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The National League West isn’t known for its rivalries in the same manner as the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees feud.

However, San Francisco Giants pitcher Jonathan Sanchez is doing his best to change that.

After the Giants lost 6-3 to the Atlanta Braves Sunday that extended San Diego’s division lead to two games, Sanchez fired some heavy words in a tall statement.

“We’re going to play San Diego, and we’re going to beat them three times,” Sanchez told The San Francisco Chronicle, speaking of a potential sweep this weekend in a pivotal series against the Padres. “If we get to first place, we’re not going to look back.”

What about the fact the Padres have won seven out of eight games against the Giants this year?

“That was a long time ago,” Sanchez said. “Doesn’t matter. We’ve got a better team now.”

The prediction came on the same day Sanchez couldn’t pitch himself into the fifth inning, surrendering four runs in four innings against the Atlanta Braves.

Sanchez has pitched well against the Padres this season. In three starts and 21 innings of work, Sanchez has allowed six runs and 11 hits, but he hasn’t produced a win.

Mat Latos can be thanked for that.

Latos has out-dueled Sanchez in all three outings. In 22 innings against the Giants, Latos has surrendered just two runs and 11 hits.

Guess what?

Both pitchers were on the hill Sunday, which could result in another face-off this weekend in San Francisco.

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It’s surprising enough that the San Diego Padres are all alone atop the National League West at baseball’s midway point. Factor in the production and consider it without their presumed opening day ace, shortstop, and left fielder, and the feat is even more astounding.

At the All-Star break last year, the Padres were 20 games out of first place. Flash-forward to 2010 and the Padres have a two-game lead in the division.

The roster full of “no-names” has put together the NL’s second-best record (51-37), and they have done it with their pitching behind a league’s best earned run average (3.25).

After a superb spring training stint, Chris Young was all but slated to be the Padres ace this season. But a severe shoulder injury has kept him from throwing a single pitch this season, while also leaving the 6’10” righty’s career in limbo.

When it comes to labeling a starting pitcher who has rose to the occasion in wake of Young’s absence, one can nearly take their pick.

The 22-year-old Mat Latos has filled the biggest void.

Latos went from securing the fifth and final spot in the Friar rotation to wrap up spring training, to becoming the most efficient and effective starter during the first half of the season.

The power righty has carved his way to a 10-4 record, including an eighth-best ERA (2.45) and hearty numbers in WHIP (0.97), strikeouts (99), and a league-best opponent’s batting average for starting pitchers (.193) in 106 2/3 innings pitched.

For more evidence in favor of his first All-Star appearance, look no further than his last 12 outings: 9-1, 1.45 ERA.

Another staple in the Padres rotation is Clayton Richard, the focal point of the Jake Peavy deadline deal last season. Peavy has been shut down for rest of the season due to a detached lat muscle, making the deal to acquire Richard and three other pitchers appear more and more like a favorable move.

Prior to the injury, Richard (6-4, 3.33 ERA, 90 strikeouts) had more than matched Peavy’s (7-6, 4.63 ERA, 93 strikeouts) output.

The other three pitchers in the deal; Aaron Poreda, Adam Russell, and Dexter Carter, still reside in the Padres farm system, with Russell being the only piece with the possibility of cracking the big leagues in the second half.

With how vital the Padres starting pitching has been this season, it is difficult to give higher accolades to any other department than the bullpen.

Trailing the Padres after six innings is the last position opposing teams prefer to be in.

There are a couple reasons Petco Park stops selling alcoholic beverages after the seventh inning. The first, of course, is to assure the safety of fans on their commute home. The other reason is because manager Bud Black has Luke Gregerson, Mike Adams, and Heath Bell for seventh-through-ninth-inning duties.

There have been countless instances when Black could easily stretch Gregerson or Adams out into two innings of work, but Black has kept each reliever to their inning, religiously, and to say it has worked could be the understatement of the season.

Gregerson, the seventh-inning specialist, set a Padres team record for most consecutive batters retired by a reliever (26) and most consecutive batters faced without a walk by a reliever (110). He also leads all Major League relievers with a 12.75 strikeout/walk ratio.

