The Dodgers–Padres rivalry is a

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB)

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...

divisional

rivalry A rivalry is the state of two people or groups engaging in a lasting competitive relationship. Rivalry is the "against each other" spirit between two competing sides. The relationship itself may also be called "a rivalry", and each participant o ...

between the

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...

and the

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penna ...

, based in the two biggest cities in Southern California. The Dodgers and Padres are both members of the

(NL)

West West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sunset, Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic languages, German ...

division. It's occasionally called the I-5 rivalry because

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

and

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...

lie approximately 130 miles apart along

Interstate 5 Interstate 5 (I-5) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the West Coast of the United States, running largely parallel to the Pacific coast of the contiguous U.S. from Mexico to Canada. It travels through the states of Califor ...

Background

The rise of

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most po ...

as a major region of the United States brought about a significant economic rivalry between neighboring Los Angeles and San Diego. Through the years, San Diego proved to be an unstable home to its sports franchises as the NFL's

Chargers The Los Angeles Chargers are a professional American football team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Chargers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) West division, and ...

and NBA's

Clippers The Los Angeles Clippers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Clippers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division in the league's Western Conference. The Clipper ...

both relocated to Los Angeles. The San Diego Padres and Los Angeles Dodgers have been rivals ever since the Padres joined the National League West Division. The Dodgers have traditionally been the much better team in this rivalry, though most San Diego fans particularly harbor most of their animosity towards LA. Both the Dodgers and Padres had recently bolstered their rosters in their quests for a playoff run. The Dodgers swept the Padres in the NLDS, culminating in a World Series championship in

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...

on top of four consecutive appearances in the NLCS, while the Padres appeared in the

2022 NLCS The 2022 National League Championship Series was the best-of-seven playoff between the San Diego Padres and the Philadelphia Phillies for the National League (NL) pennant and the right to play in the 2022 World Series. The series began on Octobe ...

and lost to the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...

. Both stadiums are accessible via

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...

as The

Pacific Surfliner The ''Pacific Surfliner'' is a passenger train service serving the communities on the coast of Southern California between San Diego and San Luis Obispo. The service carried 2,924,117 passengers during fiscal year 2016, a 3.4% increase from F ...

connects the two cities given

Petco Park Petco Park is a baseball stadium in Downtown San Diego, California. It is the home ballpark of Major League Baseball's San Diego Padres, and has also been used as a venue for concerts, soccer, golf, and rugby. The ballpark is located between Se ...

's proximity to San Diego Station and Dodger Stadium's shuttle to and from LA Union Station. As of May 12, 2024, the Dodgers currently lead the rivalry 521–424–1 in the regular season and 4–3 in postseason play.

History

1960s

The first meeting between the two teams occurred during the seventh game of the 1969 season at Dodger Stadium on April 15, 1969. In the beginning, it seemed like it could be a pitchers’ duel. With

Johnny Podres John Joseph Podres (September 30, 1932 – January 13, 2008) was an American left-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball (MLB). He played in the majors from 1953 to 1969, spending most of his career with the Brooklyn / Los Angeles Dodgers. Podres ...

on the mound for the Padres, facing his old team in his final season in the majors, and

Claude Osteen Claude Wilson Osteen (born August 9, 1939), nicknamed "Gomer" because of his resemblance to television character Gomer Pyle, is an American former professional baseball left-handed pitcher, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cinci ...

for the Dodgers, the first four innings passed quickly and uneventfully. But things fell apart for the Padres in the bottom of the fifth inning: A groundout gave way to a walk, three consecutive singles, and yet another walk, before

Andy Kosco Andrew John Kosco (born October 5, 1941) is a former professional baseball outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball for the Minnesota Twins, New York Yankees, Los Angeles Dodgers, Milwaukee Brewers, California Angels, Boston Red Sox, and ...

hit a grand slam that put the Dodgers ahead 6-0. Afterwards, Osteen limited the Padres to only three hits, the Dodger lineup piled eight more runs with the final score being 14-0. It was the Padres’ fourth consecutive loss after beginning their existence with a sweep of the

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston, Texas. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division, having moved to the division in 2013 after ...

before getting swept by the

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Yor ...

