The Dodgers defeated the Padres 4-0 at Dodger Stadium on Sunday-evening. Dodgers starting pitcher Tyler Anderson was dominant, giving up only two hits in seven scoreless innings. Cody Bellinger homered twice, and Max Muncy hit two basehits the day after hitting a crucial three-run homer. Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman also added two hits each.
But really, the individual game wasn’t really the point. The big takeaway here was the Padres’ continued ownership by the Dodgers.
With this sweep, the Dodgers are now 8-2 against the Padres this season, having defeated them 55-18. The Dodgers won their last nine games against the Padres last season, so in total they have won 17 of their last 19. This has also been going on for a while. The Padres have not won a season series against the Dodgers since 2010. From 2011 to the present, the Dodgers are 127-63 against the Padres.
Less than a week ago, the Padres received a lot of attention in light of the trading deadline. They added Josh Bell, Brandon Drury, Josh Hader and of course the biggest prize of the trading season to 23-year-old superstar Juan Soto. The attention was deserved. It was a playoff-caliber team that brought in some serious reinforcements, including one of the very best players in baseball who will be under team control through 2024.
However, the Dodgers are still the superior team. No one paying attention would have said otherwise. With the series sweep, they open a 15 1/2 game lead in NL West. At 75-33, they have the best record in baseball. They are on track to win a franchise record 113 games.
In addition, yes, they still fully own the Padres. Not that they should have reminded everyone, but the weekend series strongly drove the point home.