The Padres were the first team to take down the Cubs in a series. They finished a win shy of their best two-city road trip since June 2010, per Union-Tribune beat writer Dennis Lin. They’re climbing in both the wild card stands and in the NL West, where the Diamondbacks’ five-game skid has dropped them a half-game below the Padres. At the top of the division, the Padres (17-22) are three games behind the third-place Rockies and within five games of the lead, largely because the NL West is the weakest division in the game. For now … because the Giants have won five in a row heading into their three-game set at Petco Park, the first of 12 straight games against NL West for the Padres.
MLB power rankings: The NL Meh-st
