San Diego @ San Francisco preview

Last Meeting ( Sep 22, 2012 ) San Diego 4, San Francisco 8

The San Francisco Giants figure to rest a few regulars in Sunday’s series finale against the San Diego Padres after clinching their second National League West crown in three years. It’ll be a well-deserved break. The Giants have played the last month as if they were leading the division by one game, with manager Bruce Bochy going to the bullpen early and often. San Francisco actually cruised to the NL West crown after going 43-23 since the All-Star break, including 15-5 in September. The Giants have won six straight while San Diego has lost four of its last five. Padres third baseman Chase Headley leads the league with 108 RBIs, and he’s hitting .302 with 21 home runs since the All-Star break.

Unlike divisional rival Los Angeles, San Francisco didn’t make any blockbuster trades late in the season. Instead, the Giants picked up right fielder Hunter Pence from Philadelphia and infielder Marco Scutaro from Colorado. While Pence has provided mixed results, Scutaro has been a revelation while hitting .361 in 53 games with the Giants. Scutaro stabilized second base for San Francisco and carries a career-high 12-game hitting streak into Sunday’s series finale. He might get the day off in favor of Ryan Theriot, who has played sparingly since Scutaro’s arrival. Theriot figures to be a key reserve player in the postseason, along with Gregor Blanco and Xavier Nady.

TV: 4:05 p.m. ET, Fox Sports SD (San Diego), CSNBA (San Francisco)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Padres LH Eric Stults (6-3, 2.69 ERA) vs. Giants RH Yusmeiro Petit (0-0, 0.00)

Stults is 5-1 with a 2.37 ERA in his seven starts since rejoining the Padres’ rotation in early August, and he made his sixth quality start in his last seven outings last Tuesday against the Diamondbacks. Stults is 3-1 with a 3.28 ERA in six starts this season at Petco Park, and he’s 2-2 lifetime against the Giants with a 4.81 ERA.

With the Giants clinching the division on Saturday night, the team decided to start Petit in place of Tim Lincecum in the series finale. Petit is set to make his first appearance in the majors since 2009, when he was 3-10 with a 5.82 ERA for Arizona. He went 7-7 with a 3.46 ERA in 28 starts for Triple-A Fresno this season and impressed the Giants with a strong spring training.

WALK-OFFS:

1. The Giants lead the season series 10-4 with three more games remaining in San Diego next week.

2. San Francisco has posted a 36-16 record this season when facing opposing left-handed starting pitchers.

3. The Giants have won 10 of their last 11 games and 18 of their last 24.