Marlins at Giants
The Miami Marlins continue to feel right at home in San Francisco as they try for a series victory against the Giants on Sunday in the finale of their four-game set. Miami is 12-5 in its last 17 contests after a 3-11 start and improved to 15-6 at AT&T Park since 2010 with a 6-2 victory Saturday despite Dee Gordon missing his second straight game because of a hamstring injury.
Gordon, who was acquired from the Los Angeles Dodgers during the offseason, leads the majors with a .437 batting average and has the longest active hitting streak at 12 games. San Francisco won eight of its last nine home contests before Miami came to town and took two of the first three games to ensure their fifth straight non-losing series at AT&T Park (3-0-2). The Giants have not scored more than six runs in a contest this season and average 3.1 runs per game, second-fewest in the National League to Philadelphia (2.8) and third-fewest in the majors. Miami's Mat Latos and San Francisco's Ryan Vogelsong square off in a matchup of right-handers coming off their first victories of the season after five winless turns.
TV: 4:05 p.m. ET, FSN Florida (Miami), CSN Bay Area (San Francisco)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Marlins RH Mat Latos (1-3, 5.60 ERA) vs. Giants RH Ryan Vogelsong (1-2, 6.84)
Latos yielded one run and two hits in 6 1/3 innings while surviving five walks in a 2-1 victory at Washington on Tuesday to snap a seven-start winless streak. "That was probably the best I've felt all year,'' the 27-year-old Virginian told reporters after striking out a season-high six. Latos is 4-3 with a 2.19 ERA in 11 starts against San Francisco while keeping Buster Posey in check (3-for-13, home run).
Vogelsong permitted three hits and two walks in seven innings of a 6-0 victory over San Diego on Tuesday to halt an 11-start winless streak. ''I just worked on some stuff in between starts and felt good about the adjustments I made,'' the 37-year-old North Carolinian, who yielded four home runs in a 7-3 loss at Dodger Stadium on April 29, told reporters. ''I have to focus on mechanics and let the ball do what it wants to do. It feels like before I was trying to force the ball to places instead of just letting it work.'' Vogelsong is 3-3 with a 1.99 ERA in nine games (five starts) against Miami and yielded a pair of home runs in 12 at-bats to Giancarlo Stanton.
WALK-OFFS
1. Miami LF Christian Yelich on Saturday went for 0-for-4 for the second straight night - his first games since April 20 because of a back injury.
2. Giants RHP Jake Peavy (strained back) is expected to begin an extended spring training session in Scottsdale, Ariz., on Monday and hopes to return to the rotation in June.
3. Jeff Baker, Gordon's replacement at second base, left Saturday's contest with a right oblique injury.