Padres and Dodgers can agree on one thing: This rivalry is real

SAN DIEGO -- Long before Joe Musgrove threw a pitch for his hometown team, the loosely defined rivalry between the Padres and the Dodgers was mostly the result of geographic proximity and a shared division. There was a sense of competition between the two teams from Southern California, but it was rather one-sided.

"Up until I got into pro ball, really, it had been all Dodgers, all the way. They had beaten us down for years and years," Musgrove said. "It was a rivalry at one point, and then it got to the point where San Diego was kind of just hanging onto something that wasn't there."

The Dodgers, of course, considered the Giants their main rivals, a relationship that dated back to both teams' beginnings in New York in the late 19th century. While there's no getting rid of that historic connection, it's hard to deny that the rivalry between the Dodgers and Padres has gained steam in recent years.

"Growing up, it was L.A. and San Francisco," said Dodgers starter Jack Flaherty, himself a hometown kid pitching for his childhood favorite team. "But over the last couple of years, it's morphed."

Said San Diego manager Mike Shildt: “The geography creates a natural rivalry, enthusiasm amongst two fan bases. So that’s very unique and exciting and fun to be a part of and experience.”

For much of their shared history, the Padres have played second fiddle to the Dodgers, perennial favorites not only in the National League West but in the Majors at large. But the 2020s ushered in a new era for the two clubs, one in which both have established themselves as the teams to beat in the division -- and naturally, it has made for some gripping drama on the field.

• Top moments in Dodgers-Padres rivalry

The intensity between the two clubs reached a boiling point in Sunday's NLDS Game 2 at Dodger Stadium, when on-field tension following a Fernando Tatis Jr. hit-by-pitch in the sixth inning escalated when fans began throwing objects in the direction of Padres left fielder Jurickson Profar in the seventh, resulting in a delay of more than 10 minutes. Earlier in the game, Profar had reached into the left-field stands to rob a Mookie Betts homer and excitedly hopped a few times while facing the crowd after bringing it back.

Lost in all of it was that Manny Machado, after exchanging heated words with Flaherty following a strikeout in the sixth inning, had thrown a ball into the L.A. dugout in the direction of manager Dave Roberts. Roberts said Monday that he hadn't noticed that happening in the moment, but after seeing a video of the incident, he called it "unsettling."

"Obviously, I have a relationship with Manny from years past," Roberts said of Machado, who played for the Dodgers in 2018. "There was intent behind it. It didn't almost hit me because there was a net. And that was very bothersome. If it was intended at me, I would be very -- it's pretty disrespectful.

"So I don't know his intent. I don't want to speak for him. But I did see the video. And the ball was directed at me with something behind it."

When did the enmity between these clubs become this deep? As with all good rivalries, timing played a significant role.

The Dodgers and Padres lack the deep history of rivalries such as the Cardinals and Cubs or the Red Sox and Yankees, but L.A. utility man Tommy Edman -- who had spent his entire big league career with St. Louis before being traded ahead of the 2024 Deadline -- said the current state of affairs between the NL West heavyweights is more than comparable.

"I would say there's more … intensity, I guess, within this rivalry. I think just because they've been at the top of their division the last few years," said Edman, who grew up in San Diego. "With St. Louis and then Chicago, Chicago had a couple years where they weren't quite as good, and then we weren't quite as good last year. I think the recency bias might play a little bit of a factor in that."

Padres utility man Tyler Wade, a former Yankee playing his first season in the NL West, shared a similar sentiment.

"I feel like this [rivalry is] a little bit chirpier in a sense," he said. "I kind of considered it similar to Boston and New York. It's the West Coast version of that, which, it's been great, man. I think everyone on both sides loves it. It brings out the best in competition."

With the Dodgers and Padres facing off in the NLDS for the third time in five seasons -- L.A. swept San Diego in three games in 2020, then San Diego bounced L.A. in four games in '22 -- there is a foundation for the drama between these two teams to continue for years to come.

As long as it doesn't result in dangerous situations for players and fans alike, as it nearly did in Game 2 at Dodger Stadium, both sides embrace the emotions that come with the territory.

"You know [fans are] not going to be saying nice things when we're in L.A. When you go to a team that doesn't care, you don't see that," Padres starter Michael King said. "Similar in Boston, when I was a Yankee, fans there are going to get on you. It's one of my favorite things about the game, because I think hearing a pin drop in an opposing stadium is the joy of this game."