Los Angeles @ San Francisco preview

Last Meeting ( Jul 27, 2014 ) LA Dodgers 4, San Francisco 3

The race for the National League West title will be front and center when the Los Angeles Dodgers open a three-game series at the San Francisco Giants on Friday. The first-place Dodgers were idle Thursday, watching the Giants pull to within two games with a 6-2 win over Arizona at home. Buster Posey was 3-for-5 with an RBI and Jake Peavy had a solid start as San Francisco won its ninth in a row at home, matching the club's second-longest run at AT&T Park.

The rivals have not met since the Dodgers took three straight from the Giants by a combined 17-4 margin at home in late July. That sweep allowed Los Angeles to leapfrog San Francisco into first place, where it has resided ever since, but the two-game margin matches the tightest the race has been since just one game separated the clubs on Aug. 4. While the bats have come alive of late for San Francisco, its starters have posted a 1.00 ERA over last 10 games at home.

TV: 10:15 p.m. ET, MLB Network, SNLA (Los Angeles), NBC Bay Area (San Francisco)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Dodgers LH Hyun-Jin Ryu (14-6, 3.16 ERA) vs. Giants LH Madison Bumgarner (17-9, 3.02)

Ryu has let up three runs or fewer in eight consecutive starts, permitting two in 6 2/3 solid innings without factoring in the decision of a win over Arizona on Saturday. He has 23 strikeouts against three walks over his last three outings, which spans 19 1/3 frames. The 27-year-old notched six innings of three-run ball to help Los Angeles win in San Francisco on July 27 and also blanked the Giants over seven frames at AT&T Park on April 17.

Since flirting with a perfect game against Colorado on Aug. 26, Bumgarner has allowed four runs in 12 innings over a span of two starts. He was reached for a season high-tying 10 hits in a win at Detroit on Saturday while failing to record a strikeout for the first time in his career. Bumgarner, who is 10-4 with a 2.54 ERA in his career versus the Dodgers, needs one strikeout to reach 200 for the first time in his career after recording 191, 191 and 199 over the last three seasons.

WALK-OFFS

1. Dodgers OF Matt Kemp is batting .333 during a 16-game hitting streak.

2. Posey, who is batting .309 overall, has four three-hit games this month.

3. San Francisco's longest winning streak at AT&T Park is 11 games, accomplished in 2003.

PREDICTION: Giants 3, Dodgers 2