San Francisco @ Miami preview

Last Meeting ( Jul 18, 2014 ) San Francisco 9, Miami 1

The San Francisco Giants’ dormant offense could be waking up after producing 17 runs in the last two games sandwiching the All-Star break. The Giants look to continue their hot hitting when they visit the Miami Marlins on Saturday night for the middle contest of a three-game series. Buster Posey and Michael Morse each had three of San Francisco’s 13 hits in a 9-1 victory on Friday as the Giants raised their batting average to .226 in July and handed Miami its fifth consecutive defeat.

Saturday's contest will feature pitchers who were named to the National League roster but did not compete in Tuesday’s All-Star game, as San Francisco veteran Tim Hudson faces 24-year-old Henderson Alvarez. Pablo Sandoval belted a three-run homer Friday and raised his career average to .333 with six blasts and 18 RBIs in 28 games against the Marlins. Miami’s Giancarlo Stanton homered for the first time in 16 games in the opener and leads the NL with 22.

TV: 7:10 p.m. ET; CSN Bay Area (San Francisco), FSN Florida (Miami)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Giants RH Tim Hudson (7-6, 2.87 ERA) vs. Marlins RH Henderson Alvarez (6-4, 2.63)

Hudson looks to find his early-season form after finishing 0-4 with a 6.07 ERA in his last five outings before being named to the NL All-Star team. The 39-year-old, who is 26 strikeouts shy of 2,000 in his career, is 14-4 with a 2.95 ERA against the Miami franchise in 25 career starts. Garrett Jones is 6-for-14 with a pair of doubles against Hudson, who boasts the best ERA among Giants starters.

Alvarez lost for the first time in 11 starts in his last outing, giving up six runs over five innings en route to a 7-1 loss to the New York Mets on July 11. The fire-balling Venezuelan allowed five runs (four earned) in six innings of a no-decision versus the Giants on May 16 and followed that up with nine straight starts of two runs or fewer. Gregor Blanco is 3-for-4 with three RBIs versus Alvarez.

WALK-OFFS

1. Miami LF Christian Yelich has hit safely in 11 straight games and 13 of 14 since returning from the disabled list in late June.

2. San Francisco 2B Marco Scutaro was held out of Friday’s starting lineup due to a stiff neck, but was available to pinch hit.

3. Marlins 3B Casey McGahee had a pair of hits in the series opener and is batting .392 (20-of-51) in July.

PREDICTION: Marlins 5, Giants 1