Padres right-hander Mat Latos has a tattoo on his right arm. It says, “Love me or hate me.”

I think I know which one Jonathan Sanchez would pick. I’m certain how Giants fans would go.

It’s Latos vs. Sanchez again here as the series concludes tonight. Already this season, this matchup has resulted in two 1-0 victories for the Padres.

In the first one at Petco Park in April, the Padres got one hit and won. In the second matchup last weekend at San Francisco, Latos was an infield single away from perfection.

I didn’t know a whole lot about Latos other than that he came from Florida, he was signed by Bruce Bochy’s brother, Joe, and that the Giants have done absolutely nothing in 16 innings against him this season.

Oh, and he apparently threw a baseball that accidentally smashed Giants announcer Dave Flemming’s car last week.

So I went over to the Padres clubhouse to see what Latos was all about. He was friendly, talkative and honest. By his own admission, he’s had issues with immaturity in the past – “I was young and dumb, I’m not going to lie” — but he’s proud of the strides he’s made and figures he is standing in a major league clubhouse for a reason.

Some of those immaturity issues caused him to be available in the 11th round when the Padres drafted him a couple years ago. He had a commitment to Oklahoma and the Padres were able to sign him within hours of losing his draft rights. Latos said Joe Bochy drove 5 ½ hours to his home near Ft. Lauderdale to convince him to beat the clock and sign.

“He and his wife were so supportive,” Latos said. “They had so many good things to say.”

Last year, Latos was introduced to Bruce Bochy and had to laugh at how similar the two brothers were.

“They don’t just look alike,” he said. “They say the same things. They talk the same way. They’re just like each other.”

I asked Latos about the Giants: Now that they’ve seen him a few times, does he need to make any adjustments? Or since he’s obviously having success against him, does he use the same exact game plan?

“I’ve tried to get strike one and expand the zone from there,” he said. “That’s not a game plan I’ll try to change. I noticed they were trying to work deep counts and get me out of the game, but I was hitting my spots. But if they happen to change their approach, maybe swing at the first pitch more, I’ll expand more. Maybe I’ll elevate the fastball a little more or start that slider on the outer half.”

Of course, I had to ask Latos about the baseball that hit Flemming’s car. He knows the story has been well circulated in San Francisco and he didn’t want to say much about it. But he swears that he sort of winged the ball underhanded as he was jogging off the field during batting practice and it took a pinball bounce off the concourse before landing in the players’ parking lot beyond the left field stands. He said he truly didn’t mean to inflict any damage on anything.

“I’ve heard people are saying I threw it over the Coke bottle. That’s not even close to true,” Latos said. “Look, people are going to believe whatever they want to believe. If they send me a bill, I’ll pay it. I’m sorry it happened and I’ll be responsible for it. But I didn’t know there was a parking lot back there. I wasn’t trying to throw it out of the stadium.”

The other day, I wrote that Latos received a bill. It turns out that wasn’t quite accurate. Flemming’s car is in the shop right now. The Giants finance department will receive the total repair cost, and eventually, forward it to the Padres.

The lesson learned?

“When you throw a ball in the stands,” said Latos, “Throw it to the guy in the first row.”

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In the game story, I made a point about the season series between the Giants and Padres: After this Latos-Sanchez meeting, the two teams won’t cross paths again until Aug. 13.

They’ll play 10 more games down the stretch.

Maybe they’ll match up differently. Maybe the Padres will have traded Adrian Gonzalez by then. Maybe the Giants will have dealt for a big-time hitter, or at least a few better bench choices for Bochy in the late innings.

The Padres also haven’t faced Tim Lincecum yet, either. I’m guessing that’s bound to change.

Until then, though, I think they should all use the same bat. Or go with all high socks. Just do something to break it up. It’s been ridiculous.

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Freddy Sanchez hasn’t won the admiration of Giants fans yet. Deserved or not, many folks in San Francisco are assuming that he lacks toughness.

It turns out he has that reputation elsewhere, too. I was speaking with an official from another club recently who said they had looked into Sanchez but knew he was an injury risk and questioned whether he was willing to play when nicked up. They did not have those same makeup questions about Mark DeRosa.

But I do think Sanchez deserves the benefit of the doubt for now. As much as the Giants would like to have him for this series in San Diego, he’s gotten just 23 plate appearances on his rehab assignment. This is supposed to be his substitute for spring training, and I don’t think many hitters would feel confident starting the season with so few trips to the plate.

There are 125 out of 162 games remaining on the schedule. Sanchez has plenty of time to make an impact.

Here’s a link to the notebook with a lede item on him.

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