The rise of Southern California as a major region of the United States brought about a significant economic rivalry between neighboring Los Angeles and San Diego. Through the years, San Diego proved to be an unstable home to its sports franchises as the NFL's Chargers and NBA's Clippers both relocated to Los Angeles. The San Diego Padres and Los Angeles Dodgers have been rivals ever since the Padres joined the National League West Division.[7] The Dodgers have traditionally been the much better team in this rivalry, though most San Diego fans particularly harbor most of their animosity towards LA.[8][9] Both the Dodgers and Padres had recently bolstered their rosters in their quests for a playoff run. The Dodgers swept the Padres in the NLDS, culminating in a World Series championship in 2020, while the Padres returned the favor by knocking the Dodgers out of the 2022 NLDS.[10]2024 saw the teams match-up in their third postseason meeting, with the Dodgers coming back from a 2-1 series deficit in the NLDS to defeat the Padres in five games.[11] Like in 2020, they would win the World Series a few weeks later. Both stadiums are accessible via Amtrak as the Pacific Surfliner connects the two cities given Petco Park's proximity to Santa Fe Depot and Dodger Stadium's shuttle to and from LA Union Station.[citation needed]
As of the 2024 season, the Dodgers currently lead the rivalry 523–427–1 in the regular season and 7–5 in postseason play.
The first meeting between the two teams occurred during the seventh game of the 1969 season at Dodger Stadium on April 15, 1969. In the beginning, it seemed like it could be a pitchers’ duel. With Johnny Podres on the mound for the Padres, facing his old team in his final season in the majors, and Claude Osteen for the Dodgers, the first four innings passed quickly and uneventfully. But things fell apart for the Padres in the bottom of the fifth inning: A groundout gave way to a walk, three consecutive singles, and yet another walk, before Andy Kosco hit a grand slam that put the Dodgers ahead 6–0. Afterwards, Osteen limited the Padres to only three hits, the Dodger lineup piled eight more runs with the final score being 14–0. It was the Padres’ fourth consecutive loss after beginning their existence with a sweep of the Houston Astros before getting swept by the San Francisco Giants. The next day, they piled another nine runs on the Padres, who only mustered a lone run in response. The Padres finished their inaugural season with a 52–110 record and did not have a winning season for nearly a decade.
1970s
The Padres' fortunes began to shift near the end of the 1970s as they had their first winning season in 1978, though they failed to qualify for the postseason as the Dodgers won the division en route to a World Series appearance. Despite the lone winning season in 1978, the Padres' only successes were two seasons at .500 in 1982 and 1983, while the Dodgers had three World Series appearances during the 1970s, in 1974, 1977, and 1978 (losing in all three).
1980s
The Padres broke through with an appearance in their first World Series in 1984, but they fell to the Detroit Tigers in five games. The Dodgers, meanwhile, won a pair of championships in 1981 and 1988.
1990s
The Dodgers teams soon waned in competition through the 1990s, only winning the division in 1994 (unofficially, because the end of the regular season and the World Series were canceled) and 1995. In 1995, the Dodgers appeared in the NLDS but were swept by the Reds. Meanwhile, the fortunes had alternated in favor of the Padres during the 1996 season, when they made a thorough push to the NLDS but were then swept by the St. Louis Cardinals. The Padres won the pennant in 1998, but were swept by the New York Yankees in the World Series.
2000s
Both franchises enjoyed success and encountered problems in the 2000s. The Dodgers won the division three times but were defeated by the Philadelphia Phillies in the NLCS in both 2008 and 2009. The Frank Mccourt–led ownership proved to be largely flawed as the Dodgers often boasted immensely talented rosters but constantly fell short of a World Series appearance throughout the decade until Mccourt's forced sale of the team in 2011. The Padres had back-to-back division wins in 2005 and 2006 but fell to the St. Louis Cardinals both times in the NLDS. Notably, the rivals were the only two teams to play spring training in China as a part of the MLB China Series in 2008.
