The stage is set for a dramatic, compressed showdown as the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres prepare to face off six times in just ten days, a schedule ripe for reigniting their heated rivalry.
“I think that the rivalry part is certainly real, which brings emotions,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said this week. “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.”
Recent history validates that intensity. The teams have met in three postseason series over the past five years, including a fiery showdown last year between Roberts and his former player, Padres third baseman Manny Machado. Tensions flared again in June when hit-by-pitches to Fernando Tatis Jr. and Shohei Ohtani led to a benches-clearing incident and a sharp exchange of words between Roberts and Padres manager Mike Shildt. Following the confrontation, Shildt declared, “I’m not a personal guy. I’m not a grudge guy. But I am a foxhole guy.”
The rivalry resumes Friday as the Padres arrive at Dodger Stadium for the most critical stretch of the season for both clubs. San Diego holds a one-game lead in the NL West, its latest grasp of the top spot this deep into a season since 2010. For the Dodgers, it’s their largest deficit since 2021, the result of a stunning collapse. A commanding nine-game division lead on July 3 has completely evaporated after the team posted a 12-21 record in the subsequent weeks.
This series presents an opportunity to reset for Los Angeles, or risk falling further behind. Dodgers star Mookie Betts downplayed the pressure, saying, “It’s big, but it kind of is what it is. We can’t make it more than what it is. It’s another series in August.”
Tatis Jr., however, embraced the moment. “That’s what we’re playing for,” he said. “We have to take the lead in first place and stay consistent. It’s in our hands, how much we want it.”
Since July 3, the Dodgers rank 22nd in baseball with a .710 OPS and 16th with a 4.22 ERA, while four of their last five losses have been marked by bullpen collapses. “We haven’t played up to our potential in any way,” acknowledged Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman.
Roberts hopes the high stakes and a familiar foe will help his team refocus. The manager, who was ejected from one game during the last series against the Padres while Shildt charged in his direction in another, said he needs his team to rediscover its edge.
“We need to ramp up the intensity,” Roberts stated. “We do. Because if we don’t, then I just don’t think it’ll bode well for us.”
Before the season, Roberts challenged his team, which is seeking to become baseball’s first repeat champion in a quarter-century, with a mission: “Be the hunter, not the hunted.” He now admits that hasn’t materialized.
“Obviously, in the standings, you’re literally being the hunted,” Roberts said. “But also, I think that the way we played is not hunting.”
Now, with the Dodgers looking up at San Diego in the standings this late in the year, they have no other choice. They are forced to become the hunters, a situation reminiscent of last year’s NLDS when they trailed the Padres 2-1 before rallying to win the series without allowing another run. Los Angeles can only hope for a similar reversal of fortune this time around.
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