San Francisco @ San Diego preview

Last Meeting ( Sep 14, 2016 ) San Diego 3, San Francisco 1

With their faint hopes of winning the National League West all but gone, the San Francisco Giants have turned their full attention toward the surprisingly tight wild-card race. The Giants had the majors’ best record at the All-Star break but now find themselves in a three-way tie with St. Louis and the New York Mets for two wild-card spots as they begin a four-game series Thursday against the host San Diego Padres.

The Giants opened the week by dropping two of three against the first-place Los Angeles Dodgers, who lead the division by six games with 10 games remaining. The team saw starting pitcher Johnny Cueto (groin) and shortstop Brandon Crawford (finger) leave Monday’s game with injuries, and both players could be unavailable this weekend. The Giants are facing a Padres team that received a boost Wednesday with the arrival of several top prospects, including outfielders Hunter Renfroe and Manuel Margot, second baseman Carlos Asuaje and catcher Austin Hedges. “It's an exciting time for them," manager Andy Green told reporters. “These guys, especially the ones that are coming up for the first time, they’ve earned this right to be here. All of them have done very well, and we’re all very excited to get them.”

TV: 10:10 p.m. ET, CSN Bay Area (San Francisco), FSN San Diego

PITCHING MATCHUP: Giants RH Jeff Samardzija (11-10, 3.97 ERA) vs. Padres LH Christian Friedrich (5-10, 4.78)

Samardzija received a no-decision Saturday in the Giants’ 3-2 loss to St. Louis, allowing one run on five hits and four walks with four strikeouts over 6 1/3 innings. The 2014 NL All-Star is 6-2 with a 3.56 ERA in 11 career games (nine starts) against San Diego, including 3-1 with a 4.31 ERA in five outings this season. Jon Jay is 12-for-30 with a home run against Samardzija, who has yielded a total of nine runs (eight earned) over 11 innings in his last two outings against the Padres.

After tossing seven scoreless innings against Colorado on Sept. 10, Friedrich was tagged for four runs over five innings in Friday’s matchup against the Rockies. The 29-year-old has thrown a career-high 116 2/3 innings, eclipsing the 84 2/3 innings he worked as a rookie in 2012 with the Rockies. Friedrich has gone 0-1 with a 1.10 ERA in 11 career games (one start) covering 16 1/3 innings against San Francisco.

WALK-OFFS

1. The Padres have won their last six meetings against the Giants.

2. San Francisco C Buster Posey is four hits away from reaching 1,000 for his career.

3. The Giants have two hits in 36 pinch-hit at-bats since Sept. 1.

PREDICTION: Giants 6, Padres 3