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The Padres won the series opener over the Giants to extend its winning streak to three games, while San Francisco extended its losing streak to three games. San Diego is now 12-3 over the last 15 games and heating up the NL West standings at 1.

We’re graduating from our usual MLB power rankings and moving to weekly contender rankings, turning the focus to the teams worth paying attention to down the stretch.

The whirlwind of activity at the trade deadline plus the three series since then have given us increased clarity on how teams view themselves and how they stack up against one another. Of course, that doesn’t make the rest of the regular season any more predictable — last year’s Tigers offer a humbling reminder that there are surely more twists