2010s
In 2016, both teams met for the league season opener. Both teams began the season with new managers, including Dave Roberts, the former Padres manager who had signed with the Dodgers during the offseason.[12] The Dodgers won 15–0. [13] The Dodgers made two World Series appearances, in 2017 and 2018, but controversially fell in both to the Houston Astros and the Boston Red Sox, respectively. The Dodgers led the NL West division for a seven-year stretch from 2013 to 2020 while the Padres failed to make the postseason from 2006 to 2020.
2020s
The 2020 season was limited to 60 games by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Padres returned to the original brown, gold, and white uniform colors after using navy blue as the predominant color during the 2000’s and 2010’s, solidifying the contrast of the Dodgers’ blue, white, and red uniform colors. The Dodgers won the division title while the Padres finished in second. The two teams met in the Division Series, played in Arlington, Texas, under COVID-19 contingencies.
In Game 1, Mike Clevinger returned to the mound for the Padres but was pulled after one inning after a noticeable drop in velocity. The game remained scoreless until the fourth inning, when the Padres scored on a two-out hit from Austin Nola. San Diego enjoyed their lead briefly – until the Dodgers scored on an error in the fifth. Then a game that had been well-pitched to that point boiled over in the sixth, when the Dodgers put up four runs to win, 5–1 score. Just like Game 3 of their wild card win over the Cardinals, the Padres used nine pitchers and walked ten batters, along the way.[14] The Padres took an early lead in the second inning when Wil Myers hit a double to center field that scored Tommy Pham. The Dodgers took the lead for good in the third inning on a two-run double by Corey Seager and a single by Max Muncy, and padded their lead the next inning on a Cody Bellinger home run. The Padres began the sixth inning with back-to-back home runs by Manny Machado and Eric Hosmer that reduced their deficit to one, but Dodgers starter Clayton Kershaw retired the next three batters to end the inning. The Padres threatened again in the seventh inning, when Bellinger made a spectacular catch over the center-field wall that would otherwise have been a go-ahead two-run home run by Fernando Tatís Jr. The Dodgers padded their lead in the bottom of the seventh on a Justin Turnersacrifice fly and a single by Muncy. The Padres threatened in the top of the ninth inning, scoring two runs and once again reducing their deficit to one and load the bases, however. Joe Kelly got Hosmer to ground out to end the game.
In Game 3, the Dodgers took an early lead in the second inning that was quickly erased when the Padres scored two runs in the bottom half of the inning. The Padres' lead was also short-lived, as the Dodgers scored five runs in the third inning en route to a blowout win. Though he did not start the game, erstwhile Dodgers starter Julio Urías pitched five innings in relief, allowing one run on one hit, striking out six Padres, and getting credited as the winning pitcher. The Padres, meanwhile, used 11 pitchers – a postseason record for a nine-inning game.[15][16] The Dodgers advanced to their fourth NLCS in five seasons, ultimately winning the World Series.
2021 and 2022 regular season
After trading for Yu Darvish, Joe Musgrove and Blake Snell in the off-season, the Padres looked like their fortunes would continue to reverse during the 2021 season, but the San Francisco Giants made an unexpected push to win the division with the Dodgers finishing in second. The Padres only posted a 79-83 record, missing the postseason.[17][18] After the season, Padres manager Jayce Tingler was fired and was replaced by long-time Oakland A's manager Bob Melvin. At the 2022 trade deadline, the Padres acquired Juan Soto, Josh Bell, Brandon Drury, and Josh Hader, going all-in to beat the Dodgers and win their first World Series. Padres owner Peter Seidler described the situation as such. "They're the dragon up the freeway that we're trying to slay," Seidler said during an in-game interview on ESPN's Sunday Night Baseball when describing the Dodgers-Padres dynamic.[19] The Dodgers finished 2022 going 14-5 against San Diego, not dropping a single series against the Padres. Things grew worse for San Diego as Fernando Tatis Jr. (who was gearing up for make his debut on the season from an off-season injury to his shoulder) was suspended for 80 games on August 12 after testing positive for Clostebal; a banned steroid.[20] On top of leading the series through the 2022 season, the Dodgers led the league with 111 wins, winning the division in the process.
