SAN DIEGO (Interstat) — Jackson Merrill hit a two-run homer and Jake Cronenworth delivered a two-run single as the San Diego Padres held off the San Francisco Giants 5-4 on Sunday afternoon at PETCO Park.

The Padres seized control with a four-run second inning. Ty France singled to left field to start the rally, and Merrill followed by driving a 16th home run of the season to center field, scoring France ahead of him. Luis Campusano struck out for the first out, but Gavin Sheets and Xander Bogaerts drew consecutive walks. Sung-Mun Song was then called out on strikes for the second out. Luis Rengifo walked to load the bases, and Cronenworth grounded a single through the right side that scored Sheets and Bogaerts, giving San Diego a 4-0 lead.

San Francisco began its comeback in the fourth. Bryce Eldridge singled to center, and Heliot Ramos flied out. Rafael Devers walked, and Jung Hoo Lee was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Willy Adames singled to left, plating Eldridge and leaving the bases loaded. Cavanaugh grounded out to shortstop, allowing Devers to score and making it 4-2. Drew Gilbert lined out to end the inning.

The Giants trimmed the lead again in the fifth. Osleivis Basabe led off with a home run to center field, his second of the year, cutting the deficit to 4-3. Luis Arraez flied out, and Bryce Eldridge grounded out. Heliot Ramos singled to center, but Rafael Devers flied out to left, leaving Ramos stranded.

San Diego answered in the bottom of the fifth. Jake Cronenworth grounded out, and Manny Machado lined out. Ty France singled to left, and Merrill walked. Luis Campusano then grounded a single through the left side that was deflected by shortstop Willy Adames, allowing France to score and sending Merrill to second. Gavin Sheets singled to third base, loading the bases, but Xander Bogaerts grounded out to end the inning with the Padres ahead 5-3.

The Giants mounted a late challenge in the eighth. Bryce Eldridge and Heliot Ramos both struck out, but Devers powered a 23rd home run of the season to left field, pulling San Francisco within 5-4. Jung Hoo Lee followed with a double to left, and he advanced to third when left fielder Luis Rengifo committed a throwing error. Willy Adames struck out swinging to end the threat.

Adrian Morejon closed the game with a scoreless ninth for his second save. Christian Koss struck out, Daniel Susac struck out, and Osleivis Basabe was hit by a pitch before Luis Arraez flied out to center to finish the game.

Kyle Hart, the Padres’ top performer, started and allowed one hit over three scoreless innings, striking out two. Griffin Canning (3-9) earned the win with two innings of two-hit relief, surrendering one earned run. Jeremiah Estrada pitched a perfect inning with one strikeout, and Morejon finished with 1.1 hitless innings and three strikeouts.

Landen Roupp (7-10) took the loss for San Francisco, charged with four runs in the second inning. The Giants’ bullpen kept the game close: Sam Hentges allowed one hit over 1.1 scoreless innings with two strikeouts, JT Brubaker recorded two outs without allowing a run, Dylan Smith struck out one in a scoreless inning, and Erik Miller got one out.

San Francisco finished with seven hits, while San Diego collected eight. Osleivis Basabe went 1 for 3 with a home run and an RBI for the Giants. Merrill went 2 for 3 with a homer and two RBIs for the Padres.

The attendance was 43,856 and the game lasted 2:59. The Padres improved to 58-54, while the Giants dropped to 47-65. San Diego won its third consecutive matchup against San Francisco, following victories on Saturday and Friday at PETCO Park. The Giants have lost two straight in the series and continue a road trip that began with the three-game set in San Diego.

The Padres had a chance to add insurance in the seventh when Merrill singled to center with two outs, but Campusano popped out. The Giants also saw a potential rally in the seventh end on a double play. Drew Gilbert walked to lead off the inning, but Basabe struck out, and Luis Arraez grounded into a double play to shortstop.

The game included a replay review in the sixth inning when Drew Cavanaugh challenged a pitch result on Sung-Mun Song. The call was overturned, and Song was called out on strikes. Rengifo was caught stealing in the first inning after leading off with a single, but the Padres still managed to break through in the second.

San Diego next opens a four-game series at Arizona on Monday, while San Francisco travels to Texas for the first of three games against the Rangers on Monday night.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of San Diego 6, San Francisco 5. Interstat’s ELO system gave San Diego a 59.40 percent probability of winning. The Padres were installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of minus 1.5. The total score of 9 went over the over/under line of 8.