San Francisco @ St. Louis preview

Last Meeting ( Jun 3, 2016 ) San Francisco 5, St. Louis 1

The loss of Hunter Pence for the next two months might be nothing more than a minor speed bump for the San Francisco Giants, who have won 18 of their last 22 games heading into Saturday’s contest against the host St. Louis Cardinals. The Giants rolled to a 5-1 victory in Friday’s series opener and improved to 12-3 over their last 15 road games.

Giants manager Bruce Bochy said utilityman Kelby Tomlinson will be one of several players called upon to fill in for Pence, who is expected to need surgery on his torn right hamstring and could miss approximately eight weeks. “It’s important we keep pushing here,” Bochy told reporters. “We’ve dealt with this. We’ve overcome, even in our good years, big injuries. You have to realize these things will happen. We’ve got to hold the fort.” St. Louis has been without shortstop Jhonny Peralta all season due to a torn ligament in his thumb, but he could be activated for Tuesday’s series opener at Cincinnati. The Cardinals have fallen 11 games behind the first-place Chicago Cubs in the National League Central and could use a spark from Peralta, who is expected to serve as the team’s regular third baseman when he returns.

TV: 7:15 p.m. ET, FOX

PITCHING MATCHUP: Giants RH Jeff Samardzija (7-3, 2.84 ERA) vs. Cardinals RH Michael Wacha (2-6, 4.99)

Samardzija is looking to bounce back from his shortest start of the season, a five-inning effort in which he allowed five runs (four earned) at Atlanta on Monday. Yadier Molina is 10-for-20 against the 31-year-old, who has provided the Giants with a strong return on their investment since signing as a free agent during the offseason. Samardzija owns a 4-3 record and 4.11 ERA in 19 career games (eight starts) against St. Louis, including 3-2 with a 3.86 ERA over his eight starts.

Wacha dropped his sixth straight decision on Sunday as the 24-year-old allowed three runs over six innings in a 10-2 loss at Washington. The 2015 All-Star has failed to pitch past the sixth frame in five straight outings but hopes to build on the encouraging effort against the Nationals. Wacha is 1-0 with a 0.47 ERA in three career starts against San Francisco and 15-7 with a 3.10 ERA in 38 career contests (34 starts) at Busch Stadium.

WALK-OFFS

1. Giants starting pitchers are 13-2 with a 1.64 ERA over their last 22 games.

2. St. Louis OF Randal Grichuk is mired in a 3-for-28 slump and has not drawn a walk in his last 12 contests.

3. San Francisco SS Brandon Crawford is 12-for-34 with eight RBI in his last 10 games.

PREDICTION: Giants 5, Cardinals 4