First pitch: Tuesday, 10:10 p.m. ET
Line: Los Angeles -135, San Francisco +125, Total: 6

As the 2014 season winds down, the Giants and Dodgers meet in the second game of their three-game set on Tuesday night.

The Giants look to be a near lock to make the playoffs as they are tied with Pittsburgh in the NL Wild Card race and hold a five-game lead over Milwaukee. They have not been doing quite as well recently though, as losers in six of their past nine contests in which they have averaged a mere 2.1 runs per game. However, they were able to grab an extra-inning, 5-2 victory in L.A. on Monday night as they tallied 12 hits and scored three runs in the top of the 13th inning to finish it off. SS Brandon Crawford (.247 BA) is not known for his offensive play, but is 15-for-35 (.429) with four doubles, a home run, 7 RBI and six runs over his past 10 games. The Dodgers are locked into a playoff spot and hold a 3.5-game lead in the division despite being 3-4 in the past seven contests. The three victories came against the Cubs where they scored 9.3 runs per contest over a four-game series, but managed a meager four hits in Monday’s loss. One of those hits was a solo shot by OF Carl Crawford (.290 BA) who is 24-for-58 (.414) with six doubles, three homers, 14 RBI and 10 runs in September (18 games). The pitching matchup for this game will put two studs up against each other as LHP Madison Bumgarner (18-9, 2.90 ERA) of San Francisco tries to outduel RHP Zack Greinke (15-8, 2.76 ERA) for Los Angeles. With Monday’s victory, the Giants pushed their road record to a solid 43-36 (.544), while the Dodgers are 40-36 (.526) in front of their fans. In the past three seasons, San Francisco holds a 30-24 (.556) edge in this matchup and has done very well in Dodger Stadium this year with a 6-2 record. Some interesting trends for this game include that L.A. is 12-22 (.353) in the past two years with a tired bullpen that has thrown nine or more innings in their previous two games, while going 12-1 in home games after a loss when Greinke is on the mound in that same timeframe. In injury news, both OFs Michael Morse (oblique) and Angel Pagan (back) are not expected to play in this series for San Francisco, while L.A. has no injuries to the offensive side of the ball.

Madison Bumgarner has been one of the best and most reliable pitchers in the major leagues over the past four years; throwing at least 200 innings with a sub-3.40 ERA in each of the seasons. The 2014 campaign has been no different and he has posted a career-high strikeout rate (9.2 K/9) while allowing a miniscule 1.8 BB/9. Bumgarner has given San Francisco a quality start in his past nine starts with double-digit strikeouts in three of those outings, while walking just seven batters in that time. He’s been phenomenal in his career against the Dodgers, going 11-4 with a 2.39 ERA and 0.99 WHIP while throwing 15 innings of one-run ball on seven hits with 17 strikeouts (3 walks) in his past two starts against them this year. OF Yasiel Puig has done well in his young career against the lefty with six hits in 20 at-bats (.300) and two solo homers. On the other hand, 1B Adrian Gonzalez (4-for-32, 7 K's), OF Andre Ethier (3-for-24, 9 K's), SS Hanley Ramirez (5-for-25, 5 K's) and OF Matt Kemp (6-for-30, 7 K's) have dreaded facing Bumgarner. San Francisco’s bullpen has been stellar this year with a 28-14 record (.667) while producing a 3.02 ERA and 1.08 WHIP, and is 43-for-60 (72%) in save opportunities. Santiago Casilla (1.76 ERA, 17 saves) is 17-for-21 (81%) in save chances, as he has benefited from the opposition hitting a woeful .218 BABIP against him.

Zack Greinke has been an absolute stud over the past seven seasons with double-digit wins each year as he posted an ERA over 3.90 just once. He is striking out more than a batter per inning (9.3 K/9) this year for the first time since 2011 and has showed amazing control (2.0 BB/9). Greinke has not allowed a homer in his past four starts while his team has gone 3-1 in that time, as he has allowed seven runs in 25 innings. He threw six scoreless frames while allowing four hits with five strikeouts (0 walks) on Sept. 13 when he last took on the Giants, and overall in his career facing them, he is a perfect 4-0 (6-0 team record) with a 1.93 ERA and 1.02 WHIP. The right-hander has never allowed more than three runs in any of his half-dozen outings in this rivalry. C Buster Posey (5-for-15, 2 RBI) is one of the only San Francisco players to have done decent against Greinke while 3B Pablo Sandoval (2-for-13), OF Hunter Pence (4-for-21, 2 HR, 3 RBI) and SS Brandon Crawford (1-for-12, 6 K's) have been baffled in the matchup. The relievers on Los Angeles have gone 16-23 (.410) this year with a 3.77 ERA and 1.30 WHIP, while successfully saving 46-of-58 (79%) contests. Closer Kenley Jansen (2.84 ERA, 43 saves) has mowed down 14.1 batters per nine innings, but has been unlucky with batters hitting .355 BABIP when facing him.