Padres at Giants
Brandon Belt and Brett Pill are expected to platoon at first base while Aubrey Huff (anxiety) is out, but Belt made a case for more playing time when his two-run double helped the Giants even their series with the Padres on Saturday. After shuttling between San Francisco and Triple-A Fresno last year, Belt is hitting .278 (10-for-36) with five RBIs this season.
The Padres are searching for their first series win before heading back to San Diego to start a nine-game homestand. San Diego is 3-3 over its last six games, but the Padres are still 8 1/2 games out of first place with a National League-worst 7-15 record. The starting pitching has been stellar against the Giants, with Cory Luebke throwing six strong innings in the opener before Anthony Bass retired the first 17 batters on Saturday and finished with two runs over eight innings.
TV: 4:05 p.m. ET, FS San Diego, CS Bay Area (San Francisco)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Padres LH Clayton Richard (1-2, 5.11 ERA) vs. Giants LH Madison Bumgarner (3-1, 2.96 ERA)
Richard is 5-2 with a 3.09 ERA in eight career starts against San Francisco and the Padres have won six of those starts. He has allowed a home run in each of his first three starts this season, and all four of his home runs have been to right-handed hitters. Richard is 4-1 at AT&T Park with a 4.28 ERA in five starts.
Bumgarner earned his third win Monday against the Mets, giving up one earned run on three hits over seven innings. He is 1-2 with a 3.22 ERA in eight games (seven starts) against San Diego. Chase Headley is 5-for-12 (.417) with five RBIs against Bumgarner.
WALK-OFFS
1. Giants third baseman Pablo Sandoval went 0-for-4 on Saturday to snap his franchise-record hitting streak to open a season at 20 games.
2. San Diego’s bullpen leads the National League with a 2.58 ERA.
3. Freddy Sanchez is expected to resume his rehab in less than a week after an MRI showed a strained right shoulder.