The San Diego Padres and the Los Angeles Dodgers have turned out to be baseball's finest rivalry over the past few seasons. This year is no different as the Padres are within 2.0 games of the Dodgers, who just swept their NL West rivals in a three-game series.
The Padres previously took the NL West lead for the first time just before their series at Dodger Stadium. While they would like to forget the outcome of the series, the schedule ahead suggests that they may still be trailing when the Dodgers come to Petco Park.
Padres to play Giants and Dodgers to play Rockies in a four-game series
Before meeting again, the two teams have a four-game series scheduled, each with the two NL West opponents. The Padres are set to host the Giants in a four-game series, while the Dodgers go on the road to take on the Colorado Rockies.
The Giants are a much better team than the Rockies, so it's easy to believe the Dodgers, who just swept the Padres, might find it easy to give the same treatment to the Rockies despite being on the road. Meanwhile, the Padres, who were having a great second half until last weekend's sweep, might not be expected to sweep the Giants.
If the Dodgers are even able to win two out of four games against the lowly Rockies, they are expected to retain their division lead. Meanwhile, the Padres have a much taller task of taking down the Giants cleanly to have a shot at the division lead.
These fixtures are important as the end result of this series might very well decide the gap between the Padres and the Dodgers when they rendezvous at Petco Park on Friday.
Whomsoever ends up finishing at the top of the NL West by the end of the regular season will likely get a wild-card round bye, while the other will have to navigate through tough waters to start October with do-or-die games.