Giants hope to stay on track against Dodgers

(SportsNetwork.com) - The defending World Series champion San Francisco Giants are trying to pull themselves out of the NL West basement and will take on the Los Angeles Dodgers Wednesday in the rubber match of a three-game set.

The Giants have won six of their last nine games following an eight-game slide and rook Tuesday's middle portion of this set by a 2-1 score. 2014 World Series MVP Madison Bumgarner outdueled Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw with nine strikeouts over eight innings of one-run ball.

Bumgarner walked just one batter and scattered five hits before closer Santiago Casilla collected his sixth save in the ninth inning.

"It just goes to show you when (Bumgarner) is on, you don't have to score a lot," Giants catcher Buster Posey said.

Posey had an RBI single in the first inning and led off the fourth with a home run off of Kershaw. Joaquin Arias went 3-for-3 and Angel Pagan added two hits and scored a run for the Giants, who bounced back from an 8-3 loss Monday in the opener of this set.

Kershaw fanned eight batters and gave up two runs in seven innings. He did not issue a walk and permitted seven hits.

"I gave up two (runs), he (Bumgarner) gave up one. He pitched eight innings, I pitched seven," Kershaw said. "I got outpitched."

San Francisco will start a 10-game homestand Friday versus the LA Angels, San Diego Padres and Miami Marlins.

Taking the mound for the Giants at Dodgers Stadium Wednesday will be Ryan Vogelsong. He is 0-1 with a 7.71 earned run average in four games (2 starts) and has recorded three straight no-decisions. In last Thursday's 3-2 win over the Dodgers, the right-hander tossed six innings of two-run ball.

Vogelsong owns a 4-4 record and a 3.85 ERA in 24 career games (15 starts) against Los Angeles. He is 2-0 with a 3.38 ERA in his last six starts at Chavez Ravine, with the Giants winning five of those games.

The Dodgers are 3-5 since ripping off seven straight wins and scored their only run of Tuesday's game when Jimmy Rollins crossed the plate on Howie Kendrick's fielder's choice.

Enrique Hernandez had two of LA's five hits.

Los Angeles placed outfielder Carl Crawford on the disabled list Tuesday with an oblique strain. He joins fellow outfielder Yasiel Puig on the DL.

The Dodgers will host the Arizona Diamondbacks for three games this weekend.

Toeing the rubber for Los Angeles Wednesday will be Zack Greinke and he is 3-0 with a 1.35 earned run average in four starts. He has prevailed in each of his past three outings and threw seven scoreless innings in a 3-0 victory at San Diego last Friday.

The right-hander started 5-0 last season and is 19-4 with a 2.37 ERA in 31 starts at Dodger Stadium since joining the club in 2013. Greinke has owned the Giants in his career, going 5-0 with a sparkling 1.99 ERA in seven starts.

Los Angeles was swept in three games at San Francisco from April 21-23.