. The next day, they piled another nine runs on the Padres, who only mustered a lone run in response. The Padres finished their inaugural season with a 52–110 record and did not have a winning season for nearly a decade.

1970s

The Padres' fortunes began to shift near the end of the 1970s as they had their first winning season in

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd go ...

, though they failed to qualify for the postseason as the Dodgers won the division en route to a World Series appearance. Despite the lone winning season in 1978, the Padres' only successes were two seasons at .500 in

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street bridges, 14th Street Bridge in ...

and

1983 The year 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to Internet protocol suite, TCP/IP is officially completed (this is consid ...

, while the Dodgers had three World Series appearances during the 1970s, in

1974 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; f ...

1977 Events January * January 8 – Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (now the Democratic R ...

, and

(losing in all three).

1980s

The Padres broke through with an appearance in their first World Series in , but they fell to the

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...

in five games. The Dodgers, meanwhile, won a pair of championships in and .

1990s

The Dodgers teams soon waned in competition through the 1990s, only winning the division in 1994 (unofficially, because the end of the regular season and the World Series were canceled) and 1995. In 1995, the Dodgers appeared in the

NLDS In Major League Baseball, the National League Division Series (NLDS) determines which two teams from the National League will advance to the National League Championship Series. The Division Series consists of two best-of-five series, featuring e ...

but were swept by the

Reds Reds may refer to: General * Red (political adjective), supporters of Communism or socialism * Reds (January Uprising), a faction of the Polish insurrectionists during the January Uprising in 1863 * USSR (or, to a lesser extent, China) during th ...

. Meanwhile, the fortunes had alternated in favor of the Padres during the 1996 season, when they made a thorough push to the NLDS but were then swept by the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals hav ...

. The Padres won the pennant in 1998, but were swept by the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Amer ...

in the

World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the World ...

2000s

Both franchises enjoyed success and encountered problems in the 2000s. The Dodgers won the division three times but were defeated by the

in the NLCS in both

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

and

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

. The

Frank Mccourt Francis McCourt (August 19, 1930July 19, 2009) was an Irish-American teacher and writer. He won a Pulitzer Prize for his book ''Angela's Ashes'', a tragicomic memoir of the misery and squalor of his childhood. Early life and education Frank McC ...

–led ownership proved to be largely flawed as the Dodgers often boasted immensely talented rosters but constantly fell short of a World Series appearance throughout the decade until Mccourt's forced sale of the team in 2011. The Padres had back-to-back division wins in 2005 and 2006 but fell to the

both times in the NLDS. Notably, the rivals were the only two teams to play spring training in China as a part of the

MLB China Series The Major League Baseball China Series, or MLB China Series, were two spring training games between the San Diego Padres and Los Angeles Dodgers played in the People's Republic of China. It marked the first time Major League Baseball teams play ...

in 2008.

2010s

In 2016, both teams met for the league season opener. Both teams began the season with new managers, including Dave Roberts, the former Padres manager who had signed with the Dodgers during the offseason. The Dodgers won 15–0. The Dodgers made two

appearances, in

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

and

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

, but controversially fell in both to the

and the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ...

, respectively. The Dodgers led the NL West division for a seven-year stretch from 2013 to 2020 while the Padres failed to make the postseason from 2006 to 2020.

2020s

The 2020 season was limited to 60 games by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Dodgers won the division title while the Padres finished in second. The two teams met in the

Division Series The Division Series is the quarterfinal round of the Major League Baseball playoffs. Four series are played in this round, two each for both the American League and the National League. 1981 season The first use of the term "Division Series" date ...

, played in

Arlington, Texas Arlington is a city in the U.S. state of Texas, located in Tarrant County. It forms part of the Mid-Cities region of the Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington metropolitan statistical area, and is a principal city of the metropolis and region. ...

, under COVID-19 contingencies.

2020 NLDS

In Game 1,

Mike Clevinger Michael Anthony Clevinger (born December 21, 1990) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Chicago White Sox of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Cleveland Indians and San Diego Padres. Clevinger ma ...

returned to the mound for the Padres but was pulled after one inning after a noticeable drop in velocity. The game remained scoreless until the fourth inning, when the Padres scored on a two-out hit from

Austin Nola Austin Kyle Nola (born December 28, 1989) is an American professional baseball catcher for the San Diego Padres of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played in MLB for the Seattle Mariners. Nola was born and raised in Baton Rouge, Louis ...

