Los Angeles @ San Francisco preview

Last Meeting ( Apr 15, 2014 ) LA Dodgers 2, San Francisco 3

The San Francisco Giants are making an early statement in the National League West, where the Los Angeles Dodgers entered the season as the slight favorite. The Giants have won three of their first four games this season against the Dodgers heading into Wednesday’s meeting at AT&T Park, including Tuesday’s dramatic 3-2, 12-inning victory. The teams could use quality outings from their starting pitchers Wednesday after combining to use 15 pitchers in Tuesday’s four-hour, 54-minute marathon.

Los Angeles center fielder Matt Kemp appears ready to leave his slow start behind after going 2-for-2 with a walk and stolen base off the bench Tuesday. The Dodgers exchanged relievers before the contest, activating Brian Wilson from the disabled list and making the difficult move to send left-hander Paco Rodriguez to Triple-A Albuquerque. The Giants will be faced with a similar decision as soon as Wednesday in order to make room for left-handed reliever Jeremy Affeldt, who has been out since the start of the season with a sprained right knee.

TV: 10:15 p.m. ET, SNLA (Los Angeles), NBC Bay Area (San Francisco)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Dodgers LH Paul Maholm (0-1, 8.10 ERA) vs. Giants RH Ryan Vogelsong (0-0, 8.00)

Maholm, who has pitched well in three relief appearances, is set to make his second start with the Dodgers waiting for ace Clayton Kershaw (back) to return. The 31-year-old allowed five runs on seven hits over 4 1/3 innings in a start against the Giants on April 5, dropping him to 2-4 with a 4.48 ERA in 11 career starts against San Francisco. Hunter Pence is 16-for-52 (.308) with two home runs against Maholm, who is 0-3 with a 5.79 ERA in six career starts at AT&T Park.

Vogelsong struggled late in spring training and the results haven’t been much better in his first two starts. The 36-year-old has failed to pitch past the fifth inning in both outings, and he has allowed 14 hits in his first nine frames. Kemp is 7-for-22 with a home run and six RBIs against Vogelsong, who is 4-3 with a 4.15 ERA in 20 career appearances (11 starts) against the Dodgers, including a no-decision on April 4 when he yielded four runs over four innings.

WALK-OFFS

1. Dodgers SS Dee Gordon has 10 stolen bases, matching his total from last season.

2. San Francisco is batting .160 (8-for-50) with runners in scoring position in its last six games.

3. Los Angeles is 9-2 when scoring first this season.

PREDICTION: Dodgers 7, Giants 6