Padres' Domination Over Dodgers This Year Earns Them Something For First Time Since 2010

Sam Garcia | Aug 1, 2024

David Frerker-USA TODAY Sports

The Padres have been on a hot streak.

San Diego has won nine out of the 10 last games, including sweeping the Dodgers in the season series. The Padres' 8-1 win on Wednesday marked the first time San Diego has won a season series against Los Angeles since 2010, according to MLB.com. Since 2010, the Padres are 94-164 against the Dodgers.

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

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 Cassavvell 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 on Tuesday with a 6-5 comeback win for the Padres, highlighted by walk-off RBI by Donovan Solano off of Dodgers' Alex Vesia in the bottom of the tenth inning.

The momentum from the first victory lifted the Padres to an 8-1 victory over the Dodgers the following day. It was a battle between a young star and a decorated veteran pitcher.

Dylan Cease, who just threw the second no-hitter in Padres history, and ten-time All-Star Clayton Kershaw were the starting pitchers for their respective teams.

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

After pitching 3.2 innings, Kershaw was relieved by recently acquired trade target Michael Kopech in his debut for the Dodgers. This marked the shortest start Kershaw has thrown against the Padres. It was also the first time the three-time Cy Young pitcher failed to notch a strikeout in a regular season start.

The Padres' next National League West series will begin on Friday against the Colorado Rockies, who are currently the last-place team in the division.