Dodgers’ Will Smith Dismisses Padres Rivalry With Blunt Comment originally appeared on Athlon Sports. Eight months after squaring off in the 2024 NLDS, the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres finally met again.

So, that's a good start to my career with this rivalry ... they sit in second place in the NL West, one game behind the Dodgers and one game ahead of the Padres. And you can't forget ...

Starting Friday night, the Giants will start a three-game set with the Dodgers, with first place in the National League West on the line. Yes, we’re not even halfway through the baseball season — have you even put in an All-Star ballot yet? — but did anyone expect the Giants to be in such a position last October? What about in January?

Still, on Monday, the Padres came within a close call or two of moving into a virtual tie atop the NL West. The Dodgers remain the class of the division and, until proven otherwise, the entire league. And for now, the team that nearly ousted them last October doesn’t appear to be going away.

The Dodgers and Padres have shared a division -- and Southern California proximity -- for more than five decades. For most of that time, it's been hard to call this a "rivalry" (whatever that word means,

Yoshinobu Yamamoto gives up six hits and five earned runs as the San Francisco Giants defeat the Dodgers to move into a first-place tie with L.A. in the NL West.

Casey Schmitt's third-inning grand slam led the San Francisco Giants to a 6-2 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers Friday night, resulting in a tie for first place in the National League West. The Giants jumped out to an early lead with Willy Adames' solo home run in the top of the first,