The Padres capitalized on some sloppy Giants defense in a win over San Francisco, setting up another 1st place battle with the Dodgers.

Through three innings, the Giants owned a 2-0 lead and positioned themselves to at least salvage a series split. Justin Verlander retired the first nine batters he faced, and the offense scored a pair of runs in the third thanks to rare shoddy defense from Platinum Glover Fernando Tatis Jr.

After a "frustrating" series in San Diego, the sloppy San Francisco Giants continue to look overmatched by the Padres in just about every way.

A good sign for the Padres beyond their 8-4 victory Thursday was how manager Mike Shildt used his bullpen with his team up four runs against a subpar Giants offense. Shildt deployed only high-leverage arms over the final four innings. This was a public show of good late-season health among four key pitchers.

The San Diego Padres will enter this weekend’s series against the Los Angeles Dodgers just as they entered last weekend’s series against their rivals -- fresh off three straight wins over the San Francisco Giants.

The San Francisco Giants will likely use the MLB Draft to continue building their farm system. Next year, the draft will be as important as ever.

The Los Angeles Dodgers and the San Diego Padres will begin a pivotal three-game series at Petco Park on Friday night that may determine who prevails in the National League West.  The Dodgers, who have spent 130 days in first place already this year,

San Diego Padres right fielder Fernando Tatis Jr. made a sensational leaping catch to rob San Francisco’s Rafael Devers of a home run.