ANAHEIM -- It has been a long time since the Dodgers have found themselves in the position they're in following Wednesday night's 6-5 loss to the Angels: in second place in the National League West, having ceded sole possession of the divisional lead to a surging Padres team.
Just how long depends on the scale.
In terms of this season, the Dodgers hadn't ended a day in second place since April 27. Going back further, it's been far longer since they didn't have a share of first place this late in the year.
The reigning World Series champions went wire to wire last year. Before that, they didn't relinquish the divisional lead from July 14 on in 2023 and from June 18 on in '22. Prior to Wednesday, the last time the Dodgers were in second place after the calendar flipped to August was '21, when they lost the NL West to the Giants.
The Dodgers could not have foreseen their tumble from a season-high nine-game lead in the division on July 3 to their current place in the standings, all in the space of 41 days.
"We're where we're at. We put ourselves in this spot," manager Dave Roberts said. "But no, I wouldn't have expected us to be in second place right now."
Following Thursday's team off-day, the Dodgers will take on the first-place Padres six times in 10 days. They'll welcome their divisional rivals to Dodger Stadium for a three-game set beginning on Friday, followed by another three games at Petco Park the following weekend.
The last time these two teams met, two months ago at Chavez Ravine, emotions ran high. Both Roberts and Padres manager Mike Shildt were at the center of the drama. But as much external noise as there is, the Dodgers are trying their best to focus on what they can do internally to get back on track.
"I think the game will dictate what happens," shortstop Mookie Betts said. "We just have to keep controlling the couple things we can control, which is our effort and our attitude. After that, the chips will fall where they may.”
As the Padres made up nine games in the division, they were playing better baseball while the Dodgers were enduring their worst stretch of the season. Since July 3, Los Angeles has gone 12-21 while San Diego went 23-12.
In that span, the Padres swung big to improve their roster ahead of the July 31 Trade Deadline. The Dodgers made a couple of moves to improve on the margins, but they're ultimately banking on getting healthier and the inherent talent of their roster leading to a turnaround.
Given everything at stake, meetings between the Dodgers and Padres have gotten especially intense over the past few years.
"I think that we've clearly dominated the division in the last decade," Roberts said. "Geographically speaking, winning a division, I think that they're trying to overtake us. I think that with that, that certainly brings out emotion. They got us a few years ago in the postseason and that was something, and we got them [last year]."
One night prior, when the Padres tied the Dodgers in the standings, Roberts described it as a new season for his team. What they did leading up to this point no longer matters -- although, by taking five of the first seven contests against the Padres, they're in a good position to clinch a potential postseason tiebreaker.
It's all about how the Dodgers handle the stretch run at this point. And that begins in earnest this weekend.
“Obviously, it doesn’t feel good to fall into second place and to lose a lot of these games," two-way star Shohei Ohtani said through interpreter Will Ireton. "We’re doing everything in our power, having close meetings, doing everything that we can to try to right the ship. We just have to do a better job.”