Giants visit Padres for critical three-game series

One team feeling the heat of a challenger and another feeling the chill of a looming fall vacation go head-to-head Tuesday night when the San Francisco Giants and host San Diego Padres open a critical three-game series.

The Giants (97-53) have lost three of their last five and have seen their lead in the National League West shrink to one game over the second-place Los Angeles Dodgers (96-54).

Two of those losses came i