SAN DIEGO -- Swept at Dodger Stadium over the weekend, the Padres left Los Angeles on Sunday licking their wounds. They trailed by two games in the National League West race -- with another series between the two fierce division rivals looming this weekend.

In the interim, the Dodgers would head to Colorado for four games against the last-place Rockies. If the Padres could merely keep pace, they’d have counted it as a win. Instead, they capitalized on a couple of Dodgers stumbles by earning a series victory over the Giants with an 8-4 victory on Thursday afternoon at Petco Park.

That sets up the season’s final regular-season meeting between the Padres and Dodgers. It begins Friday night in San Diego -- and only one game separates the two.

The Padres’ new-look offense continued to ma

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