Animosity between the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres has grown exponentially the past handful of seasons. Increased intensity between the two National League West opponents has produced some exciting series and been a contributing factor in driving up ticket sales at Petco Park whenever the Dodgers play in San Diego.
Back in May, a new Petco Park attendance record was set for the middle game of the Padres’ series with the Dodgers. The announced crowd of 46,701 broke the original record of 45,567, when the Dodgers played the Padres on Opening Day in 2014.
But the teams combined to rewrite the record books yet again this week. On Tuesday, the Padres announced attendance as 47,559. That represented the largest crowd in Petco Park history and their 33rd sellout of the season.
While a good portion of that was Dodgers fans, the Padres faithful were rewarded with a walk-off win in 10 innings.
Then on Wednesday, Petco Park attendance was 46,997, good for the Padres’ 34th sellout of the year. San Diego fans were treated to another victory as Clayton Kershaw labored through an outing that ended with it being his first career start in the regular season without at least one strikeout.
The Dodgers’ loss on Wednesday was their seventh against the Padres this season. That clinched the season series in favor of the Padres for the first time since 2014. They only have three more head-to-head meetings remaining this year, from Sept. 24-26, at Dodger Stadium.
It’s a stark departure for a team that went 9-4 against the Padres last season and with the all-time series leaning very favorably in the Dodgers’ favor.
Petco Park attendance record
With such large crowds this week, the Dodgers and Padres combined to set the Petco Park attendance record for a two-game series with a 94,556 combined total over the two games.
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