The Dodgers and Padres have shared a division -- and Southern California proximity -- for more than five decades. For most of that time, it's been hard to call this a "rivalry" (whatever that word means, anyway). Lately, you couldn't possibly call it anything else.
The Padres and Dodgers have emerged as National League heavyweights, and when they get together, it's can't-miss TV. It hasn't always been that way, but these two sides have seen their share of indelible moments over the years. Here are some of the most memorable:
2024-25 offseason: Sasaki sweepstakes
If the Dodgers were always viewed as the favorites to sign Japanese phenom Roki Sasaki, the Padres were at least viewed as their primary challenger. Sure enough, both were among Sasaki's three finalists, along with the Blue Jays. In mid-January, the right-hander chose the Dodgers, as part of a lavish offseason for the defending champs. But not before he'd visited San Diego and met with Padres players while working out at Petco Park. The Padres were left empty-handed in a pursuit they'd been eyeing for years.
October 2024: Dodgers eliminate Padres with 24-inning shutout streak
The Padres had the eventual World Series-champion Dodgers on the ropes, leading 2-1 in the NLDS with Game 4 at Petco Park. But L.A. responded with consecutive shutouts, stunning the high-scoring Padres, en route to the National League Championship Series. The Dodgers mostly cruised past the Mets and Yankees from there, with many noting that the two NL West rivals might've been the sport's two best teams in 2024. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts later said: "From my perspective, that was the World Series."
October 2024: Roberts calls out Machado
A day after the Padres won a dramatic NLDS Game 2 -- a game that featured an ugly moment in which Dodger Stadium fans threw baseballs and other debris onto the field -- Roberts brought up an incident from the middle portion of that game. Between innings, as warmups were ending, Padres third baseman Manny Machado threw a ball toward the Dodgers dugout. The two teams differed on Machado's intent, with Roberts calling it "unsettling" and Padres manager Mike Shildt laughing off the idea. (Roberts would later acknowledge using the incident as "a diversion" after a disappointing Dodgers loss.)
September 2024: Two clinches and a triple play
Trailing by 10 games in mid-June, the Padres took the 2024 NL West race to the season’s final week, where the two teams met for a pivotal three-game set at Dodger Stadium. In Game 1, the Padres secured their place in the postseason in the most dramatic way possible -- they became the first team to clinch a playoff spot by turning a game-ending triple play (around the horn, started by Machado). The Padres would celebrate that night, but the Dodgers won the next two and celebrated their third straight NL West crown.
April 2024: Mr. Relevant
Jurickson Profar found himself in the middle of several Padres-Dodgers spats over the years. The most notable of the bunch came during a three-game series between these two teams at Dodger Stadium last April. Profar took exception to Dodgers starter Gavin Stone coming high and tight. He jawed with catcher Will Smith. After the game, Smith would call Profar “kind of irrelevant” in a radio interview. A day later, Profar hit a decisive bases-clearing double in a Padres victory. His teammates rallied by calling him “Mr. Relevant.” Smith later apologized for the comments.
May 2023: The crying Kershaw meme
The 2023 season was billed as the year that a loaded San Diego team could take the mantle from the Dodgers in the NL West. And when the Padres won the first meeting between the two clubs, they posted an image of Kershaw on their videoboard with cartoon tears coming down his face. The Dodgers quickly got their revenge -- winning the next two games, then cruising to a division title as the Padres endured the most disappointing season in franchise history, finishing 82-80 and missing the playoffs.
October 2022: Dragon slayers
The 111-win Dodgers won all six series against the Padres during the 2022 regular season. That summer, beloved late Padres owner Peter Seidler dubbed the Dodgers “the dragon up the freeway that we’re trying to slay.” The two teams would meet in October, after the Padres made a number of impactful Deadline additions, including Juan Soto and Josh Hader.
