Pride on line when Padres, Giants meet

SAN FRANCISCO -- Two teams playing out the string of losing seasons will open a three-game series Monday night when the San Diego Padres visit the San Francisco Giants.

Padres right-hander Bryan Mitchell (1-4, 6.16) and Giants lefty Derek Holland (7-8, 3.57) each will face the same opponent as in his last start, although they did not go head-to-head last week in San Diego.

The Giants got home runs from Brandon Crawford and Evan Longoria off Mitchell in a 4-2 win at San Diego last Monday.

The 27-year-old went five innings, allowing four runs and nine hits, in falling to 0-2 with a 7.88 ERA in two career starts against San Francisco.

Holland pitched last Tuesday's 5-4 victory in San Diego, but he didn't stick around long enough to get the win. He was pulled after giving up all four Padres runs in five innings, with one of his five hits allowed being a home run by Franmil Reyes.

The 31-year-old has a 1-1 lifetime record and 6.39 ERA against the Padres in five starts.

The Giants (72-84), losers of four straight, have clinched fourth place in the National League West, while the Padres (62-94), who have dropped two in a row, are assured of finishing last.

They were flip-flopped at the end of last season, when the Padres won 71 games and the Giants just 64.

Both teams are coming off series where they had a chance to play spoiler, and the Padres did a better job of it.

They got home runs from Hunter Renfroe and Freddy Galvis in a 5-3 win over the NL West's top team, the Los Angeles Dodgers, on Friday night, before getting rolled 7-2 and 14-0 in rematches over the weekend.

Eric Lauer, who pitched the win over the Dodgers, is scheduled to oppose the Giants' Madison Bumgarner in the series finale Wednesday.

The Padres have lost 10 of 16 against the Giants this season, but not because of Renfroe. He's recorded two doubles, three home runs and seven RBIs against San Francisco despite having started just nine of the games.

The Giants flew home Sunday night after having lost three straight to the St. Louis Cardinals, who needed the wins in their pursuit of an NL wild-card spot. Crawford hit a two-run homer to account for all the San Francisco scoring in a 9-2 loss Sunday in the series finale.

Crawford has been a key to the Giants' success against the Padres this season, going 19-for-53 (.358) with two doubles, two triples, a home run and eight RBIs in 13 starts.

The otherwise meaningless series pits two young players who so far have made the most of their September opportunities.

The Padres' Reyes, a 23-year-old outfielder who made his major-league debut in May, has gone 22-for-63 (.349) in September with three homers and 10 RBIs.

The Giants, meanwhile, have gotten surprising production from 25-year-old backup catcher Aramis Garcia, who made his debut on Aug. 31. He's gone 12-for-34 (.353) with two homers and five RBIs this month.