San Francisco Giants at San Diego Padres

Might be time to stop asking if the Padres will be buyers ahead of Monday’s Trade Deadline -- and time to start asking what, exactly, they’ll be buying. And when. San Diego won its sixth game out of seven on Friday night -- a 7-0 demolition of the Giants. Here’s some instant reaction from Petco Park, as the Padres’ offense continued to mash and their bullpen combined on a two-hit shutout: **Contender status confirmed** Three weeks ago, the Padres lost their series opener against the Blue Jays and dropped 5 1/2 games back of the final Wild Card spot. They sat in 11th place in the National League, with five teams they would need to jump to put themselves into the playoff picture. Buying at the Deadline seemed an unlikely outcome -- even if that’s clearly the preference of general manager A.J. Preller. For the Padres to be buyers, they were going to need to play a whole lot better. Lately, they have. With Friday’s victory, the Padres now trail the Phillies by one game for the final Wild Card spot. They’ve already jumped every other team on the outside of the playoff picture.