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.

Bob Melvin did not hold back on how frustrating Thursday night was for the Giants in their loss to the Padres.

The San Diego Padres took the series over the San Francisco Giants on Thursday, winning three of four games despite playing the entire set without star centerfielder Jackson Merrill. The 22-year-old exited Sunday’s game against the Los Angeles Dodgers early with a bone bruise in his left ankle, after initially tweaking it a couple of games prior.

Petco park erupted in boos after a security guard brutally tackled a San Diego Padres kid who ran out on the field.

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

Saturday: 5:40 p.m. (Padres.TV, FS1) Sunday: 1:10 p.m. (Padres.TV) In the standings Los Angeles Dodgers (73-55, 1st in NL West) The Dodgers settled for a split in a four-game series at Coors Field and lead the Padres by game heading into the final regular season series between the two teams.