A.J. Preller souped up his bullpen. He rounded out the lineup and beefed up his bench. He even lengthened the rotation even before welcoming Michael King back from the injured list this weekend.

The Padres are ready to roll.

They’ve won four straight series heading into a crucial stretch in which they’ll play their next 13 games against the team their chasing in the NL West and the team they’re trying to bury.

The Padres are seven games ahead of the Giants, who are four games out of the NL’s last wild-card spot as they welcome Mike Shildt’s team into town Monday.

The Padres, who are 1½ games shy of the NL’s top wild-card spot, are also just two games behind the Dodgers, who will host the Padres this weekend.

Next week, both teams visit Petco Park.

There’s a lot of season left, but ca

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