5 Reasons Why Padres-Dodgers Season Series is Baseball’s Hottest Ticket

The 2021 season series between the San Diego Padres and Los Angeles Dodgers is the most electric regular season spectacle since Marc McGwire and Sammy Sosa battled for the regular-season home run record back in 1998. It’s that good. Scratch that, it’s better. Here’s why:

‘Little Brother’ is All Grown Up Now:

There comes a point in time when the younger brother gets tired of being pushed around and finally decides to stand up to the older brother. That’s exactly what the Padres are doing right now— standing up to the Dodgers. The Dodgers have plowed through the Padres and the National League West for nearly a decade; winning eight straight division titles in the process. Now, the tables have turned.

Currently the Padres lead the season series with four wins. From the looks of it, they don’t plan on stopping there. The Pads are playing fearlessly and with a huge chip on their shoulder. They know they’re the underdogs, but that’s not preventing them from taking it to the Dodgers. In fact, they embrace the underdog mentality. There’s a reason why their Twitter handle uses the hashtag #HungryForMore. The Pads are tired of being bullied by the big, bad Dodgers. It seems like last year’s Divisional Round loss ignited a fire that currently fuels their motivation to prove that they can compete for a World Series title. They’re on a mission to silence critics and prove that they will no longer be the laughing stock of the National League. It’s San Diego against the world.

Dominant Starting Pitching Performances

The Dodger starting pitching rotation is surreal—almost as if they were part of a video-game. It includes two Cy-Young winners (Kershaw and Bauer), a potential future Cy-Young winner (Buehler) and a young prodigy who is an ‘ace’ in the making (May). When May, a six-foot-six right hander is your ‘worst’ starter and casually pumps ninety-seven mile-per-hour fastballs and also throws a wipe-out slider, that’s a tall task for any offense to handle (pun intended). Through seven games, Dodger starting pitchers are averaging roughly eight strikeouts per game while limiting the explosive Padre lineup to a little under two runs per game.

On the other hand, the San Diego pitching staff isn’t far behind. Their starting rotation features a Cy-Young winner (Snell), four-time All-Star (Darvish), and a World Series champ (Musgrove). Altogether, Padre starters have struck out an average of roughly six Dodgers per game while limiting the powerful Los Angeles lineup to about a run per game. The only difference, however, is that for the most part, Padre starting pitchers have yet to pitch past the fifth inning. This in turn has placed a heavy strain on San Diego’s relief pitching staff. If the Padres really want to compete for a World Series, they’re going to need their starters to pitch beyond the fifth inning.

Explosive Offensive Lineups

Mookie Betts, Justin Turner, Corey Seager and Max Muncy for the Dodgers. Fernando Tatis Jr., Eric Hosmer, Manny Machado and Wil Myers for the Padres. Both of these lineups possess All-Star caliber players that can make pitchers’ lives a living nightmare.

Notice how Cody Bellinger is missing from that list. The Dodger All-Star center fielder is currently injured with a hairline fracture in his left fibula.

Sure, an argument can be made that the Dodger lineup isn’t currently at full throttle, yet according to ESPN they still have managed to rank second in the National League in the categories of batting average and hits and third in runs batted in. Not to mention, Los Angeles has managed to slug six home runs off the San Diego pitching staff.

Meanwhile, led by Tatis Jr., the Friars have crushed eight home runs off Dodger pitchers. As a side note, Tatis Jr. has feasted on LA pitching this year with six of his seven home runs this year coming against the Dodgers.

However, what makes the San Diego offense so lethal is their aggressiveness on the base paths, and in particular, their ability to steal bases. Currently, the Padres lead the MLB with thirty-one stolen bases, per ESPN. This past weekend alone, San Diego racked up twelve stolen bases including two games in which they stole five bags.

Extra Inning Thrillers & Marathons

The Padres and Dodgers have played two exhilarating extra-inning games which have featured Clayton Kershaw registering two pinch hit at-bats for the Dodgers, while Joe Musgrove played left field and left-handed pitcher Ryan Weathers pinch-hit for the Padres. This isn’t your typical early-on-in-the-season April series, this is essentially a taste of what lies ahead in October during playoff baseball.

Also, when watching a Padres-Dodgers game, at least for this season, please note that it’s a marathon and not a sprint. In seven games, both teams have played three, four-hour games. Don’t worry, it is definitely worth your time and the price of admission. But just make sure you don’t make any important plans for after the game, because you might be glued to your seat or your screen for a while.

Making Baseball Fun Again

Warning: This series is not meant for baseball ‘traditionalists’ who live and abide by the game’s unwritten rules. Your fragile ego will suffer. For your safety, you are strongly advised to abstain from watching this series.

In all seriousness, this series has featured bat flips, Bauer mocking hitters, Betts pumping his chest after making a catch, Tatis Jr. mocking Bauer for his Spring Training shenanigans, Jurickson Profar cussing out Kershaw, benches clearing and much more.

The Padres-Dodgers series is pure entertainment. As a fan, you can feel as tempers flare and emotions run high. In fact, the amount of passion and energy on display compares to that of a winter ball game in the Caribbean or even the World Baseball Classic. Players overtly celebrating, other players jawing at each other and teams clearing their benches to protect their teammates. This type of baseball is new, it is fresh and above all it is fun to watch.

The best part? It’s only April and this series will only intensify once we get closer to October. Who knows what the future holds, but one thing is for certain, this series will keep fans entertained.