St. Louis @ San Francisco preview

Last Meeting ( Sep 16, 2016 ) St. Louis 2, San Francisco 8

Buster Posey has returned to form just in time for the San Francisco Giants, who remain within striking distance of the first-place Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League West. Posey looks to continue his hot hitting Saturday as the Giants aim for their third straight win over the visiting St. Louis Cardinals, who have dropped five of their last six games.

Posey snapped a career-high 184 at-bat homerless streak with a two-run blast in Friday’s 8-2 victory and is 7-for-9 with four RBIs in the first two games of the series to lead the Giants, who trail the Dodgers by four games but are one ahead of the New York Mets for the top wild-card spot and three clear of St. Louis. The All-Star has made 109 starts behind the plate this season and appeared to be tiring earlier this month, but he's recorded six multi-hit performances in his last nine contests. St. Louis has scored three runs or fewer in eight of its last 15 games but received a piece of good news Friday as reliever Trevor Rosenthal struck out two while throwing a scoreless seventh inning in his first action since landing on the disabled list July 26 with shoulder and forearm injuries. The Cardinals began the series with the majors’ best road record but have not held a lead in the first two games against San Francisco.

TV: 9:05 p.m. ET, FSN Midwest (St. Louis), CSN Bay Area (San Francisco)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Cardinals RH Mike Leake (9-10, 4.60 ERA) vs. Giants RH Jeff Samardzija (11-10, 4.07)

Leake made his second start following a stint on the disabled list due to shingles and allowed four runs - three earned - in a 4-1 loss to the Chicago Cubs on Monday. The 28-year-old took nine turns for the Giants late last season before signing a five-year contract with the Cardinals during the offseason. Hunter Pence is 13-for-31 with a home run while Brandon Crawford is 7-for-20 with two blasts against Leake, who is 5-2 with a 5.02 ERA in nine career games (eight starts) versus San Francisco.

Samardzija pitched well early but took the loss against San Diego on Monday, allowing four runs and eight hits over six innings. The 2014 All-Star is 2-2 in his last seven starts while yielding a total of two home runs over that stretch. Yadier Molina is 10-for-22 against Samardzija, who owns a 4-4 mark and 4.61 ERA in 20 career games (nine starts) against the Cardinals - including a rough outing on June 4 in which he allowed six runs over five frames of a 7-4 loss.

WALK-OFFS

1. Pence is batting .462 (18-for-39) with 11 runs, two home runs and seven RBIs during his 10-game hitting streak.

2. St. Louis OF Matt Holliday (thumb) is expected to take live batting practice on Saturday and hopes to return before the end of the regular season.

3. San Francisco OF Gregor Blanco (shoulder) was activated from the disabled list Friday.

PREDICTION: Giants 7, Cardinals 4