Did you think that the Los Angeles Dodgers were done taking the lead this season? Well, they just showed what it means to be a reigning champion as they snatched the division lead right from under the San Diego Padres noses. And no, they couldn’t do anything as they watched while LA swept them—all three games.
Now, LA came in with the mindset that they want nothing more than a sweep. Will Smith had mentioned, “These are three big ones. We want to sweep here,” and even Dave Roberts said they would finish them off, and they did. Usually when these two teams meet, the superstars clash and it’s an exciting game—but this time the spotlight was with LA the entire time.
On Sunday, for example, Mookie Betts was the “hero” of the lot, as he crushed a solo homer off Robert Suarez in the 8th to give LA a 5-4 win. And the poor gameplay by San Diego began with a 6-9 shutout on Saturday and a tense 3-2 loss on Friday. Three games, and three heartbreaks—hence it’s no surprise that even the manager is not hiding their disappointment.
Mike Shildt on Dodgers series: “We just played from behind the whole way.”#Padres | @Padres
https://t.co/6YbqEWFvEp pic.twitter.com/fzw5cIsL7B
— MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM (@MLBNetworkRadio) August 18, 2025
Mike Shildt, after the sweep, let out his frustration, saying, “We couldn’t put it together as consistently as we needed to this past weekend over in LA… We just played from behind the whole way.” He was not pointing at bad luck; he was pointing right at his guys for not showing up, and he is not wrong. Sunday with the Los Angeles Dodgers told the entire story. Yu Darvish, for example, was rocked for four runs in the first inning, including a Freddie Freeman three-run blast. Credit to the veteran, he battled through and gave his team a chance, and the offense came up.
Tatis doubled in a run, Ramon Laureano homered, Ryan O’Hearn doubled in another, and Xander Bogaerts came in to tie it in the 8th. But then came Mookie Betts, and he did what superstars do—punish the mistakes. The Padres didn’t answer to this as Tatis, Machado, and Bogaerts combined to go 1 for 13 with seven strikeouts. Meanwhile, Betts, Freeman, and Ohtani combined for four RBIs and two homers. The difference is night and day. Making matters worse, Jackson Merrill left Sunday with an ankle issue. Seems like Smith had a premonition, right? Adding more fuel to the fire is their latest disappointing game against the Giants.
Padres skipper tossed out after heated bout with umps!
If you think that it was just the Dodgers that made Shildt’s blood boil, well then, the game against the Giants tipped that cap even more. Things went from frustrating to maddening. It all started when, on Monday night, Xander Bogaerts looked like he was delivering a huge swing. A fly ball that appeared to bounce out of Ramos’s glove and over the fence. Now, Petco Park was ready to celebrate, but then came the review time. And then after three minutes of assessment, the umpires overturned the home run.
They ruled out Bogaerts because of fan interference. The kicker was that one of the fans who was reaching out for the ball was in a Giants jersey. Mike Shildt was done with this. He stormed out of the dugout and got in the ump’s face, and got tossed out of the game. Then the boos rained down. Even after the game, Shildt was frustrated, saying, “Clearly, he didn’t touch the baseball. And if it’s so clear, how come it takes 2 minutes and 40 seconds to figure it out? … It cost us an opportunity to win a baseball game.”
And honestly, that overturned homer did loom heavy given the San Diego Padres went on to lose 4-3. So, it is a “what could have been” scenario. Ramos himself later admitted that he felt the fan’s arm brush into play. And the Giants skipper called the reversal the “right one.” However, for Padres fans, of course, this was unfair. Now the Giants managed 4-0 early on, and while the San Diego Padres did try to claw their way back, they couldn’t. From winning back-to-back to now getting swept, it seems like the Padres are getting nervous.
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