Padres at Giants
The San Francisco Giants try for a three-game sweep of San Diego on Wednesday afternoon while bidding for their seventh straight victory over the Padres at AT&T Park. San Francisco climbed back to .500 with Tuesday's 1-0 victory - its fourth in the last five games - on the strength of Johnny Cueto's seven-hitter.
The Giants continue to struggle hitting with runners in scoring position as they are 18-for-89 in such situations over the last 10 games after going 1-for-6 on Tuesday, but the one was Denard Span's two-out RBI double in the fifth inning. San Diego is 3-5 over its last eight games despite the starters posting a 2.74 ERA during that span after getting shut out for the sixth time in 21 games this season. The Padres, who have lost four straight, scored 29 of their 76 runs in back-to-back victories in Colorado on April 8 and 9. San Francisco's Jeff Samardzija is coming off a sharp performance in his 2016 home debut - on the mound and at the plate - and opposes Andrew Cashner, who recorded his first victory of the season in his last turn.
TV: 3:45 p.m. ET, FSN San Diego, CSN Bay Area (San Francisco)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Padres RH Andrew Cashner (1-1, 4.29) vs. Giants RH Jeff Samardzija (2-1, 3.00)
Cashner allowed one run and three hits in six innings of a 4-1 victory over St. Louis on Friday in his second consecutive quality start. "This is what we want to see from Cash - really attack the strike zone with the fastball," Padres manager Andy Green told reporters about the 29-year-old Texan. "He dropped probably more breaking balls in today than I've ever seen him use. I'm a big fan of his fastball, both sides of the dish." Cashner is 2-5 with a 4.99 ERA in 14 games (eight starts) versus San Francisco - 0-2, 5.94 in three turns last season - and especially struggles against Buster Posey (11-for-25, two home runs, five RBIs).
Samardzija permitted one run and six hits while striking out five in 7 2/3 innings, and went 2-for-4 with a double while matching his season high with three RBIs in an 8-1 victory over Miami on Friday. "It feels good," the 31-year-old Indiana native told reporters about his first start in a San Francisco uniform at AT&T Park. "It’s a very educated fan base with high standards, so you want to live up to those standards. You come play in a park like this with the history they have here, as a new guy you want to prove your worth and prove that you belong on this team. And hopefully they saw some things that they liked." Samardzija is 3-1 with a 2.76 ERA in six games (four starts) versus San Diego, but has difficulty with Jon Jay (8-for-18).
WALK-OFFS
1. Padres RF Matt Kemp leads active players with 163 hits, 86 runs, 35 doubles and 76 RBIs in 571 at-bats versus the Giants.
2. San Francisco is 2-10 when getting outhit this season after recording four to San Diego's seven Tuesday.
3. Padres SS Alexei Ramirez had two hits Tuesday and is 5-for-11 in his last three games.