The Dodgers' Last Loss Ended a 14-Year Streak Against the Padres

Sam Garcia | Aug 2, 2024

David Frerker-USA TODAY Sports

The Padres have been on a hot streak.

San Diego has won nine out of its 10 last games, including sweeping the Dodgers in the season series. The Padres' 8-1 win on Wednesday ensured San Diego will win a season series against Los Angeles for the first time since 2010,according to MLB.com.In the last 15 seasons, the Padres have a 94-164 head-to-head record against the Dodgers.

“They’ve been a really good team for a long (expletive) time,” Manny Machado said to theSan Diego Union-Tribune. “That’s great. … We have to go through them. We know that.”

The Padres and Dodgers play each other three more times in September, but it won't matter toward who will win the season series.

The Dodgers currently lead the National League West with the Padres following closely behind. The recent series narrowed the gap between Los Angeles and San Diego to just 4.5 games, which is the lowest the gap has been since May 4. With a few more months remaining in the regular season, the division title is still anyone’s game. 

“Our goals haven’t changed at any point during the season,” Padres manager Mike Shildt said to AJ Cassavell of MLB.com. “It’s been to win the division. We know it’s a tall order and a competitive division, so we’re just going about playing and taking care of our business.”

The series sweep began with a 6-5 comeback win for the Padres, highlighted by a walkoff RBI by Donovan Solano off the Dodgers' Alex Vesia in the bottom of the 10th innning.

The momentum from the first victory seemed to carry over to the Padres' 8-1 victory over the Dodgers the following day. It was a battle between a young star and decorated veteran pitcher. Dylan Cease, who just threw the second no-hitter in Padres history in his previous start, and 10-time All-Star Clayton Kershaw for the Dodgers, proved to be a mismatch.

While Cease held the Dodgers to one run, Kershaw allowed seven of the Padres' eight runs in 3.2 innings. Dodgers' Gavin Lux hit an RBI double off Cease to earn Los Angeles' only run of the night. Cease's scoreless-innings streak spanned 24 innings before Lux's hit, which is tied for the third-longest streak in the major leagues this season.

After being lifted in the fourth inning, Kershaw was replaced by recently acquired reliever Michael Kopech in his debut for the Dodgers. It marked the shortest start Kershaw has ever endured against the Padres. It was also the first time the three-time Cy Young Award winner failed to notch a strikeout in a regular season start.