SAN DIEGO -- Since the All-Star break, the Padres have been the best team in baseball. They¡¯ve turned in a remarkable two-month stretch -- comebacks galore, outstanding individual performances, seemingly daily sellouts at Petco Park.

And now, they¡¯ll have three weeks to make sure it pays off in the form of a playoff berth.

That¡¯s not a foregone conclusion. On Sunday afternoon, San Diego dropped its third game in four days -- a 7-6 loss to the Giants on a sweltering day at Petco Park. The first-pitch temperature of 91 degrees equaled the second-hottest regular-season game in the ballpark¡¯s history.

Starting pitcher Joe Musgrove was roughed up, and the Padres trailed by six runs early, before their latest attempt at a dramatic comeback came up short.

"These losses don't feel good," Musgrove said. "But to be down 7-1 and battle all the way back to be within one run right there is the sign of a good team. We keep doing that, we¡¯ll be on the winning side of some of those. But we feel good. ¡­ We think we¡¯re in a good spot."

They¡¯re in the top Wild Card spot in the National League, to be exact. Nonetheless, the Padres¡¯ lead over the Braves and Mets -- who are tied for the NL¡¯s final playoff spot -- dwindled to two games. It¡¯s the closest the Padres have been to the postseason cut line since Aug. 5.

That¡¯s largely a product of the red-hot Mets, who had won nine straight entering play Sunday. The Padres also lead the Diamondbacks by a half-game. For the most part, the Padres have played well lately, this weekend notwithstanding.

¡°Flush these two losses,¡± said Xander Bogaerts, whose two-run homer in the eighth cut the Padres¡¯ deficit to one. ¡°Tomorrow¡¯s a nice off-day, a day everyone will probably need. Then refocus for Tuesday.¡±

It¡¯s possible Bogaerts could find himself in a different role on Tuesday, when the Padres open their two-game series in Seattle. After the game Sunday, Padres manager Mike Shildt revealed that Ha-Seong Kim is ¡°not as close as we¡¯d like¡± in his recovery from right shoulder inflammation.

The Padres haven¡¯t finalized a new plan for shortstop. Lately, they¡¯ve been starting Mason McCoy, who is sound defensively but has struggled at the plate. But they¡¯ve talked to Bogaerts about the possibility of moving back to shortstop, and Bogaerts indicated he¡¯d be amenable.

¡°The good thing is we got options,¡± Shildt said.

In more positive injury news, Jackson Merrill returned to the starting lineup on Sunday after missing a start on Saturday with a bruised left knee. He sustained the injury Friday when he took a foul ball square to his kneecap.

Two days later, the seams of the baseball were still imprinted on that left knee. But Merrill was back in center field, and his solo homer in the fifth inning got the Padres on the board and sparked the comeback attempt.

¡°We didn¡¯t have a doubt,¡± Merrill said. ¡°We just kept playing the baseball game, let it take control of itself. I thought we were going to pull it out. Sometimes it doesn¡¯t happen. Can¡¯t expect us to come back and win every game that we¡¯re down by a lot.¡±

Musgrove¡¯s rough fourth inning put the Padres in that hole. He cruised through the first 10 batters, retiring them in order. Then the outing spiraled. Heliot Ramos hit a fly ball to right that Fernando Tatis Jr. lost in the sun. It became a double -- the first of seven straight hits for the Giants, including a trio of home runs.

In the span of one inning, Musgrove allowed more runs (six) than he had in five starts -- plus three innings -- since coming off the IL in early August. His velocity was fine, and afterward, he said he felt fine physically.

¡°They put some really good swings on the ball consecutively,¡± Musgrove said.

Said Shildt: ¡°Clearly happened fast. I thought his stuff was good. ¡­ They got some swings on some balls they could do some damage on, and they didn¡¯t miss.¡±

The Padres scored three in the seventh on Giants miscues, then two more in the eighth on Bogaerts¡¯ home run. Pinch-runner Tyler Wade was picked off later in the frame as the tying run, before the Padres went down in order in the ninth. Manny Machado, one homer away from setting a new franchise home run record, was left in the on-deck circle.

¡°I think everybody in the dugout had a real good feeling we were going to make it happen,¡± Shildt said.

So often, these Padres have. But Sunday¡¯s ending was different.