The Friars are on the road in the Bay Area to start a four game set against the San Francisco Giants. Monday starts a grueling stretch in which San Diego will face a slew of postseason contenders.
The Padres (33-24, 2nd in NL West) and Giants (33-26, 3rd in NL West) both secured series victories over a pair of sub .500 clubs over the weekend. San Diego took care of business against the Pittsburgh Pirates, going 5-1 overall against the Bucs in 2025, while San Francisco received strong performances from their pitching staff to down the Miami Marlins at home.
Both teams met earlier this season in late-April, when the Padres completed a quick two-game sweep of their rival at Petco Park. They'll meet for their second meeting of the season, this time at Oracle Park for a four game set.
Pitching matchups
Monday: Padres RHP Stephen Kolek (3-1, 4.11 ERA) vs. Giants RHP Logan Webb (5-5, 2.82 ERA) 6:45 p.m. PT
Kolek is coming off a quirky but historic performance. Against the Marlins on May 27, he became the first pitcher since Mark Buehrle in 2006 to earn a victory after allowing six runs in the first inning of a game. He's also the first to accomplish the feat with all six runs being earned since Bartolo Colon in 1999. Countering him, right-hander Logan Webb had a great May, delivering four quality outings in five starts while striking out 34 batters in 32 inning pitched.
Tuesday: Padres RHP Ryan Bergert (1-0, 0.00 ERA) vs. Giants RHP Landen Roupp (3-4, 3.54 ERA) 6:45 p.m. PT
Bergert has made four appearances for the Padres this season out of the bullpen. The rookie right-hander is being called up to start in the absence of ace Michael King. In four innings pitched, Bergert has collected two strikeouts while posting a 0.25 WHIP.
Landen Roupp's latest start against the Tigers was cut short. The 26 year-old went four innings while giving up four runs (one earned) on five hits tossing a total of 81 pitches.
Wednesday: Padres RHP Nick Pivetta (6-2, 2.74 ERA) vs. Giants LHP Kyle Harrison (1-1, 2.51 ERA) 6:45 p.m. PT
Perhaps the Padres' most consistent starter so far this season, Nick Pivetta remains one of the NL's top arms. The tall righty pitched six innings while striking out eight batters in his previous start against Pittsburgh. San Diego seems to enjoy when Pivetta takes the mound, as they are 9-3 overall in his starts. For the Giants, Kyle Harrison will be making his third start of the campaign. The southpaw has seen the Friars twice his career. He is 1-1 with a 6.17 ERA against them.
Thursday: Padres RHP Dylan Cease (1-4, 4.66 ERA) vs. Giants LHP Robbie Ray (7-1, 2.43 ERA) 12:45 p.m. PT
After appearing to have found his footing, Dylan Cease struggled against the Pirates in his latest start. The hard-throwing starter battled through 4 2/3 innings while giving up three earned runs on 95 pitches thrown. Cease has had command issues at points this season, it will be interesting to see how he rebounds. Not having seen the San Diego lineup this year, Robbie Ray is off to a stellar start on the mound. The lefty relishes pitching at his home ballpark, boasting a 1.89 ERA and 38 strikeouts at Oracle Park thus far.
Who's hot?
Padres:
3B Manny Machado continues to mash the baseball. He's a round tripper away from 350 career home runs and currently holds a .308 batting average this year. CF Jackson Merrill has found his stroke at the plate after scuffling a few games. The 22 year-old has notched four XBH in his last five contests. Going back to May 27, 1B Luis Arraez is 7-for-19 (.368 BA) with five RBI. RHP Robert Suarez continues to dominate out of the closer's role, securing his league leading 19th save on Sunday.
Giants:
San Francisco LF Heliot Ramos put up great numbers through all of May, slashing .347/.407/.600 with six homers and 18 RBI. 3B Matt Chapman has heated up over his last seven ballgames, hitting .429 in that span. RHP Camilo Doval has not allowed a run since April 7 out of the Giants pen'.
Early takeaways
Both clubs enter the series three-or-less games behind the Los Angeles Dodgers for first place in the NL West and only one game within each other in the Wild Card standings. In-division series' make for good opportunities to gain ground on one another. San Diego and San Francisco stare at a chance to close the gap even more as the calendar turns to summer.