Philadelphia @ San Francisco preview

Last Meeting ( Jul 11, 2015 ) Philadelphia 5, San Francisco 8

The San Francisco Giants appeared destined for a gloomy All-Star break just days ago, but the Philadelphia Phillies and their generous pitching staff changed that in a hurry. After scoring 23 runs in the first two games of the series, the Giants aim for a sweep on Sunday against the major league-worst Phillies, who have lost 14 of their last 17.

The Phillies have served as an instant elixir for Giants center fielder Angel Pagan, who has two RBI in back-to-back games after going 78 contests without a multi-RBI game. The Giants are sending four players to next week’s All-Star game, including second baseman Joe Panik, who is 8-for-18 with six runs scored over the last four games. Closer Jonathan Papelbon is the lone All-Star representative for Philadelphia, which will set a club record for the most losses ever before the break with a loss in Sunday’s series finale. First baseman Ryan Howard is looking to build on Saturday's effort, when he broke out of a lengthy slump by going 2-for-4 with a home run and two RBI in the 8-5 loss.

TV: 4:05 p.m. ET, CSN Philadelphia, CSN Bay Area (San Francisco)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Phillies RH Chad Billingsley (1-2, 6.67 ERA) vs. Giants RH Chris Heston (8-5, 3.51)

Billingsley earned his first victory in over two years last Tuesday by holding the Dodgers to two runs in six innings as the Phillies rolled to a 7-2 win. “It’s been a long road,” Billingsley told reporters. “I was pretty excited to be back out there. There were a lot of emotions.” Hunter Pence is 7-for-13 with a home run against the 30-year-old, who is 8-6 with a 3.16 ERA in 27 career games (22 starts) against San Francisco.

Heston has solidified his spot in the rotation by allowing three runs or fewer in each of his last six starts, going 3-1 with a 2.25 ERA during that span. The 27-year-old rookie received a no-decision against the Mets last Monday, when he yielded three hits over 7 1/3 scoreless innings. Heston, who is making his first career appearance against the Phillies, owns a 2.72 ERA in nine starts at AT&T Park this season.

WALK-OFFS

1. The Giants have won 11 of the last 14 meetings against the Phillies and outscored them by a 84-50 margin.

2. The Phillies are 1-16-1 over their last 18 road series.

3. San Francisco RHP George Kontos has not allowed any of his 25 inherited runners to score this season.

PREDICTION: Giants 7, Phillies 4