San Diego Padres (39-31, third in the NL West) vs. Los Angeles Dodgers (43-29, first in the NL West) Los Angeles; Monday, 10:10 p.m. EDT PITCHING PROBABLES: Padres: Dylan Cease (2-5, 4.28 ERA, 1.29 WHIP,

Merrill injured, Suarez blows big lead on a tough night for Padres (Jesse Friedman, MLB.com) Tatis reaches base 3 times to end cold spell in Padres’ loss to D-backs (Jesse Friedman, MLB.com)

The San Diego Padres are in the market for a left fielder, and could pursue former free agency target Austin Hays before the trade deadline. Hays has split time

The San Diego Padres are placing outfielder Jackson Merrill on the injured list, following a tough blow he took in a game Saturday.

The Padres offense finally figured out how to hit with runners in scoring position, building a 7-3 lead over the Diamondbacks, only to watch Robert Suarez, their All-Star closer, blow it in a head-scratching 8-7 loss that handed Arizona the series win and San Diego a third straight loss.

The San Diego Padres have a strong team, yet there is one glaring roster hole that needs an upgrade if San Diego wants to win the National League West.

Fernando Tatís and Manny Machado each drove in two runs in the 7th inning that gave the San Diego Padres the lead against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

The San Diego Padres joined Major League Baseball as an expansion franchise in 1969. There was an expansion draft to select players from other organizations, but teams could protect 40 players — the equivalent of their entire MLB roster plus 15 prospects — and only the National League was involved.