The San Francisco Giants guaranteed that the San Diego Padres would finish in last place in the National League West by rallying to victory in the second contest of their three-game series.
The Giants (72-80) look to add more salt in the wound as they aim to complete the sweep on Wednesday when the division rivals reconvene at Petco Park.
Hunter Pence homered and drove in three runs while rookie Chris Shaw hit a go-ahead, two-run bloop single in the eighth inning as San Francisco posted a 5-4 win on Tuesday to improve to 10-5 against San Diego (60-92) this season.
Shaw is 6-for-10 over his last three games on the heels of going 1-for-22 in his previous 11 contests.
The Giants will send right-hander Chris Stratton (10-9, 4.66 ERA) to the mound against left-hander Robbie Erlin (3-7, 4.27) in the series finale.
Stratton enters the contest with some momentum after collecting his first career shutout after a 114-pitch performance in Friday's 2-0 triumph over the Colorado Rockies. He retired the final 12 batters he faced to record the first Giants' shutout since Jeff Samardzija accomplished the feat versus the Padres on Aug. 28, 2017.
The 28-year-old Stratton has excelled since returning from the minors to rejoin the rotation on Aug. 21, posting a 2-2 record with a 2.10 ERA in five starts.
"If you don't believe in yourself, then who can believe in you? I appreciate them sending me down and giving me some guidance and letting me work through some things," Stratton told SFGate.com. "Hopefully, I can continue to build on this, going into next year as well."
Stratton permitted one hit over seven sterling innings in a 7-0 win over the Padres at Petco Park on April 12. He owns a 2-2 mark with a 3.15 ERA in four career appearances against San Diego.
Stratton will need to keep a keen eye on Franmil Reyes, who enters Wednesday's game with a 10-game hitting streak. The Padres rookie homered and drove in three runs on Tuesday to improve to 14-for-36 during the 10-game stretch, but the power display couldn't prevent his team from falling to 1-4 on its six-game homestand.
"We're thrilled we got Franmil," Padres manager Andy Green told reporters. "He looks so good. He's become one of the success stories. Drafted by us, developed by us.
"We've got a couple rookies this year doing extraordinary things in the National League, which you typically don't see. Where he is right now, he'd be in a lot of conversations for Rookie of the Year. He's played that well. Numbers just trending up every day. He's had so many big hits for us. We're definitely pleased he's in a Padres uniform."
Reyes will be receiving his first look at Stratton on Wednesday.
Stratton will be opposed by the 27-year-old Erlin, who matched a career high by dropping his fourth straight start on Friday despite yielding two runs -- one earned -- and six hits over 5 1/3 innings against Texas.
"I thought he was as good as he's been all year as a starter," Green said of Erlin, who was undone by some shoddy defense versus the Rangers.
Erlin owns an 0-3 mark with a 5.68 ERA in seven career appearances against San Francisco -- including a 4.76 ERA in three relief appearances this season.
Brandon Crawford is 4-for-8 and Brandon Belt is 3-for-10 in their respective careers against Erlin, although the left-hander has handcuffed Pence (1-for-9).
