San Francisco @ Los Angeles preview

Last Meeting ( Sep 23, 2014 ) San Francisco 2, LA Dodgers 4

The Los Angeles Dodgers have a magic number of one for winning the National League West and, appropriately, will have their magic man on the mound when they go for the division clincher. Clayton Kershaw seeks his major league-leading 21st victory as the Dodgers host the second-place San Francisco Giants in Wednesday's finale of the three-game series. Kershaw has won six consecutive starts and can match his career high for victories set in 2011, when he won his first Cy Young Award.

San Francisco is jockeying with Pittsburgh for the top wild card and home-field advantage for the one-game playoff, and fell a game behind the Pirates with the loss. While the Giants may not want to witness Los Angeles clinching at their expense, they also have a magic number of one for nailing down a wild-card slot, leading Milwaukee by five games with five to play. San Francisco is getting no production from the middle of its lineup, with Hunter Pence mired in a 1-for-25 slump and Pablo Sandoval in a 2-for-24 rut.

TV: 10:10 p.m. ET, CSN Bay Area (San Francisco), SportsNet LA (Los Angeles)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Giants RH Tim Hudson (9-12, 3.52 ERA) vs. Dodgers LH Clayton Kershaw (20-3, 1.80)

Hudson won seven of his first nine decisions with the Giants and owned a major league-leading 1.81 ERA on June 12, but he has won only twice since then. The 39-year-old Hudson has been knocked around for 14 runs in 11 1/3 innings over a three-start skid, including a disastrous performance versus Los Angeles on Sept. 13, when he was pounded for six runs in in a career-low one-plus innings. Hudson has fared well away from home with a 2.88 ERA in 15 starts.

Kershaw labored through five innings at the Chicago Cubs last time out, giving up three runs on seven hits, but still managed to win his sixth consecutive start. Kershaw won at San Francisco on Sept. 14 with eight innings of two-run ball to improve to 13-5 with a 1.44 ERA lifetime against the Giants. Kershaw has tormented Pence, who is 4-for-49 with 11 strikeouts against him, while limiting Brandon Crawford to 1-for-17.

WALK-OFFS

1. Kershaw had pitched at least eight innings in seven straight starts prior to his last outing.

2. Giants CF Angel Pagan will undergo season-ending surgery Thursday to repair a ruptured disk in his back.

3. Dodgers 2B Justin Turner is 15-for-37 with three homers and 10 RBIs in his last 13 games.

PREDICTION: Dodgers 5, Giants 2