San Francisco @ San Diego preview

Last Meeting ( Sep 6, 2011 ) San Francisco 6, San Diego 4

THE STORY: Left for dead after last weekend’s series against Arizona, the San Francisco Giants are showing signs of life in San Diego. The Giants are six games behind the Diamondbacks with 20 games to play, and they’ll look for a three-game sweep of the Padres on Wednesday at Petco Park. San Diego has lost 11 of its last 12 games.

TV: 6:35 p.m. ET, CSNBA, Channel 4SD

PITCHING MATCHUP: Giants RH Matt Cain (11-9, 2.85 ERA) at Padres RH Aaron Harang (12-5, 3.86 ERA)

Cain, who allowed two runs over eight innings against Arizona last Friday, is 5-10 with a 3.51 ERA in 26 career starts against the Padres. He’s been a victim of poor run support all season, but he won his last start when the Giants scored six runs. Harang is 4-2 with a 2.76 ERA in his last 10 starts at home dating back to May 8. He is 6-6 with a 3.15 ERA in 15 career starts against the Giants, and the Padres are 6-0 in Harang’s last six starts during game three of a series.

ABOUT THE GIANTS (75-67): After winning just 13 of their previous 36 games, the Giants shook things up for Tuesday’s contest. Justin Christian and Brett Pill made their first starts with the Giants, and Mark DeRosa started in place of Pablo Sandoval (shoulder) at third base. Based on their production Tuesday, there’s a chance all three players could see more playing time down the stretch. Christian is hardly a prospect at 31, but he hit .338 and stole 36 bases for Triple-A Fresno. Giants fans have been waiting for Pill to arrive for several weeks, and he hit a two-run blast in the second inning Tuesday to become the first Giants player to homer in his first major league at-bat since Will Clark in 1986. Pill had 25 homers in Fresno this season, and he’ll likely share time at first with Brandon Belt and Aubrey Huff this month. DeRosa is also playing himself into the lineup after going 4-for-9 in his last three games.

ABOUT THE PADRES (61-81): Third baseman Chase Headley has been on the disabled list since Aug. 4 with a broken finger, but there’s a chance he could return this season. Rookie James Darnell got the start at third base Tuesday and went 0-for-3. He’ll likely play left field in the Arizona Fall League. After a strong first half, starting pitcher Tim Stauffer is 2-6 with a 6.34 ERA over his last nine starts. He gave up four runs over six innings on Monday, and he’s given up 12 home runs in his last six starts. Stauffer has worked 173?2/3 innings this season, but the Padres don’t plan on shutting him down early this month. The Padres are reportedly considering a multi-year extension for center fielder Cameron Maybin, who is batting .275 with eight home runs and 34 steals.

FINAL PITCH: One more San Diego loss or Arizona win will eliminate the Padres from the National League West race.