Los Angeles @ San Francisco preview

Last Meeting ( Apr 16, 2014 ) LA Dodgers 1, San Francisco 2

Hanley Ramirez hopes to be in the starting lineup Thursday when the visiting Los Angeles Dodgers look to salvage the series finale against the San Francisco Giants, who have posted back-to-back one-run wins. Ramirez gave the Dodgers a scare in the seventh inning Wednesday when he was hit by a pitch from Ryan Vogelsong on the left hand, but X-rays were negative. The Giants have won four of five against the Dodgers and moved into first place in the National League West with Wednesday's 2-1 victory.

While the Giants’ offense has been a pleasant surprise and their starting rotation has lived up to expectations, the bullpen has been the key to the team’s 10-5 start. Santiago Casilla has allowed two unearned runs in his first 10 2/3 innings and the Giants’ bullpen has a 1.78 ERA, which is second in the National League behind Milwaukee. Shortstop Brandon Crawford, batting .400 during his seven-game hitting streak, is hoping to return for Thursday’s series finale after missing Wednesday’s contest with a tight right hamstring.

TV: 3:45 p.m. ET, SNLA (Los Angeles), CSN Bay Area (San Francisco)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Dodgers LH Hyun-Jin Ryu (2-1, 2.57 ERA) vs. Giants LH Madison Bumgarner (2-0, 3.31)

Ryu bounced back from the shortest outing of his career by throwing seven scoreless innings against Arizona last Friday. Ryu opened the season with 12 scoreless innings over his first two starts before allowing eight runs (six earned) on eight hits in two frames against the Giants on April 4. Crawford is hitless in 10 at-bats against the 27-year-old, who is 2-3 with a 3.89 ERA in six career starts against San Francisco.

Bumgarner belted his first career grand slam and allowed four runs over six innings last Friday against Colorado. The 24-year-old had a 1.74 ERA along with 13 strikeouts in his first two starts covering 10 1/3 innings, including a strong outing against the Dodgers on April 5 when he struck out 10 and yielded two runs over 6 1/3 innings. Adrian Gonzalez has three hits in 23 at-bats against Bumgarner, who is 9-3 with a 2.60 ERA in 13 career games (12 starts) against the Dodgers.

WALK-OFFS

1. The Giants activated LHP Jeremy Affeldt from the 15-day disabled list Wednesday and optioned OF Juan Perez to Triple-A Fresno.

2. Gonzalez singled Wednesday to extend his hitting streak to 11 games.

3. The Giants are 7-1 when leading after seven innings.

PREDICTION: Giants 5, Dodgers 3