After a brief three-game homestand, the Friars embark on two-week NL West crusade. With sights set on the top spot in the division, here's what's to expect from Oracle Park:
The Padres (66-52, 2nd in NL West) prevailed over the Red Sox on Sunday afternoon in the Gaslamp with a 6-2 victory. Both teams came into the series hot, but it was ultimately San Diego's new-look offense that made the difference in the sets' last two contests. Left fielder Ramón Laureano delivered a walk-off base knock in the Padres' 5-4 10th inning win on Saturday night, while dealin' Dylan Cease dominated the Sox's bats across six innings in the finale.
Dylan Cease's 3Ks in the 4th. pic.twitter.com/k7hbTaupYA
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) August 10, 2025
The San Francisco Giants (59-59, 3rd in NL West) continued to slide over the weekend against a well under .500 Washington Nationals club. They were shutout 8-0 in Sunday's finale to lose the series. Future Cooperstown member Justin Verlander surrendered five runs over five innings of work, while Nationals left-hander MacKenzie Gore struck out 10 Giants through a fabulous six innings. James Wood and CJ Abrams combined to go 4-for-10 with three extra-base hits and six RBIs.
The two clubs last met in early June, with both taking two games apiece in a four-game set. The Padres currently lead the season series 4-2.
Pitching matchups
Monday: Padres RHP Yu Darvish (1-3, 6.51 ERA) vs. Giants RHP Logan Webb (10-8, 3.24 ERA) 6:45 p.m. PT
Yu Darvish tossed four innings of three-run baseball against the Arizona Diamondbacks on August 5 at Chase Field. The veteran right-hander looks to work deeper into Monday's series opener, but with San Diego's rested horsemen of Jeremiah Estrada, Mason Miller, and Robert Suarez, skipper Mike Shildt could deploy his bullpen in the middle innings if needed.
Logan Webb fired six innings while striking out 10 against the Pittsburgh Pirates on July 30, earning a victory in the process. He enjoys pitching at Oracle Park, sporting a 5-2 record with a 2.78 ERA and 84 strikeouts this season.
Tuesday: Padres LHP Nestor Cortes (1-1, 7.11 ERA) vs. Giants LHP Robbie Ray (9-5, 2.85 ERA) 6:45 p.m. PT
The lefty Nestor Cortes made his Friars debut in Arizona on August 6. He threw a serviceable 4 2/3 innings, giving up two runs and striking out three.
Robbie Ray took a no-decision against the Pirates in his last outing. He went six innings while striking out eight Pirates hitters. He fired seven innings of two-run baseball against San Diego on June 5, striking out nine and earning the win.
Wednesday: Padres RHP Nick Pivetta (11-4, 2.94 ERA) vs. Giants RHP Kai-Wei Teng (1-1, 5.40 ERA) 12:45 p.m. PT
Nick Pivetta will toe the slab for the Padres in the series finale. The tall righty was roughed up by his former team in Friday's series opener against the Red Sox. He took the loss after surrendering five runs through six innings of work. He'll look to get bounce back and keep up his fine season.
Giants righty Kai-Wei Teng's wast start came against the Nationals on August 8. He allowed three hits and no runs across five innings pitched. He'll face the Friars for the first time in his career.
Who's hot
Giants:
San Francisco have somewhat stabilized from going 2-10 in their first four series out of the All Star Break by winning five of their last nine games. OF Heliot Ramos is currently riding the longest NL on-base streak of the season at 23 games, over which he has slashed .304/.383/.337 with 25 hits and three doubles generating four RBIs. Though he didn't play on Sunday, INF Dominic Smith is also on the Majors current longest hitting streak at 13 games, where he has driven in nine runs with a home run, three doubles and batted .364 with a .904 OPS. Over the last nine games, INF Rafael Devers has provided the most pop of four players who have driven in seven during the stretch, with the third baseman hitting three home runs with a double for a 1.033 OPS and six runs scored — only OF Jung-Ho Lee (eight) has more runs in that time period.
Padres:
Since July 24, San Diego are near the tops of the NL in a multitude of categories, ranking in hits (first, 158), on-base percentage (tied-first, .361), batting average (second, .282), runs (tied-second, 82) and OPS (third, .775). Over that 16-game stretch five players have scored 10 or more times—led by OF Fernando Tatis Jr. with 15 runs—while both INF Manny Machado (.538) and INF Xander Bogaerts (.515) are slugging above .500, and OF Jackson Merrill tops the side with 14 RBIs. Also of note INF Jake Cronenworth is riding a 15 game on-base streak, during which he's had a .409 OBP while notching 14 hits, with three doubles and a home run to drive in eight RBIs. OF Ramón Laureano has made an impact in his nine games since arriving from Baltimore, notching eight RBIs and slugging .486 with a double, two triples and a home run.
Early takeaways
By taking care of business against an underperforming Giants club that's lost 10 of 12 at home, the Padres can create perhaps an insurmountable gap of separation between the two teams in the standings. San Diego currently possesses a seven game lead over San Francisco and are 31-19 in their last 50 games played against them.
Bob Melvin's bullpen isn't what it once was. Closer Camilo Doval was traded to the New York Yankees at the trade deadline and All-Star reliever Randy Rodríguez has struggled recently, posting an 0-2 record with a 5.14 ERA and three walks in his last seven appearances out of the bullpen. If the Friars can get into the Giants pen', the tide could shift in favor the Brown and Gold throughout the next three games.
While the Padres have strengthened their standing in the NL Wild Card race, now sitting three games ahead of the final Wild Card slot, the Giants have fallen four games behind the New York Mets for the final berth. The Friars jumped San Francisco for the final Wild Card on July 12 and have been in the postseason picture ever since, while the Giants find themselves in this position thanks to a calamitous 3-13 stretch from July 9 to 30.
After their visit to The Bay, San Diego heads to Los Angeles for a crucial series against the NL West leading Dodgers, who only hold the division's top spot by two games.
Eric Evelhoch contributed to this story.