Padres Beat Giants 8-4 in Preparation for the Dodgers

by Jake Lax, August 28, 2025

Just like last week, the San Diego Padres wrapped up a dominant series against the San Francisco Giants with a third straight win. This time it was an 8–4 victory on Thursday afternoon in San Diego. And once again, it sets up a weekend battle against the Los Angeles Dodgers, with first place in the National League West hanging in the balance.

The Padres, now 72–56, have clawed their way back into the division race after the previous series against the Dodgers. Thursday’s win was a great finish for the series, where the Padres showed timely hitting and were able to capitalize on defensive miscues. Along with a resilient outing from starter Dylan Cease, who picked up the win, improving to 6-11 on the year.

Errors Cause Runs

The third inning was where the scoring began. Luis Matos of the Giants got a triple off a miscommunication between Padre’s outfielders Fernando Tatis Jr. and Ramón Laureano. The fly ball was able to just drop, giving the Giants a leadoff triple. One pitch later, Andrew Knizner doubled on a line drive to the right field line and turned it into an RBI double when Tatis misjudged the bounce. Jake Cronenworth then missed a routine grounder, sending Knizner to third and Jung Hoo Lee to first via error. The Giants were able to take a two-run lead, all due to San Diego’s errors. Dylan Cease was somehow able to escape the inning that should’ve been long but over ahead of time.

Justin Verlander, the starter for the Giants at age 42, retired the first nine batters he faced before Tatis Jr. led off the bottom of the fourth with a double. Luis Arraez followed with a single to then move Tatis Jr. to third. Next up, Manny Machado helped the Padres cut the lead with an RBI single on the ninth pitch of his at-bat. Xander Bogaerts was able to help San Diego tie it up with a sacrifice fly to left field, scoring Arraez and making it a 2-2 ballgame.

Then came the fifth inning, where the Giants’ defense completely unraveled. Freddy Fermin laid down a bunt, and Casey Schmidt’s throw sailed into right field. This brought Ramon Laureano and Jake Cronenworth to score. Giants’ right fielder Luis Matos looked like he had no idea what he was doing out there, losing the ball twice and letting the second run score. This gave the Padres a 4-2 lead over the Giants, but they weren’t done there. Tatis Jr. then singles and moves Fermin to second. The big bat of Manny Machado comes up clutch again with a two-RBI double, which extended the Padres’ lead to 6-2 and forced the veteran Justin Verlander out of the game.

Matt Gage came into pitch for the Giants, but he wasn’t much help either. Gage hit his first batter faced, Ryan O’Hearn, and followed by allowing Xander Bogaerts an RBI single. The six-run inning was capped off by Ramon Laureano, who drove in another run on a single to finish the inning with the Padres up 8-2.

Back-To-Back but no Comeback

The top of the sixth saw Dylan Cease gives up back-to-back homers to Rafael Devers and Willy Adames. He was then taken out for Jeremiah Estrada, who was able to shut down the Giants’ bats. Cease finished with seven strikeouts over five innings pitched and was able to pick up the win. The bullpen took it from there, keeping the Giants off the board the rest of the way. Machado’s three-RBI performance marked his 104th career game with three or more runs driven in, a reminder of his enduring impact in big moments.

Fight For October

With the Dodgers beating the Rockies in Colorado, they arrive in San Diego with a one-game lead in the NL West. The stakes couldn’t be higher: a Padres sweep would vault them into sole possession of first place. Taking two of three would result in a tie. Anything less, and the Dodgers remain in control. Yu Darvish (2–3, 5.97 ERA) gets the ball Friday night for San Diego, looking to improve after last weekend’s sweep at Dodger Stadium. Both teams know what’s at stake this weekend, and it’ll be a great series for baseball fans.