The Los Angeles Dodgers are starting to make their mark, having won four straight and seven out of nine contests. This group now sits 45-29 and 3.5 games up on the San Francisco Giants in the National League East. Several teams in the division, including the San Diego Padres, are expecting to make the postseason.
Since 2020, the Dodgers and Padres have met three times in the playoffs, adding fuel to this heated rivalry. The rivalry added another chapter when San Diego star Fernando Tatis Jr. was hit by a pitch by reliever Lou Trivino in the third inning.
Shohei Ohtani suffered a scary moment shortly after when Padres pitcher Randy Vasquez threw a fastball at his leg. The two-way superstar ended up being ok, but Dodgers manager Dave Roberts did not mince words about this incident. Both benches were warned after Ohtani was hit, and Roberts got ejected shortly after for the first time this season.
In a postgame interview of the 8-6 victory with Dodgers beat writer Bill Plunkett, Roberts said the HBP was “absolutely” intentional, in retaliation for Tatis getting hit. Based on this feeling, it’s unsurprising that Los Angeles’ decorated manager lost his cool and was tossed for the first time this season.
Ohtani is in the middle of another phenomenal campaign and just starting to pitch again for the first time in his Dodgers tenure. An injury to the 30-year-old would be a bitter blow to a franchise looking to go back-to-back in 2025.
There will be plenty of teams believing they can be a threat to the Dodgers’ title defense, including the Padres, but when this roster is fully healthy, they are the clear favorites right now. It’s a long road to October, but Los Angeles is starting to look like the juggernaut that ran through the postseason in 2024.
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