Padres manager Bud Black made the second major change to his lineup Thursday night in Los Angeles, moving struggling Brian Giles up from third to first and dropping Jody Gerut from the leadoff slot to third.
"Giles has led off here before," Black said. "This is to give Brian a different perspective. Jody, too. He's also been trying to find his stroke. "This is not a drastic thing by any means."
Giles drew two walks. Gerut doubled and also was robbed of a three-run double on a great running catch in left-center by Dodgers center fielder Matt Kemp.
Giles has struggled in the first month of the season. He went into Thursday night's game hitting .169 with a .225 on-base percentage.
He played 48 games in the leadoff slot last year and had a .308 average with a .402 on-base percentage. During his career, Giles has a .283 average in 157 games as the leadoff hitter with a .376 on-base percentage.
"I'm going to go up there and do what I have to do," Giles said. "I'm going to get out of this."
DODGERS 8, PADRES 5: The winning run scored on a throw from right that bounced through the legs of Padres C Nick Hundley. The Dodgers scored four times in the last two innings against the San Diego bullpen. The loss was the Padres' eighth in 10 games and dropped them to .500 for the first time since April 9.
