Colorado @ San Francisco preview

Last Meeting ( Sep 27, 2016 ) Colorado 3, San Francisco 12

The San Francisco Giants haven't played like a postseason squad for most of September, but they continue to hold on to a National League wild-card spot entering Wednesday's contest against the visiting Colorado Rockies. The Giants are just 11-14 this month, but Tuesday's 12-3 thrashing of the Rockies allowed them to maintain a one-game lead over St. Louis for the second wild card.

San Francisco collected 19 hits, including 10 for extra bases, in the opener of the three-game series while handing Colorado its fifth straight loss and seventh in eight contests. Brandon Crawford tripled twice as part of a four-hit performance while Buster Posey homered for his 1,000th career hit. Colorado's DJ LaMahieu went 1-for-4 with three strikeouts in the opener but still leads the NL with a .349 batting average, two points ahead of Washington's Daniel Murphy. Nolan Arenado leads the NL with 40 homers and the majors with 129 RBIs, but he has just 16 blasts and 46 RBIs on the road compared to 24 and 83 at home.

TV: 10:15 p.m. ET, ESPN, ROOT (Colorado), CSN Bay Area (San Francisco)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Rockies RH Tyler Chatwood (11-9, 4.08 ERA) vs. Giants RH Jeff Samardzija (12-10, 3.83)

Chatwood did not factor in the decision against the Los Angeles Dodgers in his last turn, when he gave up two runs and five hits in six innings. He has been superb on the road this season, going 7-1 with a 1.88 ERA and .195 batting average against in 12 starts. Chatwood is 4-3 with a 3.32 ERA in 11 career appearances (10 starts) against the Giants, including a 1-1 mark and 3.00 ERA in three 2016 outings.

Samardzija halted his four-start winless streak by striking out nine and scattering four hits over seven scoreless innings against San Diego in his last turn. He has given up just one run and nine hits in 13 2/3 frames over his last two outings. Samardzija settled for a no-decision against Colorado on Sept. 6, when he gave up two runs and four hits in seven innings, and is 3-1 with a 2.17 ERA in 10 career appearances (six starts) versus the Rockies.

WALK-OFFS

1. Giants 1B Brandon Belt went 3-for-5 in the opener for his first three-hit performance since Aug. 15.

2. Colorado RF Carlos Gonzalez, who is hitless in seven at-bats over his last two games, is 4-for-23 with one homer against Samardzija.

3. San Francisco acquired INF Gordon Beckham from the Atlanta Braves for SS Rich Rodriguez to provide final-week depth with INF Eduardo Nunez (hamstring) ailing.

PREDICTION: Giants 8, Rockies 5