. San Diego enjoyed their lead briefly – until the Dodgers scored on an error in the fifth. Then a game that had been well-pitched to that point boiled over in the sixth, when the Dodgers put up four runs to win, 5–1 score. Just like Game 3 of their wild card win over the Cardinals, the Padres used nine pitchers and walked ten batters, along the way. The Padres took an early lead in the second inning when

Wil Myers William Bradford Myers (born December 10, 1990) is an American professional baseball outfielder and first baseman for the Cincinnati Reds of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Tampa Bay Rays and San Diego Padre ...

hit a double to center field that scored

Tommy Pham Thomas James Pham (born March 8, 1988) is an American professional baseball outfielder who is a free agent. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the St. Louis Cardinals, Tampa Bay Rays, San Diego Padres, Cincinnati Reds, and Boston R ...

. The Dodgers took the lead for good in the third inning on a two-run double by

Corey Seager Corey Drew Seager (born April 27, 1994), nicknamed "Seags", is an American professional baseball shortstop for the Texas Rangers of Major League Baseball (MLB). Seager was selected by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the first round of the 2012 Ma ...

and a single by

Max Muncy Maxwell Steven Muncy (born August 25, 1990) is an American professional baseball infielder for the Los Angeles Dodgers of Major League Baseball (MLB). He played college baseball for the Baylor Bears. He was selected by the Oakland Athletics in t ...

, and padded their lead the next inning on a

Cody Bellinger Cody James Bellinger (born July 13, 1995) is an American professional baseball center fielder and first baseman for the Chicago Cubs of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Los Angeles Dodgers. He was selected ...

home run. The Padres began the sixth inning with back-to-back home runs by

Manny Machado Manuel Arturo Machado (; born July 6, 1992) is an American professional baseball third baseman and shortstop for the San Diego Padres of Major League Baseball (MLB). Very highly recruited from an early age, he was raised in Miami, where he at ...

and

Eric Hosmer Eric John Hosmer (born October 24, 1989) is an American professional baseball first baseman for the Chicago Cubs of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Kansas City Royals, San Diego Padres, and the Boston Red Sox ...

that reduced their deficit to one, but Dodgers starter

Clayton Kershaw Clayton Edward Kershaw (born March 19, 1988) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers of Major League Baseball (MLB) . He has played for the Dodgers for the entirety of his MLB career. A left-handed starting p ...

retired the next three batters to end the inning. The Padres threatened again in the seventh inning, when Bellinger made a spectacular catch over the center-field wall that would otherwise have been a go-ahead two-run home run by

Fernando Tatís Jr Fernando is a Spanish and Portuguese given name and a surname common in Spain, Portugal, Italy, France, Switzerland, former Spanish or Portuguese colonies in Latin America, Africa, the Philippines, India, and Sri Lanka. It is equivalent to the G ...

. The Dodgers padded their lead in the bottom of the seventh on a

Justin Turner Justin Matthew Turner (born November 23, 1984) is an American professional baseball third baseman for the Boston Red Sox of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Baltimore Orioles, New York Mets and Los Angeles Dod ...

sacrifice fly In baseball, a sacrifice fly (sometimes abbreviated to sac fly) is defined by Rule 9.08(d): "Score a sacrifice fly when, before two are out, the batter hits a ball in flight handled by an outfielder or an infielder running in the outfield in fair o ...

and a single by Muncy. The Padres threatened in the top of the ninth inning, scoring two runs and once again reducing their deficit to one and load the bases, however. Joe Kelly got Hosmer to ground out to end the game. In Game 3, the Dodgers took an early lead in the second inning that was quickly erased when the Padres scored two runs in the bottom half of the inning. The Padres' lead was also short-lived, as the Dodgers scored five runs in the third inning en route to a blowout win. Though he did not

start Start can refer to multiple topics: *Takeoff, the phase of flight where an aircraft transitions from moving along the ground to flying through the air * Starting lineup in sports *Standing start, and rolling start, in an auto race Acronyms *St ...

the game, erstwhile Dodgers starter

Julio Urías Julio César Urías Acosta (born August 12, 1996), nicknamed "El Culichi", is a Mexican professional baseball pitcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers of Major League Baseball (MLB). The Dodgers signed him in 2012, and he made his MLB debut in 2016. ...

pitched five innings in

relief Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces are bonded to a solid background of the same material. The term ''relief'' is from the Latin verb ''relevo'', to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that the ...

