Max Muncy buries Padres with spot-on trash talk ahead of series vs Dodgers

The Dodgers rolled into San Diego on Monday night for their first meeting with the Padres since the 2024 NLDS. Lest we forget, the Padres had the Dodgers' backs to the wall by Game 3, and then they failed to score a single run in 24 innings following their six-run bottom of the second in that game.

This year, the Dodgers, Padres, and Giants are locked in a tight race for the top of the NL West, and all three will be seeing a lot of each other over the next week and a half, which could totally change the complexion of the division. After this series, the Dodgers will go back home to host the Giants before seeing the Padres again.

The Giants have had a surprisingly good year, but they've only very rarely been a serious threat to the Dodgers over the past decade, while the Padres have become an absolute thorn in LA's side. While Dodgers-Giants is the rivalry, the one that's over a century old and has spanned two coasts, Dodgers-Padres has become appointment viewing in the last few years.

Max Muncy disagreed. Ahead of LA's series opener against San Diego, he said, "The Padres bring everything that is in a rivalry, but you only have one rival. [...] If you have a rival, it's your counterpart, and that's always gonna be the Giants."

Max Muncy dismisses Dodgers-Padres rivalry ahead of teams' first meeting since 2024 NLDS

There's some merit to Muncy's argument, but it's no surprise that the LA-SD rivalry has captured fans' attentions a lot more in recent years. It took the Dodgers and Giants 131 years to see each other in the postseason for the first time, and the Dodgers kicked the Giants out of the NLDS in five games. By contrast, the Dodgers and Padres have seen each other in October three times since 2020.

But Muncy's response is pretty typical of the Dodgers' party line when it comes to the Padres. After their win on Monday night, Will Smith was dismissive of the gravity national media was placing on it, saying that it just felt like another game in June. That was the same guy who called Jurickson Profar "irrelevant" last year.

Either way, the Dodgers are going to be seeing a lot of both teams in the next 10 days, and the Dodgers sure do play the Padres like that's their real rivalry.