Image Credit: Petty Officer 3rd Class Emiline Senn
(North County Beat) – The San Diego Padres defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers 8-1 at Petco Park on Wednesday night, concluding a two-game sweep and ensuring a winning season series against their rivals for the first time since 2010.
“They’ve been a great team for a long time,” said Manny Machado. “It’s great to get this win. We have to go through them, and we know that.”
In 2010, Tony Gwynn Jr. played 117 games for the Padres, while Machado had just been drafted by the Orioles, and Jackson Merrill was only seven years old. Clayton Kershaw had not yet won his first of three Cy Young Awards.
Facing Kershaw, the Padres scored seven runs (three earned) before he exited with two outs in the fourth inning. Dylan Cease, who secured the win, allowed just one run and three hits in 5⅔ innings. Cease had thrown a no-hitter last Thursday in Washington and has now allowed just one run in his last 24 innings.
The Padres have now won nine of their past 10 games and are at a season-high eight games above .500 with a 59-51 record.
“Every game is crucial now,” Cease said after his fourth consecutive win. “We need to maintain this focus, intensity, and effort. We’re looking really good right now.”
The Padres jumped to a 4-0 lead in the second inning. Luis Campusano singled to score Merrill, who had singled and advanced on a walk by Ha-Seong Kim. Kershaw then committed an error on a bunt by Bryce Johnson, allowing Kim to score. Campusano reached second on the bunt and later scored on a groundout by Luis Arraez. Johnson scored from second on a single by Jurickson Profar.
The Dodgers managed to score one run in the fourth inning, but the Padres responded with a three-run fourth inning, highlighted by Campusano’s home run. Johnson singled, Arraez reached on an error, and Profar and Xander Bogaerts contributed with an RBI single and a sacrifice fly, respectively.
The Padres extended their lead to 8-1 in the seventh inning with doubles by Bogaerts and Merrill and a single by Machado.
The late Peter Seidler, whose grandfather moved the Dodgers from Brooklyn to Los Angeles, became part of a group that bought the Padres in 2012 and later became the team’s chairman. In 2022, he referred to the Dodgers as “the dragon up the freeway.” That October, the Padres defeated the Dodgers in the National League Division Series, creating a memorable moment in franchise history.
Despite the Dodgers’ dominance over the Padres for most of the past 13 years, the Padres’ recent victories have ended an inglorious chapter. In 2010, the Padres were 10-8 against the Dodgers and won 90 games but missed the postseason.
The ultimate goal remains the playoffs. With this win, the Padres are now 4½ games behind the division-leading Dodgers and hold the second wild-card spot.
“Our goals haven’t changed all season,” said manager Mike Shildt. “We’re aiming to win the division. It’s a competitive division, but we’re up for the challenge.”
