San Francisco @ Pittsburgh preview

Last Meeting ( Jun 21, 2016 ) San Francisco 15, Pittsburgh 4

The good feelings for the Pittsburgh Pirates after snapping a lengthy losing streak on Monday were quickly erased with a 15-4 loss on Tuesday. The Pirates will try to bounce back from that embarrassment and get some length out of starter Francisco Liriano when they host the San Francisco Giants in the third of a four-game set on Wednesday.

Pittsburgh was a popular pick to make the playoffs again this season but has fallen three games under .500 with losses in 16 of their last 21 contests. The big issue is on the pitching staff, which lost ace Gerrit Cole (triceps) and now counts Jonathon Niese’s 4.74 ERA as the best in the rotation. The Pirates got a strong start from Jeff Locke in Monday’s 1-0 victory but the Giants, who are quietly inching closer to the Chicago Cubs for supremacy in the National League, broke out the bats with 22 hits on Tuesday. Conor Gillaspie is getting a chance to play third base with Matt Duffy on the disabled list and went 4-for-5 with a home run and four RBIs in the big win for San Francisco.

TV: 7:05 p.m. ET, CSN Bay Area (San Francisco), ROOT (Pittsburgh)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Giants RH Jeff Samardzija (8-4, 3.14 ERA) vs. Pirates LH Francisco Liriano (4-7, 5.03)

Samardzija emerged from a brief slump with a gem at Tampa Bay on Friday, when he allowed one run and four hits in a complete-game win. The Notre Dame product failed to record an out in the sixth in any of his previous three outings while surrendering a total of 12 earned runs. Samardzija faced Pittsburgh in an interleague game as a member of the Chicago White Sox last season and worked in and out of trouble while yielding two runs and 10 hits in seven innings.

Liriano is trying to snap a four-start losing streak and owns a 6.86 ERA in that span. The Dominican Republic native received a total of five runs of support in those four starts but did not do his offense many favors by issuing 16 walks and five home runs. Liriano has been solid against San Francisco in his career, going 4-1 with a 3.07 ERA in five career starts.

WALK-OFFS

1. Pirates RHP Juan Nicasio (personal) could rejoin the rotation by the end of the week.

2. San Francisco 1B Brandon Belt doubled twice on Tuesday and recorded multiple hits in four of the last seven games.

3. Pittsburgh C Chris Stewart (left knee) has not started since Friday and remains day-to-day.

PREDICTION: Giants 7, Pirates 3