Washington @ San Francisco preview

Last Meeting ( Oct 6, 2014 ) Washington 4, San Francisco 1

Bryce Harper has provided the fireworks while Anthony Rendon has been far more consistent during the Washington Nationals' first three contests of the postseason. The duo will need more of the same if Washington hopes to stave off elimination when it visits the San Francisco Giants for Game 4 of their National League Division Series on Tuesday. Harper belted his second solo homer of the set to put an exclamation point on the Nationals' 4-1 win on Monday while Rendon added two singles to improve to 7-for-15 in the postseason.

When considering playoff success, look no further than Pablo Sandoval. The Giants' mammoth star ripped a pair of singles to extend his postseason hitting streak to 14 games, which is one shy of the NL record set by Atlanta's Marquis Grissom (1995-96) and three short of Hank Bauer (1956-58), Derek Jeter (1998-99) and Manny Ramirez (2003-04) for the major-league mark. Sandoval is just 1-for-10 in his career versus Tuesday starter Gio Gonzalez, while Harper has struck out four times while going 1-for-8 against San Francisco's Ryan Vogelsong.

TV: 9:07 p.m. ET, Fox Sports 1

PITCHING MATCHUP: Nationals LH Gio Gonzalez (10-10, 3.57 ERA) vs. Giants RH Ryan Vogelsong (8-13, 4.00)

Gonzalez finished the regular season with a flourish, winning four of his final five starts - highlighted by a 3-0 triumph over the New York Mets on Sept. 25 in which he allowed one hit and struck out a career-high 12 over seven innings. The 29-year-old recorded a 2.48 ERA in September, which is over a full run less than the mark he posted this season. Gonzalez owns a 2-2 career record versus the Giants but did not face them this season as he missed the series in June due to shoulder inflammation while his turn in the rotation didn't come to pass during the three-game set in Washington from Aug. 22-24.

While Gonzalez excelled in the final month, Vogelsong limped to an 0-4 mark with a 5.53 ERA in September. The 37-year-old permitted four runs for the third straight outing en route to a 4-1 setback to San Diego on Sept. 26. Vogelsong was blitzed for six runs in as many innings of a 9-2 loss to Washington on June 9 before receiving a no-decision after allowing three runs and four hits in 5 1/3 frames on Aug. 24.

WALK-OFFS

1. Washington 2B Asdrubal Cabrera, who recorded an RBI single on Monday, has gone 1-for-4 in each game of the series while posting the same numbers in his career versus Vogelsong.

2. San Francisco 1B Brandon Belt is 7-for-17 during the postseason and has hit safely in each of his last eight contests.

3. Should the Nationals emerge victorious, they'll send RHP Stephen Strasburg to the mound against Giants RHP Jake Peavy in Thursday's decisive contest in Washington.

PREDICTION: Nationals 3, Giants 2