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Cain set to return for red-hot Giants vs. Dodgers

May 10, 2014 - 12:41 PM (SportsNetwork.com) - Needless to say, the San Francisco Giants may have somebody else prepare a pregame meal for Matt Cain on Saturday.

The right-hander is set to return from a freak injury suffered over two weeks ago as the Giants resume a four-game series with the hosting Los Angeles Dodgers.

Cain was forced to miss his last two scheduled starts after suffering a cut to his right index finger before an outing on April 29. He sustained the injury on a kitchen knife while making a sandwich and was a late scratch, eventually landing on the disabled list and missing another start.

"I'd say he is (ready to return). Barring any setbacks, he's good to go on Saturday," noted Giants manager Bruce Bochy on his club's website.

The 29-year-old Cain is still looking for his first victory of the season, having gone 0-3 with a 4.35 earned run average thus far, and hasn't pitched since giving up seven runs over six innings of a no-decision at Colorado on April 23.

Cain is 5-11 lifetime versus the Dodgers with a 3.58 ERA in 29 meetings, including a loss on April 6 in which he allowed five runs over six innings. Cain struggled with the longball, giving up a pair of homers to Matt Kemp and another to Hanley Ramirez.

Zack Greinke opposed Cain in that meeting in Los Angeles and got the win, scattering two runs over six innings while striking out eight. He moved to 1-0 with a 3.12 ERA in three career encounters with the Giants and faces them again today looking to rebound from his first loss of 2014.

Greinke brought a 5-0 mark into a meeting with Washington on Monday and allowed two runs over three innings before the game was delayed for 3 hours and 17 minutes due to rain. The righty did not return when the game resumed and ended up taking a 4-0 loss.

"I started to make adjustments, started to feel better as the game went on and then it started raining," Greinke said.

The 30-year-old saw his ERA lift to 2.35 on the season.

Greinke will look to get the Dodgers into the win column in this series after last night's 3-1 setback pushed Los Angeles' losing streak to three straight. The Dodgers have lost six of their last eight overall and managed just a solo homer from Yasiel Puig in the loss.

Puig extended his hitting streak to nine straight games (.405) with a homer that irked Giants starter Madison Bumgarner, perhaps because of a flip of the bat by Puig after the bomb.

Bumgarner, though, got the last laugh with eight solid innings in which he fanned eight and walked just one to give the Giants a 12-3 mark of their last 15 games.

"We haven't been able to do a lot with Bumgarner," said Dodgers manager Don Mattingly. "We haven't done a whole lot with anybody lately."

The Giants' Brandon Crawford backed his starter with a two-run homer, but the victory was left a little sour due to an injury sustained by first baseman Brandon Belt when he was hit by a pitch in the second inning.

Belt suffered a broken left thumb, an ailment that could keep him out for about six weeks. He is hitting .264 on the season with a club-high nine homers along with 18 RBI.

"It's a tough thing to go through," Bumgarner said of Belt. "Hopefully we can fight through it until he is back."

The Dodgers were again without infielder Juan Uribe, who is day-to-day with a right hamstring strain that forced him out of a game late on Thursday. He could head to the disabled list if things don't improve.

The Giants have played well this season against Los Angeles, going 6-2, and are 11-3 in the past 14 matchups between the division foes.