Giants at Dodgers
San Francisco first baseman Brandon Belt is expected to return Saturday when the Giants continue their three-game series against the host Los Angeles Dodgers, who have won four straight games and 10 of their last 12. The Giants went 7-6 without Belt, who was the team’s hottest hitter before landing on the disabled list two weeks ago with appendicitis.
The Dodgers opened the series with Friday's 3-2 victory behind solo homers from Enrique Hernandez and Matt Kemp, who has gone deep in back-to-back games and leads the team in batting average (.335), hits (71) and RBIs (42). Kenley Jansen converted his 14th straight save opportunity for the Dodgers, who have gone 20-6 since May 17 with 32 home runs in 12 games this month. The Giants have lost five of their last seven games and will be without third baseman Evan Longoria for several weeks due to a fractured fifth metacarpal bone on his left hand. Most of Longoria’s playing time figures to go to Pablo Sandoval, who belted a two-run blast on Friday and is hitting .354 with three homers and 11 RBIs over his last 16 games.
TV: 8:15 p.m. ET, FOX
PITCHING MATCHUP: Giants LH Madison Bumgarner (0-1, 4.76 ERA) vs. Dodgers LH Alex Wood (1-5, 4.43)
Bumgarner missed the first 60 games of the season with a broken finger on his pitching hand and struggled in his second start last Monday against Miami, giving up four runs in 5 1/3 innings. “He’s only going to get better,” manager Bruce Bochy told reporters. “He needs to pitch. He'll get to where he needs to be.” The four-time All-Star is 15-9 with a 2.53 ERA in 29 career games (28 starts) against the Dodgers but has struggled against Hernandez (14-for-30, three homers).
Wood took the loss against Atlanta last Saturday and has allowed a total of 13 earned runs in his last three starts covering 12 innings. “It’s been a tough three starts for me, probably the toughest of my career,” Wood told reporters. “Just grinding really hard. Got to think one of these next few has got to turn, but definitely frustration.” Brandon Crawford is 6-for-15 with two home runs against Wood, who is 2-3 with a 4.53 ERA in 11 career games (seven starts) versus the Giants.
WALK-OFFS
1. Dodgers LHP Rich Hill (blister) is expected to be activated from the disabled list to start Tuesday’s game against the Chicago Cubs.
2. The Giants have scored two runs or fewer in each of their last 10 games at Dodger Stadium.
3. The Dodgers placed RHP Pedro Baez on the 10-day disabled list with right biceps tendinitis and recalled C/INF Kyle Farmer from Triple-A Oklahoma City.