Gregerson sets the table for Adams in the eighth frame, who leads the majors in holds with 22. Right behind him in second is Gregerson with 19. Both are on pace to shatter the all-time record of 36, held by Scott Linebrink and Tom Gordon.

If you manage to get through Gregerson and Adams unscathed, it doesn’t get much easier at the end of the line, where Heath Bell looms.

Bell was awarded his second All-Star appearance in his second full season on the closing job. Bell ranks second in saves (24) and his 1.88 ERA and 11.74 strikeout-per-nine innings ratio are ideal closing numbers.

With the efficiency of the Padres starting staff, the bullpen hasn’t been overworked so far and might just allow the relievers to hold up through the rest of the season.

In an act the Friar Faithful haven’t seen in a few years, the Padres and first-year general manager Jed Hoyer will likely be buyers rather than sellers when the trade deadline nears.

One piece to the postseason puzzle could be another power source in the lineup.

Remember that Kyle Blanks guy?

He was the one penciled in cleanup position in the Opening Day lineup, anointed with the task of protecting Adrian Gonzalez, and it’s safe to say his first full Major League campaign didn’t go according to plan.

In 33 games Blanks hit .157 with three home runs and 46 strikeouts. He suffered a setback during a rehab assignment with Triple-A Portland in June. So far, surgery hasn’t been discussed, but there’s no indication of when he’ll be sent back out on a rehab assignment.

Many were scratching their heads at the offseason Kevin Kouzmanoff trade, Hoyer’s first big move as GM. But the two pieces acquired in that deal—Scott Hairston and Aaron Cunningham—along with the signing of Chris Denorfia, who also was in the Oakland A’s organization, have served admirably in the Padres outfield.

Also penciled in that Opening Day lineup was shortstop Everth Cabrera. Cabrera he has missed a combined 42 games over two DL stints due to a lingering hamstring injury. The ceiling remains high for Cabrera, who appears healthy, and he could be an integral part of the Padres playoff push.

Less than 48 hours after signing Scott Hairston, San Diego signed his brother Jerry Hairston Jr. to a one-year contract. Fresh off a World Series stint with the Yankees, Hairston, despite seeing most his action at shortstop with the Cabrera injury, has super-utility qualities that have proved invaluable to the Padres success.

Last, but certainly not least, the Friar Faithful can rest assured. With a club in pursuit of their first division crown since winning consecutive titles in 2005-06, Adrian Gonzalez is not going anywhere.

Major League teams would be lined up all the way to Coronado to have a chance at owning a player of Gonzalez’s caliber.

Yet, as long as the Padres keep winning games, behind timely hitting and solid pitching, the three-time All-Star and two-time gold glove winner, not to mention San Diego and Tijuana native, is staying put in a Padres uniform. For now, that is.

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It’s the same conversation, just a different year.

Every season, virtually every Major League roster has players deserving of All-Star selections that get left on their sofas for the weekend.

This year, the Padres pitching staff may be the most distinguished of the All-Star snubs.

The Padres have the best record (49-34) in the National League and boast the best team ERA (3.05) in the NL by a long shot (St. Louis is next at 3.28), yet couldn’t command enough respect to land a pitcher on the roster.

The Padres have as many All-Stars as the Pittsburgh Pirates, the worst team in the NL at 30-52.

Their one All-Star this year is Adrian Gonzalez, certainly deserving of his third invite as a reserve. He’s batting .291 with 16 home runs and 51 RBI.

Gonzalez was one of eight reserves selected by the players, coaches, and managers.

“It means a lot more than any other way to get in,” Gonzalez said. “They’re the ones that pay attention and really see what you can do on the field.”

Commissioner Bud Selig has vastly improved the dynamics since the infamous tie game in 2002 in Milwaukee. Selig gave the midsummer classic a facelift and decided the game would determine home-field advantage in the World Series—rather than the previous alternative of merely rotating home fields on a yearly basis.

An outdated component of the player selection process is the rule that each team has to have at least one representative on its league’s roster. In a game that is supposed to spotlight MLB’s best players, some superior players are left off the roster in favor of less deserving players from weaker teams.

