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SAN DIEGO (AP) — Manuel Margot made sure the woeful San Diego Padres finished the season on a positive note and the deflated Arizona Diamondbacks went into the offseason lamenting one more game that got away.Margot scored on a dropped third strike in the 10th inning Kris Bryant Jersey , two innings after he was erased at the plate by being too aggressive, and the Padres beat the Diamondbacks 4-3 on Sunday.“I had to score no matter what,” Margot said. “When I saw no one was at home, I went for it.”Thanks to Margot’s hustle, the last-place Padres (66-96) took two out of three in their last series of the season.“The first time they threw me out by quite a bit,” Margot said.The Diamondbacks, a playoff team last year who led the NL West on the first day of every month this season, ran out of steam to finish in third place, nine games behind the Los Angeles Dodgers and Colorado Rockies.Margot, who also homered and stole a base on a 3-for-5 afternoon, reached in the 10th on his career-high eighth triple. When Jake Barrett (0-1) struck out pinch-hitter Francisco Mejia and the ball got away from John Ryan Murphy, Margot raced home on Murphy’s throw to first baseman Daniel Descalso. The relay back to home was tardy after Descalso hesitated http://www.chicagocubsteamshop.com/authentic-addison-russell-jersey , unsure where he should aim his toss.“It was kind of a weird play and I should have just thrown it,” Descalso said. “I was thinking the whole time, ‘Get it back to Murph,’ and then I realized Barrett was there and I double-clutched and it was too late.”Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said Margot took advantage of the miscue.“It looked like (Descalso) didn’t think anyone was at home plate,” he said. “Give credit to Manuel. He made a very athletic play.”The Padres are hopeful Margot is a key piece in their rebuilding effort. His numbers fell off from his rookie year but he provided a glimpse of what he can do in the season finale.“It was a great day for him and hopefully it fires him up going into the offseason,” Padres manager Andy Green said. “He has a chance to be right in the middle of what we’re doing here.”Arizona went ahead 3-2 in the ninth on a sacrifice fly from Socrates Brito, but the Padres tied it 3-3 on Eric Hosmer’s bloop single to left. Jose Castillo (3-3) pitched the 10th for the win.Arizona went 8-19 in September to finish 82-80, salvaging a winning record for the second consecutive year.“I think that is something,” Lovullo said earlier in the series. “When it’s all said and done after the month that we had, it is really positive and a good way to finish.”The Padres, who spent all but four days in the NL West basement, again look ahead to better days. It was their eighth straight losing season and their third straight year with at least 91 losses.“From our standpoint http://www.chicagocubsteamshop.com/authentic-sammy-sosa-jersey , we expect to be a lot better,” Padres general manager A.J. Preller said before the game. “I don’t get too much into a number goal from a win standpoint. I think from out standpoint next year, we’re going to start to compete. You’ve got to get over .500 to do that. We’re going to come in next year and not try to put a ceiling on anything. We expect to be a lot better here moving forward and I think the guys in that room understand that and believe that as well.”Arizona starter Robbie Ray pitched four-plus innings, allowing two runs on five hits. He walked four and struck out eight.Joey Lucchesi was surrendered two runs and four hits over six innings. The rookie’s eight strikeouts were one off his career high.Steven Souza’s first career pinch-hit home run tied it 2-2 in the sixth.With Freddy Galvis, who played in all 162 games, and Wil Myers aboard on singles in the fifth, Brito dropped to one knee while trying to find the ball in the sun in right field. Instead it landed beside him, with Galvis scoring for a 2-1 Padres advantage.Margot homered in the second, and the Diamondbacks pulled even when Marte connected in the fourth.UP NEXTDiamondbacks: Open next season in Los Angeles against the Dodgers.Padres: Host the San Francisco Giants on March 28, 2019. LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Dodgers are in full roar now, gaining much-needed momentum against a pair of playoff contenders to wrest away the top spot in the National League West.Now comes a matchup against a club long eliminated from the playoff chase. These have not always gone well for the Dodgers recently.The Dodgers took three days this week to turn a half-game deficit in the division to a three-game lead and now welcome the San Diego Padres into Dodger Stadium for the final home series of the season.Article continues below ...The opener on Friday will match the Padres left-hander Eric Lauer (5-7, 4.74 ERA) against Dodgers lefty Rich Hill (9-5 Joe Maddon Jersey , 4.02).At first blush, a matchup against the last-place Padres would seem to bode well as the Dodgers look to nail down a sixth consecutive NL West title. But the Dodgers were just in Cincinnati on their most recent road trip needing victories against the last-place Reds and the task proved difficult.The Dodgers won just one of the three games at Cincinnati, leaving them an improbable 1-6 against the Reds this season. But they left the Queen City and took three of four from a Cardinals team on a second-half revival, then dispatched the previously first-place Rockies in a three-game sweep this week.“It’s a special group of people to have that focus for three weeks and beyond,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “I believe our guys can sustain it and it’s a credit to them and understanding that every pitch is important. We have nine games (remaining) and nothing is sealed yet. It’s a good thing that we are playing our best baseball right now.”The Padres will enter this weekend series coming off a victory Wednesday against the San Francisco Giants, but have won just two times in their past six games.If the Dodgers need a viable strategy, it might be to score early and often. The Padres’ bullpen has a 2.39 ERA over its last 10 games going back to Sept. 8, with a WHIP that is a shade under 1.00.Padres hitters also drew 26 walks over their just-completed six-game homestand, a signal to Dodgers starters that pitch counts could climb this weekend. It also is a signal to the Dodgers’ bullpen that usage could be high in the upcoming three games.There are enough Padres positives to show that the Dodgers should not expect an easy time. Add to that a number of highly regarded prospects not only on the September roster, but seeing action, and the Padres could be an energetic group playing like it has nothing to lose.Veteran infielder Freddy Galvis knows kids like Javy Guerra and Luis Urias are going to see playing time in the electric playoff-like atmosphere of Dodger Stadium.“I understand, especially at this time of the year in September http://www.chicagocubsteamshop.com/authentic-willson-contreras-jersey ,” Galvis said, according to MLB.com. “They’re calling up prospects, and they want to see them. I understand the situation. But I’ll just keep helping the team however I can.”Lauer is one of three Padres rookies who will start in the series. He has won both of his starts against the Dodgers this year, doing it in dominating fashion with a 0.61 ERA over 14 1/3 innings. The Padres even moved Lauer into this spot, giving him an extra day of rest, to see if is up to the task against the Dodgers yet again.Hill also has two starts against the Padres this year, going 1-1 with a 2.77 ERA over 13 innings. He is 5-4 lifetime against San Diego with a 3.09 ERA over 10 starts.