, allowing one run on one hit, striking out six Padres, and getting credited as the

winning pitcher Winning may refer to: * Victory Film * ''Winning'' (film), a 1969 movie starring Paul Newman * '' Winning: The Racing Life of Paul Newman'', a 2015 documentary by Adam Carolla and Nate Adams Music * ''Winning'', an album by Ten Foot Pole, 2022 ...

. The Padres, meanwhile, used 11 pitchers – a postseason record for a nine-inning game. The Dodgers advanced to their fourth NLCS in five seasons, ultimately winning the World Series. After trading for

Yu Darvish , more commonly known as Yu Darvish (ダルビッシュ有), is a Japanese professional baseball pitcher for the San Diego Padres of Major League Baseball (MLB). Darvish has also played in MLB for the Texas Rangers, Los Angeles Dodgers, and ...

Joe Musgrove Joseph Anthony Musgrove (born December 4, 1992) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the San Diego Padres of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played within the Toronto Blue Jays, Houston Astros, and Pittsburgh Pirates organ ...

and

Blake Snell Blake Ashton Snell (born December 4, 1992), is an American professional baseball pitcher for the San Diego Padres of Major League Baseball (MLB). The Tampa Bay Rays selected Snell in the first round of the 2011 Major League Baseball draft. He ma ...

in the off-season, the Padres looked like their fortunes would continue to reverse during the season, but the

made an unexpected push to win the division with the Dodgers finishing in second. The Padres only posted a 79-83 record, missing the postseason. After the season, Padres manager

Jayce Tingler Jayce Michael Tingler (born November 28, 1980) is an American professional baseball coach and manager. He is the bench coach for the Minnesota Twins of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously served as manager of MLB's San Diego Padres from 2 ...

was fired and was replaced by long-time Oakland A's manager

Bob Melvin Robert Paul Melvin (born October 28, 1961) is an American former professional baseball player and coach, who is the manager of the San Diego Padres of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has been named Manager of the Year three times. Selected in t ...

. At the

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; 2022 Sri Lankan protests, Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretari ...

trade deadline, the Padres acquired

Juan Soto Juan José Soto Pacheco (born October 25, 1998) is a Dominican professional baseball outfielder for the San Diego Padres of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Washington Nationals. Soto signed with the Nation ...

, Josh Bell,

Brandon Drury Brandon Shane Drury (born August 21, 1992) is an American professional baseball utility player for the Los Angeles Angels of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Arizona Diamondbacks, New York Yankees, Toronto Blue ...

, and

Josh Hader Joshua Ronald Hader (born April 7, 1994) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the San Diego Padres of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Milwaukee Brewers. Hader is a four-time All-Star and three-t ...

, going all-in to beat the Dodgers and win their first World Series. Padres owner

Peter Seidler Peter Seidler (born 1960) is an American businessman. He is the chairman for the San Diego Padres of Major League Baseball. Seidler is the grandson of Walter O'Malley and nephew of Peter O'Malley. He earned a bachelor's degree in finance from th ...

described the situation as such. "They're the dragon up the freeway that we're trying to slay," Seidler said during an in-game interview on ESPN's Sunday Night Baseball when describing the Dodgers-Padres dynamic. The Dodgers finished 2022 going 14-5 against San Diego, not dropping a single series against the Padres. Things grew worse for San Diego as

Fernando Tatis Jr. Fernando is a Spanish and Portuguese given name and a surname common in Spain, Portugal, Italy, France, Switzerland, former Spanish or Portuguese colonies in Latin America, Africa, the Philippines, India, and Sri Lanka. It is equivalent to the G ...

(who was gearing up for make his debut on the season from an off-season injury to his shoulder) was suspended for 80 games on August 12 after testing positive for Clostebal; a banned steroid. On top of leading the series through the 2022 season, the Dodgers led the league with 111 wins, winning the division in the process.

2022 NLDS

The Padres rebounded towards the end of the season and earned a wild card spot, where they defeated the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...

