Padres vs. Giants series preview

The Padres are getting geared up for a three game series against NL West opponent Giants. San Diego is coming off a three game set against the Cardinals where they took two of three at home. This is the final series in this home-stand, as they head to Los Angeles on Thursday.

Entering the series, the Padres sit in third place in the NL West and one game over .500 (42-41). The Giants find themselves dead last in the division, quickly losing sight of the .500 mark (36-47).

Pitching match ups

Jeff Samardzija (4-7, 4.52 ERA) vs. Logan Allen (2-0, 1.38 ERA)

Tyler Beede (1-3, 6.45 ERA) vs. Matt Strahm (3-6, 4.94 ERA)

Shaun Anderson (3-2, 386 ERA) vs. Eric Lauer (5-7, 4.22 ERA)

Hitters to watch

Manny Machado 11/33 5 HR 13 RBI .333 BA last 7 games

Fernando Tatis Jr 11/27 3 HR 8 RBI 3 SB .407 BA last 7 games

Alex Dickerson 7/20 1 HR 3 RBI .350 BA last 7 games

Buster Posey 6/19 2 R 2 RBI .316 BA last 7 games

What to expect:

The Padres outscored the Cardinals 18-8 in their last series, so the bats are working right now. On top of that, the only loss came in extra innings.

Look, it is a good thing that I mostly cover the minors because I would be posting 1,500 work love letters to Tatis Jr. Everything he does is just exciting, he is a game changer out there. Add in the fact that Machado also wears a Padre uniform just adds to the potential explosion in the offense. As rational as it might be that they are not All-Stars, they easily could be.

With the pitching lined up for the Giants, the Padre bats should be able to stay hot. There is no need to dive deep into anything here. The Giants are in last place in the division and the Padres are red hot right now. This is baseball so there is not guarantee, but there is a degree of confidence for what is to come.

Divisional battles are big no matter where the teams sit in the standings. It might look like the Giants are going to be sellers...because they are going to be sellers...but they can still play baseball. And they have old friend Alex Dickerson in their lineup. This is an excellent opportunity for the Padres to climb farther above the .500 mark.