Padres beat the Marlins, 12-4, Sunday afternoon thanks to a 10-run outburst in the seventh. Brian Lawrence and A.J. Burnett were locked up in a 1-0 game until Carlos Delgado hit a routine grounder to second with two out in the top of the sixth. With a defensive shift on, Mark Loretta was playing in shallow right-center and the ball rolled into the outfield for a single. From there, things quickly unraveled for Lawrence, and moments later he was out of the game, down 4-1.

But the Friars didn’t quit, and eventually got into the Florida bullpen. How big was the seventh? Pinch hitter Mark Sweeney walked, singled, scored two runs, and drove in another. Dave Roberts hit a no-doubt three-run jack to cap the scoring. I think the Padres are getting used to hitting at Petco.

Brian Giles and Ryan Klesko continue to scorch the ball. Khalil Greene broke out of his early-season funk with two singles and a double. And despite the less-than-stellar final line, Lawrence really pitched a beautiful game and deserved better. Of the 17 outs he recorded, 12 were ground balls, 4 were strikeouts, and just 1 was a fly ball.

Bottom line is, the Padres won the game and swept a series that – silly though it may sound in May – had a playoff intensity. With the Dodgers losing on Sunday and the Diamondbacks winning, the Pads now find themselves in second place, a half game behind Arizona.

For more coverage of the weekend series, check out what Rich and Peter have to say over at San Diego Spotlight.

Next up, the Atlanta Braves. Go get ‘em, boys.