San Francisco @ Los Angeles preview

Last Meeting ( Oct 2, 2012 ) San Francisco 4, LA Dodgers 3

The Los Angeles Dodgers will attempt to regroup for the series finale after being eliminated from the postseason with Tuesday’s 4-3 loss to the San Francisco Giants. St. Louis clinched the second National League wild card with the Dodgers’ loss, which snapped a six-game winning streak. Even with nothing at stake, Los Angeles is moving forward with plans to have ace Clayton Kershaw start its final game of the season. San Francisco will likely have its regulars play a few innings before inserting a number of reserves. Giants catcher Buster Posey is batting a NL-leading .337 and stands to claim the first batting title by an NL catcher since 1942, when Ernie Lombardi hit .330 for the Boston Braves.

San Francisco, which has won 15 of its last 20 games and 23 of its last 33, will host Game 1 of the NL Division Series on Saturday against Washington or Cincinnati. Matt Cain is set to start the first game, but the Giants are still deciding on the rest of their rotation. Veteran Xavier Nady figures to play a prominent role in the postseason after going 12-for-46 (.261) with a home run since joining the team on Sept. 1. He’ll continue to share playing time with Gregor Blanco and Brandon Belt in left field during the playoffs. Dodgers first baseman Adrian Gonzalez extended his hitting streak to 14 games on Tuesday, but Matt Kemp went hitless in four at-bats with three strikeouts.

TV: 7:15 p.m. ET, CSNBA (San Francisco), PRIME (Los Angeles)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Giants RH Ryan Vogelsong (14-9, 3.46 ERA) vs. Dodgers LH Clayton Kershaw (13-9, 2.58)

Vogelsong is 4-3 with a 3.45 ERA in 16 career games against the Dodgers, including 2-1 with an 0.89 ERA in three starts this season. After struggling for much of August and September, he has allowed just two runs (one earned) in 12 innings over his last two starts. Kemp is 5-for-15 (.333) with a home run against Vogelsong.

Kershaw pushed aside his hip problems last Friday to win for the first time in over a month, throwing eight shutout innings with 10 strikeouts against the Rockies. He’s making a strong bid to win his second straight Cy Young award while leading the NL in ERA and WHIP (1.03). He has a 1.74 ERA in four starts against the Giants this season.

WALK-OFFS

1. Giants 2B Marco Scutaro went 2-for-4 with two RBIs on Tuesday, giving him the longest active hitting streak in the majors at 19 games.

2. Dodgers OF Shane Victorino is batting .474 (9-for-19) with four extra-base hits in his last five games.

3. The Giants are 40-18 this season when facing an opposing left-handed starting pitcher.