The Los Angeles Dodgers and the San Diego Padres has become one of the most entertaining rivalries in baseball recently. The NL West foes have had multiple heated exchanges this season and the pot has boiled over more than once. Now, the rivals will meet in Los Angeles for a weekend series with the lead in the division on the line.
The last time the two teams met, they played seven games in 11 days and the Dodgers won five of the seven. Padres' Fernando Tatis Jr. and Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani exchanged respective hit-by-pitches and both managers had screaming matches with each other.
“I think that the rivalry part is certainly real,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said this week (h/t The Athletic). “Which brings emotions. I do think it’s one of those things where they’re very hyperfocused on us. But I guess it’s a compliment. Still, we’ve got to match their intensity because they want to beat us more than anything.”
The rivalry has heightened over the last five years, with the rivals meeting three times in the postseason during that span. The most recent meeting was in 2024 when the Padres took a 2-1 series lead and the Dodgers won two straight to advance and eventually win the World Series.
However, now the two teams meet in a different scenario. They'll play six of the next 10 games against each other with three at each team's home venue.
The Padres have won five straight games and lead the NL West, which is the latest in a season they've done so since 2010. The Dodgers have lost four straight games and sit a game back in the division, which is the latest that's happened since 2021.
“That’s what we’re playing for,” Tatis Jr. said (h/t The Athletic). “And, you know, we have to take the lead in first place and stay consistent. This is the team to do it. So it’s now a matter of fact, it’s in our hands, how much we want it.”
The Padres know what this series means, and they're not shying away from it. However, the Dodgers are trying to stay calm, and not make it bigger than it is.
“It’s big, but it kind of is what it is,” Mookie Betts said (h/t The Athletic). “We can’t make it more than what it is. It’s another series in August. Obviously, we all know it’s big and X, Y and Z, but we can’t make it that way.”
Since the Dodgers torrid start to the season, they've fallen off over that last month and half, and allowed the Padres to climb all the way back. Since July 3, Los Angeles has the ninth-worst OPS in the MLB and ranks 16th with a 4.22 ERA.
The Dodgers had been able to afford the stumble for July and parts of August, but now they're looking up at their division rival in the NL West and need to put the pieces together. It all starts Friday night at Dodger Stadium.
“We need to ramp up the intensity,” Roberts said (h/t The Athletic). “We do. Because if we don’t, then I just don’t think it’ll bode well for us.”