Game Preview: Game 159 vs. San Francisco Giants

Last night's win ended a three-game losing streak for San Diego. Our Padres will try to keep it rolling and go for the series win over the Giants as they conclude their 2012 home schedule today. Edinson Volquez will attempt his second straight win overall and third career win against San Francisco. He is 2-1 in five previous career starts against them, with his sole loss occuring earlier this season. However, he pitched seven strong frames in that outing, giving up two runs on three hits while collecting eight strikeouts. Volquez shut out the Dodgers for seven innings his last time out, keeping them to just six hits to earn the win.

The Giants will counter with Tim Lincecum, who hopes to impress and earn a spot in the starting rotation for the NLDS. Lincecum had a rocky start to the season, but has picked things up since the All Star Break, going 7-5 from then until now. He won three consecutive decisions before a rough outing against the Diamondbacks on Tuesday. He surrendered seven earned runs on five hits and four walks, lasting only four innings on the mound. Lincecum is 1-1 in three starts against us this season, including a no-decision at Petco Park where he gave up four runs in six innings of work. However, he had posted a 1.77 ERA in his nine prior appearances at Petco Park before that outing.

The Giants lineup will be sans some regulars today, as Bruce Bochy plans on giving some of his players the day off to rest. Buster Posey and Marco Scutaro are scheduled to sit this one out, and others may join them. This is good news for Volquez, who won't have to worry about the .377-hitting Posey or the 17-game-hit-streak-riding Scutaro.

Meanwhile we will see if our boys can continue to warm up at the plate. After scoring only nine runs total over a four-game span, our offense came through with seven runs last night. Chase Headley hit his 30th home run of the year and added three RBI to his season total, tying Ryan Braun for the NL lead in that category. Will Venable has been great lately, batting .344 with five doubles, two triples, two homers, and 12 RBI since August 19th. Hopefully our lineup can build off last night's success and go out with a bang (and some fireworks) in their final home game of 2012.