This argument is strengthened by the greater urgency of winning the game, due to the home field advantage in the World Series at stake.

Players that are producing better first halves statistically, and helping propel their team to the top of their divisions, are not being commended for their efforts. With the All-Star game now in its eighth year of “meaning something”—it’s time to dismiss the one-player-per-team rule.

The 33-man rosters for each team are selected through the following process: Baseball fans vote on the starting position players (eight). The players, coaches, and managers vote 16 players; eight pitchers (five starters and three relievers) and one back-up player for each position. The manager selects nine players, followed by a final vote by the fans (via Internet) chosen from a list of five players.

It no surprise that the fans didn’t vote in a player from the often overlooked Padres roster.

But the fact that Phillies manager Charlie Manuel and other MLB players didn’t feel the need to include Heath Bell (MLB-best 23 saves, 1.77 ERA) or Mat Latos (9-4, 2.77 ERA) is an insult to the Friars.

“To be frank it’s kind of ridiculous I think,” Tony Gwynn Jr. said. “Every year somebody is going to get snubbed, and it doesn’t help that we’re on the West Coast where people don’t get to see our guys throw as much.

“Heath shouldn’t be having to get in on a fan vote, but that’s the way it works and hopefully we can get the fans behind him and get two guys in.”

The 22-year-old Latos (99.2 IP, 70 H, 91 Ks, 0.96 WHIP) yields the lowest opponents batting average (.193) among all starting pitchers, and most importantly, has been the most reliable pitcher on the team with league’s best record.

One could even make a case for Clayton Richard (6-4, 3.00 ERA), along with Mike Adams (2.25 ERA, MLB-best 21 holds) and Luke Gregerson (2.23 ERA, MLB-second best 19 holds).

The most deserving Friar flawed by the inept selection process is closer Heath Bell.

Yet, he isn’t shocked that Manuel left him off the NL roster.

“For the pitching staff I know there’s a lot of good National League pitchers out there,” Bell said. “From starters to relievers—he has to make hard decisions.”

Last year, when San Diego was in the cellar of the NL for the first half of the season, they received two All-Star selections: Gonzalez and Bell.

Bell (4-0) has struck out 49 in 36.2 innings, leads the league in saves, and already has two saves and a victory in the month of July, but does not have an invite to Anaheim July 13.

Unless, that is, Bell gets selected with the final vote for the last roster spot in the NL.

“At least I still have a chance,” Bell said. “It’s unfortunate that Luke (Gregerson) doesn’t have a chance anymore, or (Mat) Latos, because they’re well-deserving too.”

Bell is a candidate along with Carlos Gonzalez (Rockies), Joey Votto (Reds), Billy Wagner (Braves), and Ryan Zimmerman (Nationals).

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It sounds like they could be some sort of traveling act, and they may be coming to a town near you.

Simply put, Padres pitchers Clayton Richard or Wade LeBlanc could pickoff a ghost runner.

When either of the two lefties allow hitters to reach base, runners go from being in a secondary lead and back to the dugout within seconds.

No need to ask Florida Marlins outfielder Chris Coghlan who probably has the best pickoff move in baseball.  Richard picked off Coghlan in the Padres 3-0 win over the Marlins Friday night. 

It was Richard’s sixth pickoff of the season, which puts him with LeBlanc for best in the majors.

In fact, the Padres lead the majors with 13 pickoffs so far this season.  It doesn’t take a mathematician to solve there being just one other pickoff that wasn’t Leblanc’s or Richards.

Leblanc actually picked off five baserunners in his first three starts.

Pickoff moves go as unnoticed in box scores and game recaps as they do to the leaning baserunners.

A pickoff move limits a runners ability to get a good lead and steal bases.  Good leads and stolen bases lead to more runs, more runs lead to more wins; you get the idea. 

Unless you were tuned in, it is difficult to notice how big of a role Richard’s pickoff played Friday.

Throughout Richard’s six shutout innings, several Marlins baserunners were heading back to first base as Richard delivered a pitch to home plate. 

Catcher Ronny Paulino had a two-foot lead at best at times. 

