San Francisco @ San Diego preview

Last Meeting ( Sep 19, 2014 ) San Francisco 0, San Diego 5

San Diego is playing the role of the spoiler and the San Francisco Giants will try to keep it from happening on consecutive nights when they visit the Padres on Saturday. San Francisco fell 3 1/2 games behind the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League West race after San Diego recorded a 5-0 victory in the series opener. The Giants have hold of the NL’s top wild-card spot with just nine games remaining.

Friday’s game began a stretch in which the Giants and Padres play seven of their final 10 regular-season games against one another. San Diego took control of the series opener with four first-inning runs as shortstop Alexi Amarista had a two-run double and center fielder Cameron Maybin had a two-run single. San Francisco has lost four of its last six games, while the Padres have won four of their last five.

TV: 8:40 p.m. ET, CSN Bay Area (San Francisco), FSN San Diego

PITCHING MATCHUP: Giants RH Yusmeiro Petit (5-4, 3.64 ERA) vs. Padres RH Andrew Cashner (4-7, 2.20)

Petit lost to the Los Angeles Dodgers when he gave up four runs (three earned) and eight hits in seven innings in his last turn. Prior to that, he allowed one run and four hits in a complete-game victory over Arizona. Petit is 1-4 with a 4.76 ERA in 11 career appearances (four starts) against San Diego, and the win came April 29 when he tossed six innings of three-hit shutout ball.

Cashner has won back-to-back starts, including a two-hit shutout of Philadelphia in his last turn. He has allowed just four homers in 110 1 /3 innings and has a solid 1.13 WHIP. Cashner is making his first start of this season against San Francisco and is 1-3 with a 3.97 ERA in nine career appearances (three starts) against the Giants.

WALK-OFFS

1. Giants RF Hunter Pence is 2-for-22 over the last six games.

2. Amarista is 7-for-14 with two homers, two doubles and seven RBIs over the past four games.

3. San Francisco C Buster Posey is 5-for-12 with two homers against Cashner, while Pence is just 1-for-12.

PREDICTION: Padres 3, Giants 2