2–1 in the

Wild Card Series The Wild Card Series (formerly known as Wild Card Game from 2012 to 2019 and in 2021) are games that serve as the opening round of the Major League Baseball (MLB) Major League Baseball postseason, postseason. A single wild card game was first ...

. The Dodgers and Padres played each other in the 2022 National League Division Series. During Game 2, a goose landed on the field of Dodger Stadium, with both fanbases claiming it as a rally goose and a curse for their team. The Padres won the series 3–1 in an upset over the Dodgers, whose 111 wins in the regular season were the fourth most in MLB history and 22 more than San Diego's 89. The only time in league playoff history that a team defeated an opponent who was more than 22 wins better was in the

1906 World Series The 1906 World Series was the championship series in Major League Baseball for the 1906 season. The third edition of the World Series, it featured a crosstown matchup between the American League champion Chicago White Sox and the National Leagu ...

, when the 93-win

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and p ...

defeated the 116-win

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is located ...

. The win advanced San Diego to their first NLCS since 1998. However, their victory was short-lived as they were upset as well, this time by the 6th seed Philadelphia Phillies, who defeated them in 5 games to win their first pennant since 2009.

2023

During the 2023 season, tensions began to rise between the two teams yet again after a May 6 game in San Diego in which the Padres media team displayed a photoshopped

meme A meme ( ) is an idea, behavior, or style that spreads by means of imitation from person to person within a culture and often carries symbolic meaning representing a particular phenomenon or theme. A meme acts as a unit for carrying cultural i ...

of Clayton Kershaw crying in an effort to taunt the Dodgers. The image led to controversy by fans and sportswriters. Following the incident, the Padres lost 10 out of their next 12 games, including 5 consecutive losses to the Dodgers. This caused fans to believe that the scoreboard image cursed the team, jokingly labeling the incident "Curseshaw". The image came after the Padres took the season series opener, 5-2. Following the gesture, the Padres only won one series against the Dodgers the entire season. Overall, what looked like a passing of the guard during the 2022 NLDS, when the Padres knocked off the Dodgers, did not occur the following season, as the Los Angeles Dodgers once again cruised to a National League West title, while San Diego missed the postseason entirely.

2024

Both teams opened the 2024 MLB season with a 2 game series at

Gocheok Sky Dome The Gocheok Sky Dome () is a domed baseball stadium located in Gocheok-dong, Seoul, South Korea. It is the home ballpark of KBO League, KBO club Kiwoom Heroes. The stadium is primarily used for baseball and has a capacity for 16,744 spectators fo ...

Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 ...

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

on March 20 and 21, 2024, splitting the series.

Postseason series

The first postseason matchup between the two teams occurred during the

2020 National League Division Series The 2020 National League Division Series were two best-of-five-games series in Major League Baseball (MLB) to determine the participating teams in the 2020 National League Championship Series. These matchups were: *(1) Los Angeles Dodgers (West D ...

Globe Life Field Globe Life Field is a retractable roof stadium in Arlington, Texas. It is the home ballpark of Major League Baseball's Texas Rangers. It is located just south of Choctaw Stadium, the Rangers' former home ballpark. History Background On May ...

in Arlington, Texas, as a part of the playoff bubble created for the COVID-19 pandemic. The Dodgers swept the Padres 3–0. The second postseason matchup between the two teams occurred during the 2022 National League Division Series with the Padres winning once at Dodgers Stadium and twice at Petco to defeat the Dodgers 3-1.

Season-by-season results

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1974 World Series The 1974 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1974 season. The 71st edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff played between the American League (AL) champion (and two-time defending World S ...

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1977 World Series The 1977 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1977 season. The 74th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff played between the American League (AL) champion New York Yankees and the Natio ...

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1978 World Series The 1978 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1978 season. The 75th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff played between the American League (AL) champion New York Yankees and the Natio ...

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,

Strike Strike may refer to: People * Strike (surname) Physical confrontation or removal *Strike (attack), attack with an inanimate object or a part of the human body intended to cause harm *Airstrike, military strike by air forces on either a suspected ...