Before picking him off, Richard issued a leadoff walk to Coghlan in the third inning and then walked Gaby Sanchez.  Hanley Ramirez then lined a single to left field that likely would have scored Coghlan for the 1-0 lead.

The 13 pickoffs are ninth place in Padres franchise history—and we’re at the end of June. 

The single-season record for pickoffs in a season is 16, held by Charlie Hough (1988), Charlie Leibrant and Terry Mulholland (1992) and Greg Smith (2008).

Of those four, only Hough, a knuckleballer, was right-handed.

The all-time record for pickoffs is a season belongs to the Braves, who had 39 in 1992

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Adrian Gonzalez homered and drove in three runs and Chase Headley put together a four-hit afternoon as San Diego beat the Philadelphia Phillies 6-5 on pinch-hitter Oscar Salazar’s two-out infield single in the 10th inning, part of a 16-hit outburst by the Padres.

Nick Hundley’s hot hitting continued, as he also homered for the Padres, who scored three times in the first inning against Joe Blanton.

Yet, as was the case in the first two games of the series, the Phillies answered right back and led 5-3 before the second inning was through, behind Ryan Howard’s 3 RBI to help chase starter Kevin Correia in the second inning.

The Padres clawed back in the fourth on Gonzalez’s two-out single and tied it at 5 on Hundley’s homer leading off the fifth.

Headley opened the 10th with a single off Danys Baez (2-2) and advanced to third on a sacrifice and a grounder to second. After an intentional walk to Tony Gwynn Jr., Salazar singled deep into the shortstop hole to put the Padres ahead 6-5.

Heath Bell got through a shaky 10th inning for his 15th save of the season. Bell issued a walk to Placido Polanco with one out, but was thrown out at third by Gwynn, in a potential game-saving play, trying to advance on a Chase Utley single. Howard also singled to put runners at the corners, but Jayson Werth struck out on a 97 mph fastball to end the game.

Whenever any game gets into the bullpen, the Padres have a distinct advantage, and they utilized that advantage on Sunday. Four Padres relievers delivered 8 1/3 scoreless innings.

After Correia left, trailing 5-3, Sean Gallagher delivered 3 1/3 scoreless innings, tying his longest outing of the season. After the Padres came back to tie it, Ryan Webb delivered two scoreless innings yielding just one hit.  Mike Adams followed with two more scoreless innings, and finally the Padres broke through.

Padres relievers lead the National League in ERA, strikeouts and have held opposing hitters to a league-low .207 batting average. After the seventh inning this season, the Padres have outscored the opposition 25-13, they are a league-best 6-3 in extra inning games and 8-4 in games decided in the last at-bat.

The much needed victory allows the Padres to avoid their first three-game losing streak of the season with and sets up a chance for a series split tomorrow with the Phillies on ESPN’s Monday Night Baseball.

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Not only is Mat Latos living up to high expectations, he is also quickly becoming the Padres’ most efficient and effective starting pitcher.

Latos outdueled Seattle Mariners ace Felix Hernandez, whose solid outing wasn’t enough to derail Latos and the Padres’ belated bats.

Latos (4-3) allowed a run and four hits over six innings while striking out six as the Padres beat the Seattle Mariners 8-1 on Sunday before a crowd of 33,315.

The 22-year-old Latos, with just 19 career starts under his belt, has won three of his last four starts and allowed a total of three earned runs over his last four starts, covering a 29-inning span.

He has also lasted at least six innings and allowed two runs or fewer in five consecutive starts. 

Hernandez (2-4) allowed just three runs, two earned, and seven hits in seven innings of work. He also struck out six.

Once Hernandez departed, trailing 3-1, things got ugly in a hurry.

Reliever Jesus Colome loaded the bases on two singles and a walk to start the eighth inning and then was replaced by Kanekoa Texeira—who promptly yielded back-to-back doubles to Chris Denorfia and Nick Hundley to drive in four runs. Will Venable drove in the fifth run with a sacrifice fly to left field to give the Padres an 8-1 lead.

Latos turned over his product to the bullpen, as Luke Gregerson, Ryan Webb, and Joe Thatcher combined for three scoreless innings.

