San Diego (22-34) at San Francisco (23-32)

The San Diego Padres are still the lowest-scoring team in the NL, but lately, they’re finding ways to score when it counts.

After winning their second extra-inning game in a week, the Padres look to continue their timely hitting Saturday when they continue their three-game series against the NL West rival San Francisco Giants.

San Diego (22-34) has had one of the worst offenses in baseball this year, ranking last in the NL with 202 runs scored and second-to-last with a .239 team batting average. The Padres also have the most strikeouts in the league (455) and the third-fewest extra-base hits (150).

Despite all their struggles at the plate, however, the Padres have managed to win their close games lately. They had only two hits in the 13th inning Friday night, but took advantage of three walks and a hit batter to score four runs and take a 7-3 victory over the Giants (23-32) for their fourth win in five games.

That run started with a 12-9 win in an 18-inning marathon against Cincinnati on Sunday.

San Diego’s dramatic victory Friday overshadowed the Giants’ first triple play since June 14, 1999 - their first in San Francisco since Oct. 3, 1980. Though it got the Giants out of an eighth-inning jam, it wasn’t enough to keep their three-game win streak alive.

“So many good things happened tonight,” Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. “That’s a tough one to lose.”

San Francisco hopes to get back on track against San Diego starter Josh Banks (1-0, 0.00 ERA), who will take the mound for his first start in the majors this season.

The right-hander hasn’t allowed a run in eight innings spanning two relief appearances since he was called up from Triple-A Portland. He got the decision in San Diego’s 18-inning win on Sunday after holding Cincinnati to five hits in six innings. It was his first major league win in five games.

“We don’t know Josh, but he came on the club this week, and what a great effort,” Padres manager Bud Black told the team’s official Web site. “You can’t say enough for eight shutout innings (over two days). He showed a lot of heart and grit.”

Banks is making his first career appearance against San Francisco, which will counter with Pat Misch (0-1, 6.54).

The Giants have lost 12 straight games in which Misch has made an appearance, a run that dates to a win over Milwaukee on Aug. 25 of last season. That run continued as the left-hander gave up three homers and was tagged for seven runs in 4 1-3 innings of his fifth start of the year Sunday - an 8-6 loss at Florida.

Misch remains winless in 25 major league appearances, including nine starts, over the past three years.

“He made mistakes, and he left balls out over the plate,” Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. “He needs to keep the ball in the ballpark if he’s going to have a chance.”

Misch is 0-1 with a 9.64 ERA in two career starts against the Padres.