SAN DIEGO —— On the final day in May, the Padres defeated Milwaukee 8-4 to cap the most successful month in franchise history. As June dawned, they boasted a record of 33-19 and led Arizona by three games in the National League West.

The Padres didn't know it at the time, but that was as good as the season's first half would get for them from a performance standpoint. They lost to the Brewers on June 1, a foreshadowing of a disastrous stretch in which they dropped 12 of 15 games. Already missing second baseman Mark Loretta, they lost four additional core players to injuries after the month's midpoint. They went 15-22 between the end of May and this week's All-Star break.

Ready for the twist? Rather than being buried by onrushing rivals that smelled blood in the water, the Padres actually built their lead to 5 1/2 games entering a four-game series with the second-place Diamondbacks at Petco Park to begin the second half tonight. Only the St. Louis Cardinals and the Chicago White Sox —— the two best teams in baseball —— can claim bigger cushions among division leaders.

Welcome to the NL West, where a 111-loss team from 2004 (Arizona) can rocket into the race and a mark of eight games under .500 (Los Angeles) is sufficient to take solid hold of third place.

"You can look at it a lot of different ways, but ultimately we're in first place and we have a decent lead," Loretta said. "Could it have been a bigger lead? Yes. But if the teams behind us had been hot, we could have been several games behind. We've said it now for a while —— we've gotten all the help that we can expect to get. Now it's up to us to really take it and run with it in the second half."

Loretta is right about one thing. If the Padres' so-called pursuers were any more charitable, they would be the Red Cross. Presented with an opportunity to streak past the Padres, the Diamondbacks and Dodgers fell flat on their faces. At least L.A. could blame an almost perverse spate of injuries that struck such stalwarts as closer Eric Gagne and outfielders Milton Bradley and J.D. Drew. Arizona merely has the appearance of a mediocre team masquerading as a contender, the most conclusive evidence being that it has allowed 85 more runs than it has scored.

As for the once-feared specter of a San Francisco Giants uprising, the fact that even some teammates no longer think Barry Bonds will return this season probably isn't a good sign.

"There's no doubt that when we are healthy, we're the best team in this division," Padres All-Star pitcher Jake Peavy said. "That's not a knock against the other teams. I just firmly believe that.

"I can't see many teams as well-rounded and as good as we are in all facets of the game. From top to bottom, this team is as good as any in the National League."

Peavy was alluding not to the skeleton crew of largely bench players that carried the Padres into the break, but the injury-free squad that blitzed through the league in May. During that month for the annals, the Padres ran off three winning streaks of at least six games, took three of four from the Cardinals at Busch Stadium (more than they had won there in their previous 21 games) and swept consecutive home series against NL East powers Florida and Atlanta.

But Loretta, the team MVP two years running, tore a ligament in his left thumb during a victory over the Braves on May 17 and required surgery a week later. Though the Padres temporarily withstood that loss thanks to bang-up substitute work turned in by Geoff Blum, their depth was really put to the test when No. 2 starter Adam Eaton and lineup regulars Ramon Hernandez, Phil Nevin and Dave Roberts also succumbed to injuries the following month.

In their absence, the club was kept afloat by a versatile corps of reserves that includes Damian Jackson and Robert Fick, two veterans who didn't even crack the Opening Day roster.

"A lot of credit has to go to our bench players," general manager Kevin Towers said. "They've done a tremendous job filling in, having to become everyday guys. They really helped us tread water until everybody got back to being healthy. If they weren't able to do so, we probably would have had to make a trade just to stay in the race. It allowed us to buy some time, and by the trip to New York (next week) we should have Nevin and Loretta back."

That would give manager Bruce Bochy his full complement of hitters for the first time in two months —— Hernandez and Roberts have already returned —— and likely improve the fortunes of an offense that ranks fifth in the league in runs (406) but in the bottom half in batting (.262 average). The status of Eaton is cloudier, but the Padres have the NL's sturdiest bullpen behind the solid starting quartet of Peavy, Woody Williams, Brian Lawrence and rookie Tim Stauffer.

"We've played good baseball. We know that we have that in us," Peavy said. "If this team makes the playoffs and gets hot, look out. You never know. Look at the Boston Red Sox last year. They weren't the best team in baseball all year. They started climbing and peaked in October. That's just how it works.

"All of us expect to win this division."

Contact staff writer Brian Hiro at b_hiro@hotmail.com.