San Francisco @ Los Angeles preview

Last Meeting ( May 9, 2014 ) San Francisco 3, LA Dodgers 1

San Francisco first baseman Brandon Belt has helped the Giants post the National League’s best record at 23-13, but he’s expected to miss the next six weeks after suffering a broken left thumb Friday. The Giants will likely have catchers Buster Posey and Hector Sanchez share time at first while Belt is out, starting with Saturday afternoon’s contest against the host Los Angeles Dodgers. Belt was hitting .264 with a team-high nine home runs for the Giants, who have won 12 of their last 15 games.

The Dodgers have lost six of their first eight games against the Giants this season, but they have Zack Greinke and ace Clayton Kershaw starting the final two games of the series. While the Dodgers’ pitching lines up well this weekend, the offense needs a jump-start after scoring a total of four runs during the team’s three-game losing streak. Los Angeles is expected to learn Saturday if Juan Uribe will need a stint on the disabled list after missing Friday’s game due to a right hamstring strain.

TV: 4:10 p.m. ET, CSN Bay Area (San Francisco), SportsNet Los Angeles

PITCHING MATCHUP: Giants RH Matt Cain (0-3, 4.35 ERA) vs. Dodgers RH Zack Greinke (5-1, 2.35)

Cain has missed his last two starts due to a cut on his right index finger, but he expects the injury to be fully healed for Saturday’s outing. The 29-year-old has failed to pitch past the sixth inning in three of his first five starts, including a shaky effort April 6 against the Dodgers when he allowed five runs over six innings in a 6-2 loss. Andre Ethier is 30-for-70 with a home run against Cain, who is 5-11 with a 3.58 ERA in 29 career starts against Los Angeles.

Greinke had his streak of pitching at least five innings and allowing two runs or fewer snapped at 18 games last Monday when rain caused a three-hour delay and limited his outing to three innings. “It’s not really like it’s an important streak; no one really cares about it anyway,” Greinke told reporters. “If it was like a consecutive win streak or something more important than that, it would mean a little more.” The 30-year-old is 1-0 with a 3.12 ERA in three career starts against the Giants.

WALK-OFFS

1. Dodgers OF Yasiel Puig is hitting .405 (15-for-37) with two homers and nine RBIs during his nine-game hitting streak.

2. The Giants are 17-3 when scoring first.

3. Los Angeles is 0-13 when trailing after six innings.

PREDICTION: Dodgers 4, Giants 2