-shortened season
Padres' San Diego Stadium renamed

Jack Murphy Stadium San Diego Stadium was a multi-purpose stadium on the west coast of the United States, in San Diego, California. The stadium opened in 1967 as San Diego Stadium and was known as Jack Murphy Stadium from 1981 to 1997. From 1997 to 2017, the stadium ...

Dodgers win

1981 World Series The 1981 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1981 season. The 78th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff played between the American League (AL) champion New York Yankees and the Nati ...

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, Padres lose

1984 World Series The 1984 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1984 season. The 81st edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff played between the American League (AL) champion Detroit Tigers and the Nationa ...

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, Dodgers win

1988 World Series The 1988 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1988 season. The 85th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff played between the American League (AL) champion Oakland Athletics and the Na ...

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-shortened season. Strike cancels postseason.
MLB adds Wild Card, allowing for both teams to make the postseason in the same year. , - , , style=";" , Dodgers , style=";" , , style=";" , Dodgers, , Tie, , style=";" , Dodgers
, 1994 realignment increases meetings from 12 to 13 meetings per year. , - , , style=";" , Padres , style=";" , , style=";" , Padres, , style=";" , Dodgers, , style=";" , Dodgers
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, Padres' Jack Murphy Stadium renamed

Qualcomm Stadium San Diego Stadium was a multi-purpose stadium on the west coast of the United States, in San Diego, California. The stadium opened in 1967 as San Diego Stadium and was known as Jack Murphy Stadium from 1981 to 1997. From 1997 to 2017, the stadiu ...

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, MLB changed to an unbalanced schedule in 1998 to accommodate MLB's expansion and realignment, resulting in 12–13 meetings per year.
Padres lose

1998 World Series The 1998 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1998 season. The 94th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff between the American League (AL) champion New York Yankees and the National Le ...

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, MLB changed to an unbalanced schedule in 2001, resulting in 18-19 meetings per year , - , , style=";" , Dodgers , style=";" , , style=";" , Dodgers, , style=";" , Padres, , style=";" , Dodgers
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, Padres open

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, Both AL and NL having balanced teams leads to a balanced schedule of 19 games per season. , - , , style=";" , Dodgers , style=";" , , style=";" , Dodgers, , style=";" , Dodgers, , style=";" , Dodgers
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, Dodgers lose

2017 World Series The 2017 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 2017 season. The 113th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff played between the National League (NL) champion Los Angeles Dodgers and the ...

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, Dodgers lose

2018 World Series The 2018 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's 2018 season. The 114th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff played between the American League (AL) champion Boston Red Sox and the National Lea ...

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, Season shortened to 60 games (with 10 meetings) by the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

.
Dodgers win

2020 World Series The 2020 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's 2020 season. The 116th World Series was a best-of-seven-playoff between the American League (AL) champion Tampa Bay Rays and the National League (NL) champion Los Ang ...

, - style="background:#f2f2f2; font-weight:bold;" , 2020 NLDS , style=";" , Dodgers , style=";" , , style=";" , Dodgers, , style=";" , Dodgers, , style=";" , Dodgers
, First meeting in the postseason.
Dodgers win

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, , - style="background:#f2f2f2; font-weight:bold;" , 2022 NLDS , style=";" , Padres , style=";" , , Tie, , style=";" , Padres, , style=";" , Dodgers
, Second meeting in the postseason.
Padres lose

. , - , , style=";" , Dodgers , style=";" , , style=";" , Dodgers, , style=";" , Dodgers, , style=";" , Dodgers
, Schedule structure modified this season to allow every team to play one series against every interleague team. Shortening meetings from 19 to 13 games. , - , , style=";" , Padres , style=";" , , style=";" , Padres, , Tie, , style=";" , Dodgers
, Both teams play at inaugural MLB Seoul Series to start season, splitting the 2-game series. , - , - , Regular season games , style=";" , Dodgers , style=";" , , style=";" , Dodgers, , style=";" , Dodgers, , , - , Postseason games , style=";" , Dodgers , style=";" , , style=";" , Dodgers, , style=";" , Padres, , , - , Postseason series , Tie , , style=";" , Dodgers, , Tie, , NLDS:

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Connections between the teams

References

;Inline citations Los Angeles Dodgers San Diego Padres Baseball in California Major League Baseball rivalries {{DEFAULTSORT:Dodgers-Padres rivalry