First pitch: Wednesday, 10:15 p.m. ET
Line: San Francisco -150, Arizona +140, Total: 7

The Giants try to keep up with the Dodgers in the NL West as they host the Diamondbacks on Wednesday night.

Arizona is in the midst of a lost season with the second-worst record in the National League and comes into this contest as losers in six of its past eight games, including four in a row. The D-backs have not been able to score any runs, and in those six losses have averaged a woeful 1.3 runs per game. Arizona managed just four hits in its 5-1 loss in the first game of this series with its sole run coming off a homer from OF Ender Inciarte (.263 BA). OF A.J. Pollock (.321) has done well since his return from a DL stint and has gone 6-for-12 with two runs over his past four games. While the Diamondbacks are keeping the bottom of the NL West warm, San Francisco is trying to keep up with the Dodgers and currently sits 2.5 games behind them in the division. The Giants have been one of the hottest teams in baseball with wins in 10 of their past 13 games. They were very impressive in their last series, defeating powerful Detroit 2-games-to-1, before pounding out 12 hits in the 5-1 win on Tuesday. The star of the game was 2B Joe Panik (.327 BA) who was a perfect 5-for-5 in the victory, making him 20-for-47 (.426) with three doubles and nine runs over his past 10 games. The pitching matchup in this contest will peg Arizona RHP Josh Collmenter (10-7, 3.81 ERA) against San Francisco RHP Ryan Vogelsong (8-10, 4.06 ERA). The D-backs have been horrible on the road this year with a putrid 30-42 record (.417), while the Giants are 39-33 (.542) at home. These clubs have met up plenty of times over the past three seasons with San Francisco holding a 30-21 (.588) edge in that timeframe, including 9-5 in the matchup this year. A look at the trends shows that Arizona is 16-8 (.667) this season when Collmenter starts, while the Giants are 64-42 (.604) this year when the total is 7 to 8.5 runs. As far as injuries are concerned, the Diamondbacks will continue to be without 1B Paul Goldschmidt (hand) for the rest of the year, as OF Mike Morse (oblique) and 1B Brandon Belt (concussion) are on the DL for San Francisco.

Josh Collmenter is putting together another solid season for the Diamondbacks and is the only starter on the team with double-digit wins while also having the lowest ERA (3.81) in the rotation. He has done this with a below-average strikeout rate (6.1 K/9) while lowering his walks to just 2.2 per nine innings. Collmenter will not blow anyone away, but has done very well over his past three starts, allowing only two runs (21.2 IP) on 11 hits while having an amazing 16:2 K-to-BB ratio. Arizona was victorious in all three of those contests, and is 7-2 in his past nine outings. In his career against the Giants, Collmenter is 3-1 (4-1 team record) with a 5.04 ERA and 1.40 WHIP, and pitched very well (5 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 4 BB, 4 K's) in a winning effort earlier this season. C Buster Posey has torched the 28-year-old in his career, going 8-for-11 with two homers and 7 RBI. On the other hand, OF Hunter Pence (3-for-19, 1 HR, 2 RBIs, 8 K's) and 3B Pablo Sandoval (3-for-16, 3 RBIs, 3 K's) have done poorly in the matchup. The Diamondbacks’ relievers are 21-25 (.457) with a serviceable 3.77 ERA and 1.31 WHIP this year, and have successfully converted 34-of-53 (64%) save chances. Closer Addison Reed (3.54 ERA, 31 saves) has put together a combination of a high strikeout rate (10.5 K/9) and tremendous control (2.0 BB/9) while allowing 10 homers in a mere 53.1 frames (1.69 HR/9).

After last season (4-6, 5.73 ERA), many did not know what to expect out of 37-year-old starter Ryan Vogelsong, but he has come back to raise his strikeout rate to 7.4 K/9 (5.8 K/9 in 2013) and harness his control (2.6 BB/9). While his numbers are nothing to write home about, the righty has given San Francisco a solid option at the bottom of its rotation, and he has thrown at least six innings in six of his past 10 starts. His last outing was horrible though, as he went up against the Rockies in the thin air of Colorado and got torched for eight runs (4 HR) on 10 hits and two walks while striking out five in five frames. Vogelsong has not done well against the Diamondbacks in his career either, going 3-4 (5-8 team record) with a 4.87 ERA and 1.47 WHIP, and is 1-2 with a 5.51 ERA in 2014. With 13 hits in 25 at-bats (.520), three doubles, two homers and 6 RBIs, 2B Aaron Hill has been phenomenal against Vogelsong while C Miguel Montero (8-for-26, 4 RBIs) has also done very well in the matchup. Unfortunately not every player has seen the ball well out of the opposing pitcher's hand, as SS Didi Gregorius and SS Cliff Pennington have combined to go a woeful 2-for-17 with five strikeouts. The Giants bullpen is an excellent 26-14 (.650) this year with a 2.90 ERA and 1.07 WHIP, and is 41-for-58 (71%) in save chances. Closer Santiago Casilla (1.75 ERA, 15 saves) has two losses and a blown save in his past nine outings, and has benefited from batters hitting a mere .230 BABIP against him.