Los Angeles @ San Diego preview

Last Meeting ( Jun 13, 2015 ) LA Dodgers 1, San Diego 2

The San Diego Padres on Sunday should be loaded with confidence when they host the Los Angeles Dodgers in the rubber match of their three-game series. San Diego on Saturday defeated Zack Greinke for the first time and dropped him to 22-3 lifetime versus the National League West when Justin Upton delivered a solo home run in the eighth inning to snap a tie, moving the Padres to within five games of first-place Los Angeles in the division.

Upton continues to shine at Petco Park in his first season with San Diego, hitting .345 with 10 home runs and 24 RBIs in 32 games. The Padres on Sunday try to win a series from Los Angeles for the first time this season (0-3) and snap a four-series losing streak to the Dodgers. Los Angeles had its four-game winning streak snapped but continues to get solid production from Yasiel Puig, who is 12-for-23 in six games since returning from a hamstring injury after going 2-for-4 on Saturday. San Diego's James Shields is the only starter in the majors with 10 or more outings without a loss and opposes Mike Bolsinger, who retired the last 23 Padres he faced in their last meeting.

TV: 4:10 p.m. ET, SportsNet LA (Los Angeles), FSN San Diego

PITCHING MATCHUP: Dodgers RH Mike Bolsinger (4-1, 2.08) vs. Padres RH James Shields (7-0, 3.79)

Bolsinger yielded two runs and three hits while striking out eight in a 9-3 victory over Arizona on Monday in his first game against his former team. ''In Arizona, it had more to do with me,'' the 27-year-old, who was 1-6 with a 5.50 ERA in 10 games (nine starts) with the Diamondbacks in 2014, told reporters. ''I went out there with a bad mentality. I'd have a bad start and thought: 'If I pitched bad, I'm going to get sent down.' ... My mentality is so different than it was last year.'' Bolsinger is 1-1 with a 1.29 ERA in two starts against San Diego after allowing one hit — a lead-off single to Yangervis Solarte — in eight innings of a 2-0 victory over the Padres on May 23.

Shields received a no-decision after allowing five runs (four earned) and seven hits in 5 1/3 innings as San Diego blew a five-run lead in a 6-5 loss in Atlanta on Tuesday, snapping a string of five straight quality starts. "I didn't get the job done, basically," the 33-year-old California native told reporters. "I didn't get my job done (Tuesday). I've got to get better." Howie Kendrick (16-for-32, home run, two triples, four doubles) and Jimmy Rollins (7-for-14, homer, four RBIs) have fared exceptionally well versus Shields, who is 1-0 with a 4.05 ERA in three starts against Los Angeles after yielding three runs in seven frames of an 11-3 victory at Dodger Stadium on May 24.

WALK-OFFS

1. San Diego is 16-16 at home and 16-16 on the road.

2. Los Angeles OF Andre Ethier on Saturday went 0-for-3 to snap a seven-game hitting streak versus the Padres in which he was 10-for-23 with a home run, two doubles and four RBIs.

3. San Diego's Derek Norris has 39 RBIs — most by an NL catcher and tied for second with the New York Yankees' Brian McCann and one behind former teammate Stephen Vogt of Oakland.

PREDICTION: Padres 3, Dodgers 2