San Diego (26-18) features the lowest ERA in the National League at 3.03 despite the 15 runs surrendered Friday. So far in 2010, the Padres have proven capable of providing just enough offense to go with that pitching to make things work.

The Friars split two games against the red-hot Dodgers and then won the last two games in Seattle (16-28) after dropping Friday’s 15-8 rout. They came to Seattle in first place in the National League West and left in first place.

The Padres return to San Diego for a nine-game home stand, starting Tuesday against Albert Pujols and the St. Louis Cardinals (26-19).

San Diego will look to send a message—and get a little revenge—against the NL Central-leading Cardinals.

St. Louis has sent the Padres packing in San Diego’s last two playoff appearances.

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After a lackluster April to start the season, the Dodgers have rallied off seven straight wins and return home two games back in the National League West after completing a three-game sweep of the first-place San Diego Padres.

In a much anticipated home series with divisional rival Los Angeles, the Friday night fireworks at PETCO Park would be the only explosion Padres fans would see for the rest of the weekend.

Eager to see the Padres’ new bats take on the Dodgers for the first time this season, Friars fans instead saw 17 scoreless innings to close the series.

After entering the weekend with a 3.5-game lead, the Padres’ margin atop the NL West trimmed down to a half-game over the San Francisco Giants, who come in for a two-game series starting Monday night.

Giving the Padres a taste of their own medicine, the Dodgers put together solid starting pitching, timely hitting, and good relief out of the bullpen, winning by margins (4-3, 4-1, 4-0) that look awfully similar to the Padres’ ways of winning to start the year.

Nonetheless, the Dodgers came and left San Diego with a clear message, sweeping the Padres for the first time this season and earning their second sweep in as many series.

In Friday’s series opener, when Matt Kemp’s go-ahead two-run home run off Luke Gregerson barely lifted past the outstretched glove of Tony Gwynn and over the center field wall—on Gregerson’s birthday—it was a sign of things to come.

The run snapped Gregerson’s 16.1 scoreless innings streak.

On Sunday afternoon, Padres starter Wade LeBlanc took a no-hitter into the sixth inning, but Chad Billingsley pitched like the right-hander who was an All-Star last season.

Russell Martin’s RBI single in the sixth was one of only two hits allowed by LeBlanc (2-1).

Billingsley (4-2) shut down the Padres over 7.1 innings, allowing just four singles, striking out six, and walking one. Jonathan Broxton pitched a perfect ninth for his third save in the series and his seventh overall in nine chances.

The Dodgers didn’t get out of San Diego completely unscathed.

Andre Ethier was a late scratch from Saturday’s contest after breaking the first knuckle on his right pinkie. A trip to the disabled list may be Ethier’s next stop, who was off to a sizzling start to his fifth major league season, batting .392 with 11 homers and 38 RBI, leading the National League in all three categories at the time of his injury.

The Padres will head to Dodger Stadium Wednesday for a two-game series after hosting San Francisco in what will be a pivotal four games in the NL West.

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Less than a week ago Mat Latos was three outs away from his first career shutout in Houston. It did not take long for him to get another shot at it.

Latos came within one hit of a perfect game Thursday, yielding only an infield single in the sixth inning to Eli Whiteside while overshadowing Jonathan Sanchez yet again as the first-place Padres won 1-0 to complete a three-game sweep at AT&T Park.

Latos, who was perfect through five innings, faced 28 batters—one over the minimum—struck out five and did not issue a walk. The 22-year-old has thrown 16 scoreless innings against San Francisco this year, both times outshining Sanchez. In two starts, Sanchez has allowed two runs and four hits to the Padres in 15 innings. Yet, thanks to Latos, he has two losses on his record.

And guess what? Sanchez and Latos are slated as probable starters yet again Tuesday at Petco Park.

San Diego (22-12) has won all six contests against the Giants this season. Four of those decisions have been by one run.

It is difficult to point to anything more significant than the Padres pitching this season, with a major league-best 2.66 ERA. But one could make the case for their hitting—the Padres pitchers’ hitting.

Latos accounted for the Padres only run Thursday, with a single in the fifth inning that scored Lance Zawadzki.

