After beginning their final homestand of the regular season with a sweep of the San Francisco Giants, the Los Angeles Dodgers resume play on Tuesday for the start of what should be a highly entertaining three-game series against the San Diego Padres.
The Dodgers and Padres always seem to bring out the best in each other, and that should be no different this week as both teams look to finalize their postseason plans.
“I think it’s going to be a good kind of primer,” manager Dave Roberts said of the Dodgers taking on the Padres. “They’re a very talented team, they’re playing as good as anyone in all of baseball. I’m looking forward to playing those guys and just kind of ramping it up a little bit more for our guys.”
Recent matchups between the Dodgers and Padres have come with added intensity, and that only figures to escalate when they meet at Dodger Stadium in what could very well be a preview of the playoffs.
The Padres, winners of 13 of their last 14 games, are tied with the Chicago Cubs for the top National League Wild Card spot. They have a magic number of just two to clinch a postseason berth, but remain focused on securing the No. 4 seed, as it would give them home-field advantage in the Wild Card Series.
The Dodgers would like nothing more than to throw a wrench in their plans, but they are also still playing for something themselves. After already winning the NL West, L.A. has its sights on finishing with one of the top two records, which would guarantee them an automatic bye to the Division Series.
The Dodgers enter play with a four-game lead over the Atlanta Braves and a magic number of three to clinch the No. 2 seed. They are also still in play for the top seed, but the Milwaukee Brewers hold a two-game advantage and the tiebreaker with just six to play.
Dodgers have owned Padres in 2026
The Dodgers won 10 of their first 13 head-to-head meetings with the Padres this season and will look to continue that dominance when they meet again this week.
If the Dodgers’ and Padres’ current postseason seeds hold, the earliest they could meet in October is the NL Championship Series. The teams have faced each other three times in MLB postseason history — all since 2020 — with L.A. winning two of those series.
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