SAN DIEGO (AP) — Manny Machado drove in three runs against Justin Verlander and the San Diego Padres beat the San Francisco Giants 8-4 on Thursday in a sloppy game.
The Padres took three of four from the Giants and have won three straight going into a second straight weekend showdown against the defending World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers. Los Angeles swept the Padres last weekend at Dodger Stadium and comes in with a one-game lead in the NL West.
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San Diego Padres' Manny Machado, front right, steals third base ahead of a tag by San Francisco Giants third baseman Casey Schmitt, left, during the fifth inning of a baseball game Thursday, Aug. 21, 2025, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Orlando Ramirez)
San Diego Padres' Fernando Tatis Jr. is congratulated in the dugout after scoring on a single by Manny Machado during the fourth inning of a baseball game against the San Francisco Giants, Thursday, Aug. 21, 2025, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Orlando Ramirez)
San Diego Padres' Manny Machado hits a two-RBI double during the fifth inning of a baseball game against the San Francisco Giants, Thursday, Aug. 21, 2025, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Orlando Ramirez)
San Francisco Giants relief pitcher Joel Peguero works against a San Diego Padres batter during the seventh inning of a baseball game Thursday, Aug. 21, 2025, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Orlando Ramirez)
San Francisco's Rafael Devers hit a 435-foot home run off Dylan Cease (6-11) leading off the sixth and Willy Adames followed with a 400-footer, also to right-center.
The Giants took a 2-0 lead after the Padres misplayed three straight balls to open the third, the first two by right fielder Fernando Tatis Jr.
Tatis called for Luis Matos' flyball as he and center fielder Ramón Laureano converged, but he pulled up and it fell in for a triple. Tatis, who made a spectacular leaping catch to rob Devers of a homer on Wednesday night, then misjudged Andrew Knizner's fly ball that fell in for an RBI double. Jung Hoo Lee reached on second baseman Jake Cronenworth's fielding error and Knizner scored on a double play.
San Diego tied it in the fourth on Machado's RBI single and Xander Bogaerts' sacrifice fly. The Padres scored six in the fifth, the first two coming when the Giants committed two errors on Freddy Fermin's bunt single. Machado's two-run double chased Verlander (1-10) and Bogaerts and Laureano each had an RBI base hit.
Cease allowed four runs and six hits in five innings, struck out seven and walked two.
Verlander allowed seven runs and seven hits in 4 1/3 innings.
Machado's two-run double gave the Padres a comfortable lead.
It was Machado's 104th career game of three or more RBIs.
Giants LHP Carson Whisenhunt (1-1, 5.02 ERA) starts Friday night at Milwaukee. Padres RHP Yu Darvish (2-3, 5.97) starts Friday night against the Dodgers.
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San Diego Padres' Manny Machado, front right, steals third base ahead of a tag by San Francisco Giants third baseman Casey Schmitt, left, during the fifth inning of a baseball game Thursday, Aug. 21, 2025, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Orlando Ramirez)
San Diego Padres' Fernando Tatis Jr. is congratulated in the dugout after scoring on a single by Manny Machado during the fourth inning of a baseball game against the San Francisco Giants, Thursday, Aug. 21, 2025, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Orlando Ramirez)
San Diego Padres' Manny Machado hits a two-RBI double during the fifth inning of a baseball game against the San Francisco Giants, Thursday, Aug. 21, 2025, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Orlando Ramirez)
San Francisco Giants relief pitcher Joel Peguero works against a San Diego Padres batter during the seventh inning of a baseball game Thursday, Aug. 21, 2025, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Orlando Ramirez)
The New York Giants hired John Harbaugh as coach on Saturday, a person with knowledge of the situation told The Associated Press.
The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the move had not been announced. The sides began working on a contract Wednesday night when it became clear that Harbaugh was the right fit.
Harbaugh joins the Giants 11 days after he was fired by the Baltimore Ravens, who made the playoffs 12 times with him in charge and won the Super Bowl in the 2012 season. They fell short of the postseason this year because of a missed kick at the buzzer in Week 18, leading ownership to make an change and put Harbaugh on the market.
General manager Joe Schoen and the Giants pounced, bringing on a proven winner with significant NFL head-coaching experience. Harbaugh was flown in on co-owner Steve Tisch’s private plane earlier this week, spent several hours at the team facility in East Rutherford, New Jersey, spoke with young quarterback Jaxson Dart and got wined and dined at nearby Elia Mediterranean Restaurant.
With the courting process complete, Harbaugh is now tasked with turning around the beleaguered franchise that has made just two playoff appearances over the past 12 years and not made it past the divisional round. Todd Monken could follow him from Baltimore to be offensive coordinator, unless he takes a head-coaching gig in Cleveland or elsewhere.
Harbaugh got the job over the likes of Kevin Stefanski, Mike McCarthy, Raheem Morris and Antonio Pierce, leapfrogging some of expected front-runners who got shuffled back as soon as the 63-year-old became available. The chance to work for stable ownership and Dart made New York an attractive landing spot over other places such as Tennessee, Atlanta and Miami.
The Giants have talented pieces in place on either side of the ball, including running back Cam Skattebo, receiver Malik Nabers and left tackle Andrew Thomas on offense, plus pass rushers Brian Burns and Abdul Carter and nose tackle Dexter Lawrence on defense. They have the fifth pick in the draft to add to that stockpile.
Changing the culture of losing that has pervaded the Meadowlands for the better part of the last decade is now on Harbaugh’s shoulders. Counting playoff games, the seven coaches who followed 2007 and ’11 Super Bowl champion Tom Coughlin have gone 45-105-1, a winning percentage of .300.
Harbaugh is 193-124 in 317 games in the league, a .609 winning percentage, since taking over the Ravens in 2008. He spent the previous 10 seasons as an assistant with Philadelphia, mostly as special teams coordinator and then defensive backs coach.
Schoen, after finding out from Tisch and co-owner John Mara that he was returning for a fifth year as GM, said the search would not be limited to just offensive- or defensive-minded options. While Harbaugh comes from a special teams background, he provides the kind of all-around coaching Schoen was believed to be looking for, along with a championship pedigree and a reputation that should garner him immediate respect within the locker room.
This is Schoen’s second hire after bringing Brian Daboll with him from Buffalo, where both were assistants with the Bills, in January 2022. Ownership fired Daboll on Nov. 10 after the Giants lost eight of the first 10 games in his fourth season as coach.
Mike Kafka coached out the string as the interim replacement after being promoted from offensive coordinator, and the team lost five in a row before winning its final two games to finish with a 4-13 record. Kafka interviewed but was never a serious candidate for the full-time job.
Almost no one was compared with Harbaugh, giving the Giants an off-field win that might be their biggest of any kind in several years.
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FILE - Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh looks on from the sideline during the second half of an NFL football game against the New England Patriots, Sunday, Dec. 21, 2025, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Terrance Williams, File)
FILE -Baltimore Ravens owner Stephen J. Bisciotti, right, holds up the Vince Lombardi Trophy as he and head coach John Harbaugh celebrate the team's 34-31win against the San Francisco 49ers in the NFL Super Bowl XLVII football game, Sunday, Feb. 3, 2013, in New Orleans. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum, File)
FILE - Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh speaks during a press conference after an NFL football game against the Cincinnati Bengals, Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File)
Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh speaks during a news conference after an NFL football game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Justin Berl)