In eight shutout innings against the Astros in his last start, Latos—now batting .308 at the plate—knocked two doubles in the 7-0 rout. In the series finale, despite the Friars falling 4-3 in extra innings, Tim Stauffer got the party started with a two-run double.

One can also not discount Clayton Richard’s 3 RBI’s in clutch situations this season.

In football, players who can “go both ways” refer to their versatility and ability to play on both offense and defense.

If the trend continues, Padres manager Bud Black may want to consider a few pinch-hit cameos from his pitching staff.

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If the duration of the major league baseball season were a California road trip up the Interstate 5, the Padres would barely be in Oceanside.

Nonetheless, with one month in the rear view mirror, the Padres are in cruise control.

For the third time in four games on Sunday, the Padres shut out the Milwaukee Brewers, this time on a combined three hitter by John Garland and two relievers. The Brewers came into the series leading the NL in scoring. 

It was the first time the Padres have had three shutouts in a series of any length in their 42-year history.

The 8-0 victory marks the 13^th win in 16 games for San Diego.

The early success has left fans and followers of baseball asking the same question:

Who are these guys and what have they done with the Padres?

As evidenced in the recent shutouts, the Friars’ pitching staff, from the starting rotation to the bullpen, has been lights out.

Yet, the stingy pitching has set the tone for the Padres clubhouse and resulted in not only more offensive potency, but a unit playing with more intensity and resolve.

Adrian Gonzalez, the usually permissive Padres All-Star first baseman, was tossed in the bottom of the 8^th of Saturday’s 2-1 loss, after arguing balls and strikes in a rare show of emotion.

The ejection was the first of Gonzalez’s career, and has a ways to go to reach Bud Black’s mark of 10. Black not only joined the double digit ejection club as a manager, but he also joined Gonzalez in the clubhouse after backing his slugger.    

Home plate umpire Rob Drake’s strike zone was fluctuant at best for most of the evening. It was Adrian’s third strikeout of the night and while he and Black definitely got their moneys worth, it was good to see some fire from within.

It was peculiar seeing all-time saves leader Trevor Hoffman in another jersey at PETCO Park. Hoffman, who has struggled this year with four blown saves already, pitched a perfect ninth for his 595^th save Saturday.

The Friars look to stay in gear for their sixth consecutive series victory and their 10^th win in 11 games at home Monday, as they host division rival Colorado for a three game series. 

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It was “singles night” at PETCO Park Thursday night for the San Diego Padres, as they battered the Brewers with 13 singles, with no extra-base hits, to a final score of 9-0.

Who says singles can’t have a good time?

Wade LeBlanc continued dishing donuts and combined with Tim Stauffer for a shutout of the normally slugging Brew Crew.

LeBlanc pitched 6.1 shutout innings, continuing his current streak of just one run allowed over his past 17.1 innings pitched

He picked off his major league-leading fifth runner of the young season in the first inning. To top it off, LeBlanc even contributed at the plate with a career-high three singles, raising his season batting average to .667.

Padres management will have a difficult decision to make with the imminent return of preseason presumptive staff ace Chris Young.

Although LeBlanc was a call-up from AAA-Portland to replace CY in the rotation when the big man went down, there is absolutely no plausible reason to move Wade LeBlanc to anything but his next scheduled turn in the starting rotation.

So far this season, LeBlanc’s record is 2-0, and his ERA is a minuscule 0.52.

Backups Oscar Salazar and Yorvit Torrealba made significant contributions to the Friars’ series-opening victory. Salazar took full advantage of a rare start in right field and had two hits and the team’s first run batted in to get things rolling in the Pads’ four-run bottom of the fourth inning.

Torrealba not only did a splendid job defensively behind home plate but also excelled with the bat by providing two hits and three runs batted in.

The Friars broke the game open in the bottom of the fifth inning with seven consecutive hits, scoring five additional runs.

At that point the Brewers waved the white flag, saved their bullpen, and called upon reliever Jeff Suppan to mop up the rest of the game and get the Brew Crew to their hotel for the night.

Bud Black will send Clayton Richard (0-2, 3.75 ERA) to the hill tonight as the Padres look to give the lefty his first win of the season and extend their home winning streak to eight.

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