The Dodgers won Game 1 of the NLDS at Dodger Stadium, but the Padres responded to win Game 2 (perhaps aided by a rally goose). San Diego then won Games 3 and 4 at home, including a dramatic Game 4 comeback that saw the Padres score five times in the seventh inning. Jake Cronenworth’s two-out, two-strike, two-run single off Alex Vesia proved decisive. The Padres had slayed the dragon.
October 2020: Bellinger's catch, Graterol/Machado feud
Played at Globe Life Field in Texas, Game 2 of the 2020 NL Division Series was unquestionably one of the most dramatic games played in the rivalry's history. In the seventh inning, Fernando Tatis Jr. sent a deep drive to center field, where Cody Bellinger robbed him of a certain home run. Brusdar Graterol, on the mound at the time, flipped his hat. (Yes, his hat.) When Manny Machado barked at him, Graterol blew a kiss back in his direction. Tensions simmered, before the Dodgers hung on for a 6-5 victory -- eventually sweeping the series and winning the World Series.
Summer 2020: At last, a rivalry
The birth of the modern Padres-Dodgers rivalry took place during the 2020 regular season, as the Padres emerged as contenders for the first time in a decade, while the Dodgers remained in search of their first World Series in more than three decades. Amid the pandemic-shortened season, the two clubs staged epic showdowns all summer, as they fought for the NL West crown. Perhaps the most contentious moment came during the final regular-season meeting when Trent Grisham homered off Kershaw. During his home run trot, he and the Dodgers dugout barked back and forth, and Roberts would later call Grisham out for what he perceived to be a lack of respect toward Kershaw. Come October, the two clubs would meet again.
April 2013: Quentin, Greinke collide
The most memorable benches-clearing incident between the two franchises took place on April 11, 2013, shortly after the Dodgers had made a major offseason splash by signing Zack Greinke. In Greinke's first start in San Diego, he plunked Padres slugger Carlos Quentin, who took exception and charged the mound. The two collided in front of the rubber, and Greinke broke his collarbone upon the impact. He would miss more than a month on the IL.
September 1996: Padres win division on final weekend
The biggest reason Padres-Dodgers had never felt like much of a rivalry is a simple one: They generally hadn't been good at the same time. The 1996 season serves as one of the biggest exceptions. The Padres and Dodgers staged a thrilling race for the NL West crown. Entering the season's final weekend, the two teams had more or less secured their playoff spots, but they played a three-game set at Dodger Stadium with the division on the line. The Padres needed a sweep, and they got one -- with Tony Gwynn's go-ahead, two-run single in Game 161 and Chris Gwynn's game-winning double in Game 162. Trevor Hoffman saved all three games.
December 1982: Garvey signs in San Diego
Steve Garvey was a World Series champ, an MVP, an eight-time All-Star and a four-time pennant winner in Los Angeles. When the Padres signed Garvey ahead of the 1983 season, it was a statement of intent: These weren't the same old Padres. Sure enough, San Diego took home its first NL pennant in 1984, with Garvey delivering the most famous homer in franchise history -- a walk-off blast in Game 4 of the NL Championship Series against the Cubs.
July 1982: Lasorda and Bevacqua trade barbs
Perhaps the most famous one-on-one feud in the rivalry's history saw Padres utility man Kurt Bevacqua take on legendary Dodgers manager Tommy Lasorda. That, in retrospect, was probably a mistake. Bevacqua colorfully called out Lasorda for what he believed to be a purpose pitch by the Dodgers' Tom Niedenfuer to the Padres' Joe Lefebvre. “The fat little Italian,” Bevacqua said, should be fined for his role. Lasorda responded with an expletive-laden rant that goes down as one of the greatest tirades by a manager in baseball history. Removing a few expletives, Lasorda said: "I have never told a pitcher to throw at anybody, nor will I ever. And if I ever did, I certainly wouldn’t make him throw at a .130 hitter like Lefebvre or Bevacqua, who couldn’t hit water if he fell out of a boat."