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

In the rankings

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

By splitting a two-game series in Seattle, the Padres moved 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 postseason chances sit at 91.6 percent, according to Baseball Reference.

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

With postseason odds of less than 0.1 percent — they are 8½ games back of a wild-card spot with 15 games remaining — the only thing left for the Giants to do is blow things up, which they did by winning two of three games last week at Petco Park. The Giants lead the season series against the Padres, 6-4. The Giants are 41-34 at home.

What have they been up to lately?

• San Diego: The Padres are hitting .667 ball since the start of the second half, but are under .500 over their last 13 games (6-7). INF Luis Arraez hitting .442/.482/.481 over that span and both 3B Manny Machado (.882) and OF Jackson Merrill (.782 OPS) both have four home runs, with the former taking over the all-time Padres record. OF Fernando Tatis jr. has homered in two consecutive games and has a .242/.242/.485 batting average in his first eight games back from injuries.
• San Francisco: The Giants have lost eight of their last 13 games, with the pitching staff allowing a 4.07 ERA in that series (18 of 30 teams) and the team ranking 22nd in batting average (.219), 25th in on-base percentage (.280) and 14th in slugging (.389). OF Mike Yastrzemski leads the team with four home runs in that span (.924 OPS), followed by three of 3B Matt Chapman (.908 OPS). FROM McCray Award has hit five home runs to start his career and hit two home runs in one game against the Padres, but he is hitting .154/.154/.359 in his last 11 games.

Clubhouse leaders

• METHOD: Padres – Outfielder Jurickson Profar (.839), Outfielder Fernando Tatis Jr. (.813), Outfielder Jackson Merrill (.810); Giants – SS Tyler Fitzgerald (.880), Outfielder 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).
• RBI’s: Padres – Machado (94), Merrill (83), Profar (82) Giants – Chapman (73), Ramos (67), Conforto (56).
• Steals: Padres – SS Ha-Seong Kim (22), Merrill (16), 2B Xander Bogaerts (10); Giants – Fitzgerald (17), Chapman (15), Ramos (6).
• Save: Padres – RHP Robert Suarez (32-for-36, 2.48 ERA); LHP Tanner Scott (20-for-22, 1.55 ERA); Giants – RHP Camilo Doval (22-for-27, 5.02 ERA); RHP Ryan Walker (7-for-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).

Pitch competitions

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 over his last six starts (32 ⅓ IP), meaning he allowed four runs 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’s starting a second straight game against the Padres after using three double-play balls to help him allow just three runs despite allowing 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, with 11 strikeouts against four walks.

Saturday

• Padres RHP Joe Musgrove (5-5, 4.54 ERA) | He pitched three perfect innings on Sunday before the Giants let him score six runs in the fourth inning and forced 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. He has allowed 10 runs in 10 innings against San Francisco this year, suffering losses in both starts.
• Giants RHP Mason Black (0-3, 7.50) | The 24-year-old rookie allowed four runs on six hits and a walk in 4 ⅔ innings in a loss to the Padres in his last start last weekend at Petco Park. Black has allowed six homers in 24 innings in the majors so far—one in each of his six appearances (22 Ks, 8 BBs).

Sunday

• Padres LHP Martín Pérez (4-5, 4.46 ERA) | He’s making his first start since Sept. 5, as the team juggled the rotation to put him on paternity leave on Thursday. Pérez is coming off his first quality start since Aug. 9, striking out five in 6⅓ shutout innings. Pérez has allowed five runs — two earned — in 10⅓ innings in two starts this year against the Giants, both while still in the Pirates’ rotation.
• RHP Landon Roupp of the Giants (0-1, ERA 3.44) | The 26-year-old rookie is coming off his first start, as he allowed two runs in five innings in a loss to the Brewers on Sunday. He has progressed from four innings of bulk relief on Sept. 5 to throwing five innings in his 20th big-league appearance. Roupp threw three scoreless innings in three relief appearances against the Padres to start the season.

Training room

• San Diego: SS Ha Seong Kim has been out since mid-August after diving at first base. The bruised shoulder and subsequent inflammation have kept him from throwing the field, delaying his return long enough for the Padres to 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 day-to-day after leaving Thursday’s game with lower back pain. LHP Robbie Ray (hamstring) was ruled out while feeling discomfort during live batting practice on Wednesday, jeopardizing his bid to return 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 probably done for the season. RHP Randy Rodriguez (elbow) and C Tom Murphy (knee) could return this month.