Los Angeles @ San Francisco preview

Last Meeting ( Sep 28, 2015 ) LA Dodgers 2, San Francisco 3

The Los Angeles Dodgers take another shot at clinching their third consecutive division title when they visit the National League West-rival San Francisco Giants on Tuesday for the second contest of their four-game set. Los Angeles entered the series with a magic number of two and finished the opener with the same digit as it suffered a 3-2 loss in 12 innings.

Andre Ethier forged a tie with an RBI groundout with one out in the ninth, but the Dodgers went on to suffer their fourth straight loss and eighth in 10 games. San Francisco posted its third win in a row to pull within five games of Los Angeles with six remaining. Alejandro De Aza lifted a walk-off sacrifice fly with one out in the 12th as the Giants improved to 6-1 at home this month. Both teams will be in for a difficult time at the plate Tuesday as Los Angeles' Clayton Kershaw squares off with fellow left-hander Madison Bumgarner.

TV: 10:15 p.m. ET, SportsNet LA (Los Angeles), CSN Bay Area (San Francisco)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Dodgers LH Clayton Kershaw (15-7, 2.25 ERA) vs. Giants LH Madison Bumgarner (18-8, 2.88)

Kershaw has yielded three runs in each of his last two outings after seven consecutive turns of allowing fewer than two earned. The 27-year-old Dallas native notched his 10th win in 11 decisions Thursday after giving up three runs and six hits in five innings against Arizona. Kershaw improved to 15-7 lifetime — and 1-2 this season — versus San Francisco on Sept. 2, when he permitted one run and six hits while matching his career high with 15 strikeouts in his third complete game of the year.

Bumgarner did not factor in the decision at San Diego on Thursday after giving up three runs and three hits in seven innings. The 26-year-old native of North Carolina has lost two of his last four decisions following a five-start winning streak but allowed a total of four runs over 15 frames in the defeats. One of the setbacks came at Los Angeles on Sept. 1, when Bumgarner yielded two runs and eight hits over seven innings in falling to 13-6 lifetime versus the Dodgers.

WALK-OFFS

1. Dodgers OF Kike Hernandez (hamstring) was activated from the 15-day disabled list and went 2-for-2 after entering the game as a defensive replacement.

2. San Francisco C Trevor Brown has recorded two RBIs in each of his last two games after driving in just one run over his first six major-league contests.

3. Los Angeles rookie SS Corey Seager went 2-for-5 with an RBI Monday to avoid going two straight games without a hit for the first time in his brief career.

PREDICTION: Dodgers 4, Giants 3