Los Angeles @ San Francisco preview

Last Meeting ( May 9, 2012 ) San Francisco 2, LA Dodgers 6

Los Angeles leads the Giants by three games in the NL West as the teams begin a three-game set in San Francisco. The Dodgers have lost five of their last six, including a 5-3 decision to the Angels on Sunday. The Giants are coming off a crushing 4-2 loss to the Athletics on Sunday, when closer Santiago Casilla gave up a three-run walkoff homer to Derek Norris. Casilla will likely be unavailable Monday after appearing in three straight games. Sergio Romo would probably serve as the Giants’ closer.

Giants C Buster Posey could also receive a day off after catching a four-hour, 15-minute game Saturday and coming right back to catch Sunday’s game. Posey is batting .295 and leads the team with 10 homers and 41 RBIs. The Dodgers are still without CF Matt Kemp (hamstring), who’s hoping to return around the All-Star break. Kemp reported some soreness Saturday, but the Dodgers did not express any concern. Los Angeles is 23-12 when Kemp starts and 20-18 without him in the lineup.

TV: 10:15 p.m. ET, Prime Ticket (Los Angeles), NBC Bay Area (San Francisco)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Dodgers RH Nathan Eovaldi (0-3, 2.35 ERA) vs. Giants LH Barry Zito (5-5, 4.35 ERA)

Eovaldi remained winless after giving up three runs in six innings Wednesday against Oakland. He hasn’t allowed more than three runs in any of his five starts this season, but he’s been a victim of poor run support as the Dodgers have scored just five runs total in his five starts.

After a promising start, Zito has gone 0-3 with a 10.67 ERA in his last three turns with his ERA rising from 2.98 to 4.35 over that stretch. He allowed eight runs over 3 1/3 innings in a loss to the Angels on Tuesday.

WALK-OFFS

1. Dodgers SS Dee Gordon is hitting just .221 in June, but he’s converted 8-of-10 stolen-base attempts this month.

2. Giants 1B Brandon Belt was hitless in three at-bats Sunday, ending his career-best 11-game hitting streak.

3. The Dodgers are six games into a stretch of playing 20 games in 20 days leading up to the All-Star break.