San Diego @ San Francisco preview

Last Meeting ( Sep 26, 2014 ) San Diego 4, San Francisco 1

The San Diego Padres will finish under .500 for the fourth consecutive season, but they’ve left an impression on the playoff-bound San Francisco Giants. The Padres have won four of their last five games against the Giants and hold a 10-7 advantage in the season series heading into Saturday’s contest at AT&T Park. San Francisco lost 4-1 on Friday and will play next Wednesday’s wild-card game on the road against either St. Louis or Pittsburgh.

Giants catcher Buster Posey had an MRI on his sore back early Friday and was cleared to play, but the team decided to rest him for precautionary reasons. “With where we’re at, we’re better off giving him a day and make sure we don’t risk an injury,” manager Bruce Bochy told reporters. “Basically, we’re being very cautious.” The Giants might rest a few more of their starters over the regular season’s final two games, but right fielder Hunter Pence figures to play as he works to end a lengthy 8-for-66 slump.

TV: 4:05 p.m. ET, FSN (San Diego), CSN Bay Area (San Francisco)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Padres LH Eric Stults (8-17, 4.42 ERA) vs. Giants RH Jake Peavy (7-13, 3.78)

After a dismal first half, Stults has turned around his season with a 2.92 ERA over his last 10 starts. “He’s kept at it, because that’s how his mentality is,” Padres second baseman Jedd Gyorko told MLB.com. “The way he’s pitched in the second half has been impressive." Pence is 10-for-33 with three home runs against the 34-year-old, who owns an 8-5 record and 4.94 ERA in 20 career games (18 starts) against San Francisco.

Peavy has been outstanding since being traded from Boston on July 26, and he continued to impress Monday with seven strong innings against the Dodgers. The 2007 Cy Young award winner has a 1.63 ERA over his last nine starts while completing at least six frames in seven of those outings. Peavy is making his first career appearance against the Padres after going 92-68 in 212 starts for San Diego from 2002-09.

WALK-OFFS

1. The Giants are 64-18 when scoring first.

2. Padres C Rene Rivera is 10-for-25 with two homers and 12 RBIs in his last seven games against San Francisco.

3. If the Giants win Wednesday’s wild-card game, they would open the NL Division Series in Washington.

PREDICTION: Giants 5, Padres 2