Padres still paying for crying Clayton Kershaw meme as Dodgers win adds new wrinkle

The Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres have recently grown into one of the most bitter yet beloved rivalries in baseball, and even the teams take it seriously.

When the Dodgers and Padres faced off at Petco Park on May 5, 2023, San Diego did all it could to get under starter Clayton Kershaw's skin. The future Hall of Famer allowed four runs on eight hits and five walks in 4 2/3 innings, and the Padres' video board operator put a meme of the lefty crying on the jumbotron.

Kershaw brushed it off and said he should've pitched better to avoid being meme'd in the first place. But even though he didn't need it, he continued the Dodgers' revenge tour since this moment in his outing on Aug. 15.

Not only did Kershaw play stopper and crush a four-game LA skid, he did it like his vintage self. The 37-year-old posted six, two-hit, one-run innings, and was seemingly doing it without using PitchCom. When the bases behind him were empty in the second inning, Kershaw used classic finger signs to communicate with his catcher, Will Smith, as the broadcast noted. A Dodgers fan commented that Kershaw typically doesn't use it when the bases were empty, but as the game progressed it appeared as if they were sticking with the finger signs.

Dodgers Clayton Kershaw didn't use PitchCom to beat the Padres on August 15

There was no one on the bases to steal Smith's signs, so the battery took an older approach to vexing their rivals. It worked in Kershaw's favor, and he lowered his ERA to 3.01 on the season. He's clocked a 1.00 ERA through 18 innings across three starts in August, and hasn't allowed more than two earned runs in nine of his last 11 outings.

At the time the Kershaw meme was posted, some Padres players voiced their displeasure with the team's antics. Pitcher Joe Musgrove acknowledged on the "Foul Territory" podcast shortly after the incident that Kershaw is undeniably a baseball legend who's put the moves on San Diego at every turn.

The Dodgers icon must've felt the same way. Kershaw didn't pay the crying meme any mind at the time, and two years later, he still doesn't need to. He's been the Padres' arch-rival throughout his 18-year career and has dominated them the entire time. The Hall of Famer owns a 3.56 ERA against San Diego, and its batters only hit for a .195 average against him over 48 career appearances.

No matter how the Padres try to irritate the Dodgers, LA usually comes through with a check in the win column (especially in the postseason). Kershaw's Aug. 15 win against San Diego tied the two teams for first place in the National League West, and if the crying Kershaw meme represents the best of the Padres' instigation efforts, they'll have to step up their game to stop the reigning World Series champions this time.