SAN DIEGO (Interstat) — The San Diego Padres host the San Francisco Giants on Thursday night at PETCO Park, opening a pivotal four-game series between National League West rivals. San Diego (55-53) enters the game looking to strengthen its wild-card standing, while San Francisco (46-62) aims to build on a 16-3 rout of Milwaukee on Wednesday, its most lopsided win of the season. Players to watch Giants catcher Daniel Susac has shown considerable power at the plate recently. In Wednesday’s victory over the Brewers, Susac went 2-for-4 with two home runs and four RBIs. Over his last seven games, however, he is batting .154 (4-for-26) with three RBIs and 12 strikeouts. His performance has been inconsistent — he has registered hits in only two of his last seven appearances. Padres right-hander Griffin Canning has been effective in relief. On Wednesday against Colorado, Canning threw three scoreless innings, allowing one hit and striking out four. In his last five appearances, he has a 4.91 ERA across 18 innings, with 21 strikeouts and seven walks. Canning surrendered four earned runs in each of his two prior outings before Wednesday’s clean performance. Series history San Diego has won four of the last six meetings between the teams in 2026. The Padres took two of three at San Francisco from May 4-6, outscoring the Giants 17-9 in that series. At PETCO Park in late March, the Giants won two of three, including a 9-3 victory March 31. Betting line San Diego is a -1.5 run-line favorite, according to Interstat’s game simulator, which projects a 5-4 Padres victory. The over/under is 8.5 total runs. Recent results San Francisco (16-3 win over Milwaukee on Wednesday) has won two of its last three games after dropping eight of its previous 10. Heliot Ramos contributed four hits and three RBIs in the win, while Logan Webb pitched six innings, allowing two earned runs. San Diego (3-1 win over Colorado on Wednesday) has won four of its last five games. Mason Miller earned the save Wednesday with a scoreless inning, striking out two. Upcoming schedule Following Thursday’s game, the teams play three more at PETCO Park through Sunday. The Giants then travel to Texas for three games against the Rangers, while the Padres visit Arizona for four games.