San Diego @ San Francisco preview
Oracle Park
Last Meeting ( Sep 12, 2010 ) San Francisco 6, San Diego 1
Clinching a division title would be one of the best birthday presents Matt Cain could give himself. Clayton Richard and the San Diego Padres are hoping to spoil the party.
The Giants take their first shot at wrapping up the National League West title tonight when they host the Padres in the opener of their season-ending three-game series at AT&T Park.
The top two teams in the West have been traveling in different directions over the last month or so. San Diego owned a 6 1/2-game lead on August 25 but has lost 22 of 34 games since, while San Francisco enters the final weekend of the regular season with a three-game cushion thanks to a run of 20 wins in its last 29 contests.
The Padres' slide continued Thursday with a 1-0 loss to the Chicago Cubs in their final home game on the schedule. Closer Heath Bell suffered his first loss of the season in his 65th appearance, starting the ninth inning of a scoreless game and yielding singles to two of the first three batters he faced - including one by Brad Snyder that drove in the only run of the day.
San Diego dropped three of four against Chicago, scoring a total of five runs in a series that included a pair of 1-0 losses.
The Giants were able to post their fourth straight victory, a 4-1 triumph over the Arizona Diamondbacks. Rookie of the Year candidate Buster Posey, Andres Torres and Pablo Sandoval homered while Madison Bumgarner allowed one run over five innings en route to his first career home win.
The victory - combined with San Diego's loss - pushed San Francisco's division lead to three games. The Padres could force a one-game playoff for the crown by sweeping the weekend series and they also have a shot at the wild card but would need a lot of help from the Philadelphia Phillies.
San Diego trails Atlanta by two games for the wild card, with the Braves facing the NL East-champion Phillies over the weekend. The Padres could lose one of three to the Giants and still force a one-game playoff for the wild card should the Phillies sweep Atlanta.
To complicate things further, should San Diego complete a sweep and Atlanta lose two of three, the Padres, Giants and Braves would have identical 91-71 records and a pair of one-game playoffs would be necessary. If San Diego and Philadelphia both sweep their series, both the Padres and San Francisco would advance to the postseason and Atlanta would be eliminated.
Cain has the opportunity to avoid any anxiety for the Giants tonight.
The right-hander, who is celebrating his 26th birthday, is 4-0 with a 2.45 ERA over his last seven starts, allowing 14 earned runs in 51 2/3 innings. He tossed his fourth complete game of the year last Sunday, limiting the Colorado Rockies to two runs and three hits in a 4-2 triumph at Coors Field.
Cain owns a 5-8 record and 3.13 ERA in 22 career starts against San Diego. He is 1-2 with a 4.05 ERA in four meetings in 2010.
Cain has been tough on opponents at home this season, going 8-3 with a 2.52 ERA in 15 starts while holding hitters to a .195 batting average.
Three of Cain's four matchups with the Padres have been against Richard, who has struggled of late. The left-hander has lost four of his last five decisions, including Sunday's 12-2 defeat to Cincinnati in which he yielded six runs in five innings.
Richard has been superb against the Giants, however, posting a 3-1 record - including a 2-0 mark at AT&T Park - and 1.95 ERA in five outings. The 27-year-old's only loss to San Francisco was a 1-0 setback on September 10, when he allowed one run and two hits over six innings.
Richard is 7-3 with a 4.37 ERA in 15 starts this year on the road.
The Padres are 10-5 against the Giants this year and have won five of six at San Francisco.