Wildcard hunt goes to San Francisco – San Diego Union-Tribune

In the overall ranking

San Diego Padres (82-65, 3rd in NL West)

By splitting a two-game series in Seattle, the Padres fell a half-game behind Arizona in the race for the NL's top wild-card spot. The Padres have lost four of their last six games and are not only 1½ games ahead of the current No. 3 Mets and 2½ games ahead of the Braves, but their chances of making the postseason are 91.6 percent, according to Baseball Reference.

San Francisco (72-75, 4th in NL West)

With their chances of making the postseason less than 0.1 percent – they are 8.5 games out of a wild-card spot with 15 games remaining – the Giants' only option is to play spoiler, which they did last weekend at Petco Park, winning two of three games. The Giants lead the season series against the Padres 6-4. The Giants are 41-34 at home.

What have you been doing lately?

• San Diego: The Padres have a .667 average since the start of the second half, but they are under .500 in their last 13 games (6-7). INF Luis Arráez hits .442/.482/.481 during this period and both 3B Manny Machado (.882) and OF MichaelJackson (.782 OPS) both have four home runs, with the former taking the Padres' all-time record. OF Fernando Tatis Jr. has hit a home run in two consecutive games and is .242/.242/.485 in his first eight games back from the injured list.
• San Francisco: The Giants have lost eight of their last 13 games, with pitchers allowing a 4.07 ERA during that span (18 of 30 teams) and the team ranking 22nd in batting average (.219), 25th in on-base percentage (.280) and 14th in slugging (.389). Mike Yastrzemski leads the team with four home runs in this period (.924 OPS), followed by three from 3B Matt Chapman (.908 OPS). FROM Michael McKee hit five home runs early in his career and hit two home runs in a game against the Padres, but over his last 11 games he has a batting average of .154/.154/.359.

Clubhouse Manager

• OPS: Padres – OF Jurickson Profar (.839), OF Fernando Tatis Jr. (.813), OF Jackson Merrill (.810); Giants – SS Tyler Fitzgerald (.880), OF Heliot Ramos (.790), 3B Matt Chapman (.786).
• Homer: Padres – 3B Manny Machado (26), Merrill (23), Profar (22); Giants – Chapman (24), Ramos (20), OF Michael Conforto (16).
• RBIs: Padres – Machado (94), Merrill (83), Profar (82) Giants – Chapman (73), Ramos (67), Conforto (56).
• Thefts: Padres – SS Ha-Seong Kim (22), Merrill (16), 2B Xander Bogaerts (10); Giants – Fitzgerald (17), Chapman (15), Ramos (6).
• Stores: Padres – RHP Robert Suarez (32 of 36, 2.48 ERA); LHP Tanner Scott (20 of 22, 1.55 ERA); Giants – RHP Camilo Doval (22 of 27, 5.02 ERA); RHP Ryan Walker (7 of 11, 1.82 ERA).
• Appearances: Padres – RHP Jason Adam (66, 1.91 ERA), Scott (64), LHP Yuki Matsui (61, 3.84 ERA); Giants – RHP Tyler Rogers (71, 2.94 ERA), Walker (70), LHP Erik Miller (65, 3.59 ERA).

Pitching duels

Friday

• Padres RHP Dylan Cease (12-11, 3.71 ERA) | He has a career-high 11 losses and leads the NL with 60 walks. Cease has a 5.01 ERA in his last six starts (32 ⅓ IP), including four runs allowed in six innings in a loss to the Giants in his last start. Cease has allowed eight earned runs in 16⅔ innings in three starts this year against San Francisco.
• Giants RHP Logan Webb (12-9, 3.46 ERA) | He starts his second straight game against the Padres after allowing just three runs thanks to three double-play balls, although he did allow a season-high 10 hits in six innings in a win. Webb has a 3.32 ERA in three starts (19 IP) against the Padres this year, throwing 11 strikeouts and four walks.

Saturday

• Padres RHP Joe Musgrove (5-5, 4.54 ERA) | On Sunday, he threw three perfect innings before the Giants steamrolled him for six runs in the fourth inning and knocked him out of the game in the fifth. Musgrove still has a 2.81 ERA in six starts (32 IP) since returning from the injured list. This year, he has allowed 10 runs in 10 innings against San Francisco, losing both starts.
• Giants RHP Mason Black (0-3, 7.50) | The 24-year-old rookie allowed four runs on six hits and one walk in 4 ⅔ innings in a loss to the Padres in his last start last weekend at Petco Park. Black has allowed six home runs in 24 innings in the major leagues so far – exactly one in each of his six appearances (22 Ks, 8 BBs).

Sunday

• Padres LHP Martín Pérez (4-5, 4.46 ERA) | He is making his first start since Sept. 5, as the team shuffled the rotation to send him on paternity leave Thursday. Pérez is coming off his first good start since Aug. 9, recording five strikeouts in 6 ⅓ shutout innings. Pérez has allowed five runs — two earned — in 10 ⅓ innings in two starts this year against the Giants, both times when he was still in the Pirates' rotation.
• Giants RHP Landon Roupp (0-1, 3.44 ERA) | The 26-year-old rookie is just coming off his first start after allowing two runs in five innings in a loss to the Brewers on Sunday. He went from four innings of bulk relief on Sept. 5 to five innings in his 20th major league appearance. Roupp threw three scoreless innings in three relief appearances against the Padres earlier this season.

Training room

• San Diego: SS Ha-Seong Kim has been out since mid-August after diving into first base. The jammed shoulder and subsequent inflammation have prevented him from throwing across the field, delaying his return so much that the Padres Xander Bogaerts back to shortstop. The only other injured Padres are on the 60-day injured list: RHP Stephen Kolek (elbow tendonitis) and RHP Luis Patino (Tommy John).
• San Francisco: SS Tyler Fitzgerald is a day-to-day assessment after he left Thursday's game with a strain in his lower back. LHP Robbie Ray (hamstring) was suspended during live batting practice on Wednesday due to discomfort, jeopardizing his chance of returning before the end of the season. RHP Jordan Hicks (shoulder) threw two innings in a rehab start on Tuesday, while LHP Kyle Harrison (shoulder) is likely out for the rest of the season. RHP Randy Rodriguez (elbow) and C Tom Murphy (knee) could recur this month.