SAN DIEGO — They had some catching up to do.
The 2025 season went over 60 games without baseball’s spiciest neighborhood war, the Dodgers and San Diego Padres finally renewing hostilities this week. Meeting for the first time since last fall’s compelling National League Division Series, they exchanged leads like angry looks Monday night.
The two rivals couldn’t settle their differences in just nine innings, needing 10 before the Dodgers claimed an 8-7 victory over the Padres.
“Resilience. It wasn’t a pretty game to be quite honest but we found a way to win,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “Got some hits when we needed to. Made some pitches when we needed to. Here, against this ballclub, we’ll take it any way we can get it.”
The Dodgers came into this season’s first matchup with their starting rotation in its perpetual state of depletion. The Padres, meanwhile, had managed no more than three runs in any of their previous four games or eight of their previous 10.
None of that mattered.
The Padres had right-hander Nick Pivetta taking the ball. The well-traveled right-hander signed as a free agent last winter has found a home in San Diego – literally. He went into Monday unbeaten in six starts at Petco Park this season with a 1.69 ERA in those starts, holding opposing hitters to a .164 batting average (21 for 128).
That didn’t matter either.
The Dodgers made themselves at home against Pivetta, scoring nearly as many runs in four innings against him on Monday (five) as he had allowed in all of those previous home starts combined (seven).
The Dodgers sent 18 batters to the plate in the first three innings, going 7 for 15 against Pivetta and forcing him to throw 72 pitches.
“We were able to get guys on, get pressure on him,” Dodgers catcher Will Smith said. “He had to make some pitches. We were able to execute, drive guys in.”
Doubles by Shohei Ohtani and Freddie Freeman plus a throwing error by Manny Machado and a sacrifice fly by Smith produced two runs in the first inning. Five hits, including a two-run home run from Smith, produced three more runs in the third inning.
Like parking spots and reasonably priced hotel rooms, outs were hard to come by for Dodgers starter Dustin May as well. He gave up three consecutive hits to start the first inning, walking four of nine batters at one point, gave up a bases-loaded two-out triple to Tyler Wade and twice let two-run leads get away.
“Nothing was very good,” May said. “I’m just gonna kind of scratch it. Nothing was really very good. Last few have been okay with command and stuff. Just today, everything was bad.”
For May, it was his first time in a kind of playoff-light atmosphere since his return to the mound following elbow surgery and his torn esophagus last year.
“I think it’s fair to say emotions were a part of it,” Roberts said. “This is the first big ballgame he’s pitched in in quite some time, as far as on the road, this type of environment where you’ve got to manage your emotions.
“The command clearly wasn’t there. It was good to see him find his way and I thought his last two innings were his best innings.”
May did put up scoreless innings in the fourth and fifth and left with the game tied 5-5 thanks to an RBI double by Hyeseong Kim, setting up a battle of the bullpens.
As it turned out – that’s where the outs were hiding the whole time.
Anthony Banda followed May with two perfect innings. Sean Reynolds, Jeremiah Estrada and Adrian Morejon kept the Dodgers in check through the eighth inning – but only after Morejon created his own trouble with a throwing error on a soft comebacker off Ohtani’s bat. Morejon struck out Freeman to atone.
The dam finally broke in the 10th inning when Padres left fielder Brandon Lockridge misjudged Andy Pages’ drive. It went over his head for an RBI double, the Dodgers’ first hit since the fifth inning. Tommy Edman added an RBI single.
“We obviously have our cemented stars. But now to have a young player you can kind of expect contribution from – he’s doing it consistently, getting big hits,” Roberts said of Pages. “The moment doesn’t get too big. And it just adds that length where a lot of times they’re going to pitch around those guys at the top of the order and you need some guys to get big hits. Andy has continued to do that. He’s got a good pulse.”
This two-run lead stuck – but only after being down-sized. Tanner Scott got a favorable full-count call to strike out an angry Machado but gave up an RBI double to Jackson Merrill before closing out the win.