The Padres made a brief stop into the den of their fiercest rivals, taking the fight right to the Giants in the first game only to have it taken out of them in the second, splitting this short two-game series in the bay.

Mat Latos, Public Enemy #1 in the 415 area code, was unfazed by the loud jeers and boos as he again dominated San Francisco, exiting with a two-run lead despite only striking out two batters. The Padres bullpen could not hold the lead, allowing the Giants to tie the game before The Friars retook the lead in the ninth.

Tim Lincecum was equally impressive in the second game, striking out seven despite pitching behind in the count for most of the night.

The Padres will travel down to Arizona to start a three game series Friday night. Below is the recap of both games versus their rivals in the city by the bay.

August 23^rd, 2011 Padres 7, Giants 5

WP Erik Hamren (1-0) 0.1IP 0H 0R 0ER 0BB 0K 0HR

LP Ramon Ramirez (2-2) 1IP 3H 2R 2ER 1BB 0K 0HR

S Heath Bell (35) 1IP 0H 0R 0ER 0BB 2K 0HR

The Padres jumped all over Mat Cain and the Giants early spotting a four run lead for their ace, Mat Latos. But the bullpen blew another lead, allowing the Giants to tie the game before the Friars retook the lead in the ninth, winning 7-5.

Latos dominated the Giants lineup, having not allowed a hit until Chris Stewart singled to start the fifth. Latos allowed only two runs on three hits in six innings. Both runs came in when Jesus Guzman sailed the ball past up the third base line on a play at the plate with Pablo Sandoval. The error allowed Aubrey Huff to come home also after advancing to third on the initial play, cutting the lead in half, 4-2.

The Padres got their first run on an RBI single by Jesus Guzman, scoring Bartlett from second base after the Padres shortstop collected his 18^th double of the season.

Kyle Blanks two-run homer (6) in the second with Orlando Hudson on base pushed the score to 3-0.

Will Venable then doubled (12) and advanced to third on a groundout before Cameron Maybin singled to left, allowing Venable to score the Padres fourth run.

After Guzman’s error, Hudson scored from third on a throwing error by Jeff Keppinger. O-Dog initially singled and then advanced all the way to third when Giants catcher Chris Stewart airmailed the ball into centerfield when Hudson stole second base (17).

After Chad Qualls pitched a scoreless seventh, Josh Spence took the mound at the start of the eighth inning. He coaxed a fly out from Huff before Brandon Belt single, prompting Buddy Black to bring in Luke Gregerson. Cody Ross then doubled (20) over the head of Cameron Maybin in center field, scoring Belt from first. Aaron Rowand then reached on a fielding error by Logan Forsythe, putting runners at the corners. Gregerson then gave up back-to-back run-scoring singles by Hector Sanchez and Orlando Cabrera to tie the game. Joe Thatcher came in and got Carlos Beltran to pop out. Erik Hamren replaced the lefty and got a lineout by Miguel Tejada, preventing the Giants from taking the lead.

Nick Hundley led off the top of the ninth with his 10^th double of the season. After moving to third on a sacrifice bunt by Logan Forsythe, Hundley scored on a ground ball up the middle by Alberto Gonzalez, giving the Padres a one run lead. Ramon Ramirez then threw a wild pitch allowing Gonzalez to advance to second. Will Venable would then make Ramirez pay with a line drive to right field. Allowing Gonzalez to score and push the Padres lead to two runs.

Heath Bell then came in and pitched a perfect ninth, striking out the final two batters, to earn his 35^th save of the season.

August 24^th, 2011 Padres 4, Marlins 3

WP Tim Lincecum (12-10) 8IP 4H 1R 1ER 5BB 7K 0HR

LP Tim Stauffer (8-10) 6IP 6H 2R 2ER 0BB 1K 1HR

S Santiago Casilla (1) 1IP 0R 0ER 0BB 2K 0HR

Tim Lincecum threw 125 pitches over eight innings, allowing only one run on four hits. .The Giants ace struck out seven and walked five Padres. Three of the walks came in the first inning after retiring the first two Padres. But Kyle Blanks lined out to Orlando Cabrera to end the threat. After that Lincecum cruised through the Padres lineup, not giving up a run until seventh.

Carlos Beltran broke a scoreless tie with a home run to right field to lead off the fourth inning. His sixteenth homerun of the season was his first as a Giant and gave the Giants their first lead of the series.

Brandon Belt led off the next inning with a stand-up triple (1) to right-centerfield. After a groundout by Chris Stewart, Lincecum helped his own cause with a seeing-eye single to right field, scoring Belt from third and giving the Giants a 2-0 advantage.

Cameron Maybin led off the seventh with a line-drive single to second baseman Jeff Keppinger. After Jesus Guzman popped out to second, Orlando Hudson hit a deep drive towards the right field line that got past a sliding Beltran, scoring Maybin from first with a RBI triple (3). The Padres were unable to score Hudson as Lincecum got Kyle Blanks to pop up before he struck out Nick Hundley to end the inning.

Santiago Casilla recorded his first save of the season, retiring all three batters he faced, striking out two Friars to end the game.