2022 NLDS
The Padres rebounded towards the end of the season and earned a wild card spot, where they defeated the New York Mets 2–1 in the Wild Card Series. The Dodgers and Padres played each other in the 2022 National League Division Series. During Game 2, a goose landed on the field of Dodger Stadium, with both fanbases claiming it as a rally goose and a curse for their team. The Padres won the series 3–1 in an upset over the Dodgers, whose 111 wins in the regular season were the fourth most in MLB history and 22 more than San Diego's 89. The only time in league playoff history that a team defeated an opponent who was more than 22 wins better was in the 1906 World Series, when the 93-win Chicago White Sox defeated the 116-win Chicago Cubs. The win advanced San Diego to their first NLCS since 1998.[21] However, their victory was short-lived as they were upset as well, this time by the 6th seed Philadelphia Phillies, who defeated them in 5 games to win their first pennant since 2009.
2023
During the 2023 season, tensions began to rise between the two teams yet again after a May 6 game in San Diego in which the Padres media team displayed a photoshopped meme of Clayton Kershaw crying in an effort to taunt the Dodgers.[22] The image led to controversy by fans and sportswriters. Following the incident, the Padres lost 10 out of their next 12 games, including 5 consecutive losses to the Dodgers. This caused fans to believe that the scoreboard image cursed the team, jokingly labeling the incident "Curseshaw". The image came after the Padres took the season series opener, 5–2. Following the gesture, the Padres only won one series against the Dodgers the entire season. Overall, what looked like a passing of the guard during the 2022 NLDS, when the Padres knocked off the Dodgers, did not occur the following season, as the Los Angeles Dodgers once again cruised to a National League West title, while San Diego missed the postseason entirely. However, the Dodgers were once again upset by their division rival, Arizona Diamondbacks in the NLDS.
For San Diego, owner Peter Seidler would tragically pass away in November at the age 63.[23] Later that off-season, the Padres would seemingly downgrade by trading Juan Soto to the Yankees for young players and prospects. The Dodgers, meanwhile, would sign superstar two-way player Shohei Ohtani to a record $700 million, 10 year contract.[24]
The Padres would dedicate the 2024 season in memory of Seidler and they would have their highest win total in a season (93) since the pennant winning 1998 season. It would also be the first year the Padres would win the regular-season series against the Dodgers for the first time since 2010. The Juan Soto trade proved to improve the Padres as they received Michael King in the trade, a young dynamic pitcher that helped lengthen their rotation. The signing of Shohei Ohtani also proved to be the difference maker in the division as Los Angeles would still win the West, besting San Diego by 5 games. For his part, Ohtani became the first player in MLB to break the 50 home run, 50 stolen base barrier in a single-season.
2024 NLDS
The two teams later met in the 2024 National League Division Series, their third postseason meeting in the last 5 seasons. The Dodgers won the series in five games and thus avenged their series loss to the Padres two seasons prior. The Dodger bullpen was key in the team’s series victory, as it helped hold the Padres scoreless for the last 24 innings of the series. After the Series, Dodgers' manager Dave Roberts admitted that he used an incident involving Manny Machado throwing baseballs in the Dodgers dugout in a Game 2 blowout as a diversionary tactic to get his team going.[26] The Dodgers would go on to win their eighth World Series a few weeks later, defeating the New York Yankees in five games, winning their second of the 2020s, and their first World series title in a full MLB season since 1988.
Postseason series
The first postseason matchup between the two teams occurred during the 2020 National League Division Series at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas, as a part of the playoff bubble created for the COVID-19 pandemic. The Dodgers swept the Padres 3–0.
The second postseason matchup between the two teams occurred during the 2022 National League Division Series with the Padres winning once at Dodgers Stadium and twice at Petco to defeat the Dodgers 3–1.
The third postseason matchup between the two teams occurred in the 2024 National League Division Series. The Dodgers won the series in five games.
Schedule structure modified this season to allow every team to play one series against every interleague team. Shortening meetings from 19 to 13 games.
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