SAN FRANCISCO -- Philadelphia Phillies shortstop Freddie Galvis insisted Thursday it's time for his team to start having some fun.
Unfortunately for the National League East's fourth-place squad, experiencing it at AT&T Park against the hottest team in baseball might prove to be difficult.
Two teams coming off wins Thursday that made long flights enjoyable meet in San Francisco on Friday night when the Phillies open a three-game series against the Giants.
The Phillies are coming off a 7-3 win at Minnesota that snapped a nine-game losing streak, while the Giants finished off a series win at Pittsburgh with a 5-3 victory Thursday.
But make no mistake about that: These teams have little else in common.
The Giants (47-27) return home after having won six of seven at Tampa Bay and Pittsburgh. They will take the field Friday with a big lead in the NL West, the second-best record in the league and riding the momentum of 12 victories in their last 14 games.
"I'm proud of these guys," Giants manager Bruce Bochy said at his postgame press conference Thursday. "But there's a lot of baseball left."
Right-hander Jake Peavy will open a five-game homestand for the Giants. It'll be the first time he's started a game on a day other than a Sunday this month.
Those Sunday starts -- two in nationally televised games -- seem to have turned the veteran's season around. He was 2-5 with a 6.34 ERA when the calendar flipped to June, but has since gone 1-1 with a fine 2.65 ERA against St. Louis, Los Angeles and Tampa Bay.
Peavy might be hot, but beating him would figure to be the Phillies' best opportunity to continue their winning ways this weekend. The Giants will follow with Madison Bumgarner (8-3) and Johnny Cueto (11-1) on Saturday and Sunday.
Peavy has a losing record in his career against the Phillies (2-3, 4.15 ERA), but that's ancient history. He hasn't faced Philadelphia since 2009, and has never done so as a member of the Giants.
The only three Phillies he's ever pitched against are Ryan Howard (3-for-9), Carlos Ruiz (0-for-3) and Peter Bourjos (1-for-2).
The Giants have won 12 of their last 15 games against the Phillies dating back to the 2013 season.
The Phillies (31-43) will try to turn things around in the rivalry Friday with right-hander Zach Eflin (0-2, 10.80), another guy whose numbers might be a bit deceiving.
The rookie's debut on June 14 was a complete disaster as he allowed nine runs (eight earned) and nine hits (including three home runs) in 2 2/3 innings at Toronto.
But he rebounded impressively with 5 2/3 innings of four-hit, two-run ball at home against Arizona on Sunday.
The 22-year-old certainly arrives in San Francisco highly regarded. He was the first-round pick of the San Diego Padres in 2012, before getting dealt to the Phillies in a three-team trade that sent Matt Kemp to San Diego and Jimmy Rollins to the Los Angeles Dodgers.
"I looked at a lot of things," the 6-foot-6 Florida native said after the Arizona game of the difference in his two starts. "It's good to bounce back from last outing."
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