SAN DIEGO - And this was supposed to be the easiest of the three stops.
The well-rested Giants, owners of the majors’ best record, got to face the team they bully the most following the four-day All-Star break.
Their best three starting pitchers were on the mound, to boot.
The Padres didn’t roll over this time and greeted their friends from the north with a sweep - capped by Sunday’s unexpected 5-3 outcome -- their first over the Giants since September 2014.
The Giants’ next stops on the three-city tour are Boston and New York, a week’s worth of interleague games at a couple of jewels, Fenway Park and Yankee Stadium.