Padres sweep Giants, regain momentum with gritty two-game statement

San Diego, California – A tiny two-game series at Petco Park didn’t just stop the bleeding for the Padres — it reminded everyone who they still are.

Behind strong starting pitching, timely hitting, and key defensive plays, the San Diego Padres swept the San Francisco Giants this week, capping the quick set with a gritty 5-3 win on Wednesday. The sweep snapped a four-game losing skid and helped steady the team after a brief stumble from the top of the NL West.

“It’s just winning some ballgames,” said Manny Machado. “We’re back to ourselves.”

Wednesday’s victory followed a familiar formula. Michael King delivered another solid outing on the mound, the bullpen bent but didn’t break, and the offense — dormant during the losing streak — came back to life with 12 runs over two games.

King (4-1) continued his strong start to the season, allowing just one run over 5.2 innings while striking out six and retiring 10 straight Giants at one point. The only blemish came in the sixth, when a hit batter and a single led to San Francisco’s first run. King’s ERA now sits at 2.09, and he has struck out at least six batters in four straight starts.

“That’s the brand of baseball we’ve been playing all year,” King said after the win.

The Padres jumped on Giants starter Landen Roupp early. Tyler Wade’s two-out RBI single in the second scored Gavin Sheets to open the scoring. An inning later, Elias Díaz doubled the lead with a solo home run to left — a shot that just cleared the glove of a Giants fan reaching over the wall. A two-run fifth inning followed, featuring RBI singles from Machado and José Iglesias, stretching the lead to 4-0.

San Diego added a fifth run in the sixth on a Díaz single followed by Luis Arraez’s RBI triple, his first since returning from a six-game concussion absence. Arraez and Jason Heyward, also back from a knee injury, provided much-needed boosts on both sides of the ball.

The bullpen — MLB’s best by ERA entering the day — made it interesting but closed the door. Robert Suarez notched his league-leading 12th save after Jason Adam and Adrián Morejón kept the Giants from mounting a full comeback.

The win wasn’t just about runs or stats. It was about execution — the slick glovework from Machado and Heyward, the clutch hits with runners in scoring position (Padres went 9-for-17 over the series), and the calm from manager Mike Shildt’s squad.

“The body of work speaks for itself,” Shildt said. “We don’t take anything for granted, but we also know who we are, how we play.”

The Padres, now regaining their early-season swagger, get a day off before heading to Pittsburgh for a three-game set starting Friday.