By: Ben Leonard
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The San Francisco Giants (69-60) take on the Major League-best St. Louis Cardinals (83-46) in the rubber match of a three-game series Sunday at AT&T Park.

The Giants will send Chris Heston (11-7, 3.34), back up from a short stint at Triple-A Sacramento, to the hill to try to take the series. The Cardinals will counter with left-hander Jaime Garcia (6-4, 1.77).

Heston is making his first start since August 17th against these same Cardinals, when he pitched just 4.2 innings and gave up one run. Just after that start, he was sent down to keep his arm fresh for September. He had been the Giants’ second-best starting pitcher behind Madison Bumgarner all season long, and figures to be right up there with new acquisition Mike Leake upon his return.

Like Heston, Garcia also spent some time away from his team this season, as he is making just his 14th start and seventh since his second DL stint of the season. He missed 20 games with a groin strain and the first 40 games of the season after offseason surgery.

Garcia pitched well his last time out, earning the win after giving up just one run and four hits against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Tuesday. He has pitched well on the road throughout his career, posting a 1.64 ERA on the road since September of 2012. He will make his second start against the Giants this season after a solid effort on August 19th, in which he surrendered three runs in 6.1 innings.

Other than that start, the lefty has owned the Giants throughout his career, giving up just ten runs in 41.2 innings against San Francisco. It’s a strange number given the Giants’ dominance against left-handed starters this season, going 18-12 against left-handed starters this season while hitting .271 in those games, the fourth-highest figure in baseball.

The Giants have been hot at home as of later, winning their 16 of their last 20 home contests, even after Saturday’s loss. They’ve been steady with the glove as well, committing just one error in their last thirteen games despite missing a plethora of starters.

The Giants need to look out for Bay Area native and Stanford alum Stephen Piscotty, who has really felt at home at AT&T park. He went 4-4 with a walk on Saturday while driving a run, bringing his average for the series all the way up to .750 (6-8).

Injury Notes: 

Before the game, manager Bruce Bochy noted that Tim Lincecum “isn’t making the progress we’d like him to” with his degenerative hip problem. The beloved right-hander suffered a setback in Arizona and acknowledge he may not return this season….Joe Panik took batting practice on Sunday and drove the ball well….Bochy said he will stay with the team through the Dodgers series(Aug. 31-Sept. 2) and then begin his rehab stint with Sacramento during the immediately following Colorado series….Brandon Crawford hit in the cage on Sunday and is slated to start against Los Angeles on Monday….