Through three innings, the Giants positioned themselves to at least salvage a series split. Verlander retired the first nine batters he faced, and rare shoddy defense from right fielder Fernando Tatis Jr. paved the way for San Francisco to take a 2-0 lead.

A disastrous fifth inning doomed the Giants in San Francisco's 8-4 loss to the San Diego Padres on Thursday afternoon at Petco Park.

A good sign for the Padres beyond their 8-4 victory Thursday was how manager Mike Shildt used his bullpen with his team up four runs against a subpar Giants offense. Shildt deployed only high-leverage arms over the final four innings. This was a public show of good late-season health among four key pitchers.

San Diego Padres right fielder Fernando Tatis Jr. made a sensational leaping catch to rob San Francisco’s Rafael Devers of a home run.

The San Diego Padres (71-56) and San Francisco Giants (61-66) will meet on Thursday at PETCO Park, with first pitch at 4:10 p.m. ET. The Padres are the home favorite (-139) versus the Giants (+118). The Padres will start Dylan Cease (5-11) against the Giants and Justin Verlander (1-9).

Roupp, 26, was making his 22nd start of the season, and his second since returning from a three-week stint on the IL.

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The San Francisco Giants got their daunting road trip off to a strong start with a 4-3 win against the San Diego Padres on Monday at Petco Park.