earlier in the week that Kershaw, the two-time NL Cy Young Award winner, will likely be out until May with inflammation in his upper back.

San Francisco first baseman Brandon Belt clubbed three home runs in his first 14 at-bats this season and seems well on his way to bettering his career-best home run mark of 17 from last season. Belt struggled against the Dodgers to start last season, going hitless in his first 13 at-bats with eight strikeouts, but came back with career highs of five hits and six RBIs in a 19-3 rout at Dodger Stadium last September. The long ball has been a big weapon this season as the Giants came back to beat host Arizona on Thursday behind Angel Pagan’s three-run homer in a five-run eighth inning that lifted them to an 8-5 victory.

TV: 4:10 p.m. ET, CSN Bay Area (San Francisco), SportsNet LA

PITCHING MATCHUP: Giants RHP Ryan Vogelsong (2013: 4-6, 5.73 ERA) vs. Dodgers LHP Hyun-Jin Ryu (1-0, 0.00)

Vogelsong will look to start anew after a difficult 2013 in which his numbers declined significantly from the previous two seasons. Vogelsong missed 2 1/2 months last year with a broken right hand suffered when he was hit by a pitch May 20, but he had already seen his ERA balloon to 7.19 at that point and was averaging 3.5 walks per nine innings when he went down with the injury. In the first five starts following his return, Vogelsong won his only decision and then saw his ERA climb back to 6.41 in five starts in September.

Ryu has not allowed a run in 12 innings this season and deserves to be 2-0 except for a late-inning collapse by the bullpen in Sunday’s 3-1 loss to the San Diego Padres. This will be his third start in six games for the Dodgers, a cause for concern this early in the season, but he has shown his durability in the past. In four of five starts against the Giants last season, Ryu lasted at least six innings without giving up more than two earned runs.

WALK-OFFS

1. The Dodgers have trailed for just six outs this season.

2. The starting pitchers for the Dodgers have allowed three earned runs in 29 2/3 innings for a 0.91 ERA.

3. Giants RF Hunter Pence, who hit 11 of his 27 home runs last September, is 1-for-16 to start the season.

PREDICTION: Dodgers 4, Giants 2