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NL West-champion Giants have brooms ready for Padres

Sep 23, 2012 - 12:56 PM (Sports Network) - Now that they have locked up the National League West title for the second time in three years, the rolling San Francisco Giants target a three-game sweep of the San Diego Padres today at AT&T Park.

The Giants recorded an 8-4 win last night and secured a division crown thanks in large part to Marco Scutaro. Scutaro had three hits, three RBI and a run scored, while Brandon Belt homered in the win, San Francisco's sixth in a row and 10th in 11 tries. The Giants also have won seven straight at home.

"It's unbelievable," Angel Pagan said of winning the NL West. "We're going to go to war."

Madison Bumgarner recorded his 16th win of the season (16-10) and yielded three runs -- two earned -- and five hits in 5 2/3 innings.

Tim Lincecum was scheduled to pitch Sunday, but will get some extra rest now that the division is locked up. So now the Giants will turn to Yusmeiro Petit this afternoon and he hasn't pitched in the majors since 2009 with Arizona.

Petit, a right-hander, is 10-20 with a 5.57 earned run average in 71 career games (36 starts) and spent time with Triple-A Fresno. He has faced San Diego six times in his career -- one start -- and is 0-3 with a 6.00 ERA.

San Francisco is 6-0 on a 10-game homestand and will host the Diamondbacks for three games by the bay.

The Padres are nine games off the final wild card berth in the National League with 10 play and have lost two straight and four of five games.

Andrew Werner was dealt the loss last night and surrendered five runs over 3 2/3 frames.

"It was pretty cut and dry," Werner said of his performance on the club's website. "I couldn't make an adjustment early, and by the time I made an adjustment in the second or third inning, I was 60, 70 pitches deep. I could never give myself a chance, especially against a good team like that."

Yonder Alonso hit a two-run homer for the Padres, while Chase Headley was credited with a pair of runs batted in.

San Diego will wrap up its six-game road trip today and is slated to host Los Angeles and San Francisco at Petco Park.

Eric Stults will try to bounce back when he gets the nod this afternoon for the Padres. Stults was 5-0 with a 2.16 earned run average in 11 games (7 starts) before losing at Arizona in Tuesday's 3-2 setback. Stults allowed all three runs and five hits in six innings and is 6-3 with a 2.69 ERA in 16 games, 12 of which have been starts.

Stults, a left-hander, is 2-2 with a 4.81 ERA in nine career games (7 starts) against the Giants. He allowed five runs and nine hits in six innings of an 8-7 loss to the Giants back on Aug. 18, but did not record a decision.

San Francisco is 10-4 against the Padres this season.