Dodgers might've broken the Padres after statement weekend series

The Los Angeles Dodgers took three of four from the San Diego Padres this weekend, which was more like taking a sledgehammer to whatever was left of San Diego’s psyche. The timing couldn’t have been better for a fan base that may have needed a reminder of who actually runs the division. Three wins in four games at Dodger Stadium is a good weekend without any extracurriculars, but context is everything here.

The Padres walked in already wobbling with a rookie manager finding his footing, a badly underperforming lineup, and a bullpen anchor who hadn’t gotten much of a shot at the Dodgers with anything on the line. The Dodgers didn’t just beat the Padres. They found basically every soft spot and leaned on it. By Sunday, the Padres looked less like a rival and more like a team searching desperately for answers.

Dodgers-Padres Series Result Pushes NL West Race Further Out of Reach for San Diego

The Dodgers are now 60-32 and comfortably running away with the National League West. The Padres are 44-46 and have fallen to third in the division, treading water but miles behind where a team with their payroll and their ambitions “should” be. The Giants are still the rivalry that means the most in the building as the gap between LA and San Diego grows.

Maybe the signature moment that showed dominance came in the third game. Mason Miller, the Padres’ prized, shutdown closer, finally got a shot at the Dodgers, but it came while down 2-0 because there just wasn’t a lead to protect and he needed to get his reps in. Instead of keeping it 2-0 to give the Padres some chance in the ninth, Freeman turned around a 100.2 MPH fastball at 109.1 MPH for an RBI single to make it 3-0 and put the game out of reach.

That loss was the eighth in a row for the Padres, their longest losing streak in more than a decade. And their previous week and a half of baseball shoved them into the hole in which they currently reside.

The Padres' rookie manager is learning the ropes with a new hitting coach while their biggest names (Manny Machado, Fernando Tatis Jr., and Jackson Merrill) have all struggled. Meanwhile, the Dodgers continue to overwhelm opponents despite a ton of injuries.

This story goes beyond one weekend. The Dodgers have been running away with this division for weeks now (and maybe even before the season started). Their worst month was a 16-10 April, but even that was on the heels of winning four of their first five games in March. The fact that the Padres and the Diamondbacks have struggled to put up much of a fight helps, but a lot of that is on the Dodgers for simply not letting them find a way into the race. A double-digit division lead doesn’t happen by accident, and this weekend was just the latest and loudest reminder of the gap between the two clubs.

The Padres may not be cooked. They have talent and there are a lot of playoff teams these days with the expanded field. But eight straight losses and the closer getting only a chance to protect a deficit isn’t what you want.

For a fanbase buzzing off back-to-back World Series titles with a lineup full of All-Stars, this past weekend was almost perfect for the Dodgers. They played dominant baseball while forcing a rival to visibly crack. And now we have Mason Miller trade deadline rumors? Perfect.

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