Los Angeles @ San Diego preview

Last Meeting ( May 20, 2016 ) LA Dodgers 6, San Diego 7

Slugger Adrian Gonzalez is expected to return to the starting lineup Saturday as the Los Angeles Dodgers continue their three-game series against the host San Diego Padres, who snapped a four-game skid with Friday’s 7-6 victory. Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen blew his first save opportunity since August when Melvin Upton Jr. belted a walk-off, two-run homer in the ninth inning.

Gonzalez has not started the last four games due to back tightness but appeared as a pinch-hitter Friday, when Los Angeles saw its six-game winning streak at Petco Park come to an end. The Dodgers have lost five of their last six games to fall under .500 for the first time since May 6 but have reason to be encouraged about Yasiel Puig, who has shown signs of emerging from a season-long slump with five hits in his last four games - including a two-run homer on Friday. Puig’s blast was followed one inning later by a two-run shot by Padres catcher Christian Bethancourt, who could see time at third base or right field as manager Andy Green looks to boost his team’s anemic offense. “We’d love to find a way to get his bat into the lineup consistently, especially when you face left-handed pitching,” Green told reporters.

TV: 10:10 p.m. ET, MLB Network, SportsNet LA (Los Angeles), FSN San Diego

PITCHING MATCHUP: Dodgers LH Alex Wood (1-3, 4.17 ERA) vs. Padres RH Cesar Vargas (0-2, 3.55)

Wood is winless in his last six outings but has posted a 2.59 ERA with 30 strikeouts and four walks over his last four starts. The 25-year-old has posted a 1.37 ERA in four turns at Dodger Stadium this season but has gone 0-3 with an 8.05 ERA in four road outings. Matt Kemp is 5-for-9 with a home run against Wood, who is 2-1 with a 2.33 ERA in four career starts against San Diego - including seven innings of one-run ball on April 29 at Dodger Stadium.

Vargas bounced back from a rough outing against the Cubs by allowing two runs and striking out a career-high seven batters over five innings on Sunday at Milwaukee. The 24-year-old is set to make his sixth major-league start after spending the last seven seasons in the New York Yankees’ minor-league system. Vargas pitched well in his two outings at Petco Park, where he allowed a total of two runs over 11 innings against St. Louis and Colorado.

WALK-OFFS

1. Dodgers SS Corey Seager is 17-for-46 during his 11-game hitting streak.

2. The Padres have gone 11-10 over their last 21 contests.

3. Dodgers RHP Hyun-Jin Ryu tossed three innings in a rehab start on Friday and could return in another two weeks.

PREDICTION: Dodgers 6, Padres 3