San Diego Padres reliever Jason Adam took a subtle shot at the Los Angeles Dodgers after their fans filled their ballpark and the Dodgers beat them in a series for the second time this year.
While not every attendee wore Blue over the weekend, attendance numbers were well above what the average in San Diego this season. 45,159 fans filled the stadium on Saturday as the Dodgers took a resounding 15-3 win over the Padres—a game the hosts clearly took notice of.
“If I lived in L.A., I would want to come down to San Diego too,” Adam said.
Adam wasn’t the only Padres pitcher who noticed.
“[Saturday’s game] was out of control,” Padres starter Joe Musgrove said. “It was like the most I’ve ever seen Dodger fans in our stadium — 90% Dodgers fans.”
Adam’s frustration with the Dodgers is warranted, as LA has dominated their NL West rivals since his arrival in San Diego in 2024. After three wins against the Dodgers to kick off his time as a Padre, Adam sat through two wins at the end of September 2024, followed by the Dodgers beating the Padres in the NLDS that same year.
In 2025, the Dodgers took nine of the 13 games and didn’t even face the Padres in the postseason, as they lost in the NL Wild Card series to the Chicago Cubs while the Dodgers won their second consecutive World Series title. This season, the Dodgers have taken four of the six games they’ve played against the Friars.
Where Did the Dodgers’ Rivalry With the Padres Come From?
The Dodgers and Padres didn’t always have problems with each other, but their close proximity and the Padres’ recent rise into a competitive team have bred something of a rivalry between the two teams.
In 2020, the Padres finally became competitive and made sure to let the Dodgers know in the end of the shortened season. Trent Grisham—now with the New York Yankees—took an exaggerated home run trot against Clayton Kershaw, and exchanged words with the dugout throughout.
The Dodgers and Padres faced each other in the postseason that year, and the Dodgers came out as the victors after sweeping the Padres in a chippy matchup.
After that, the Dodgers and Padres exchanged blows for several years—both in the regular season and postseason. The Padres knocked the Dodgers out of the postseason in 2022, while the Dodgers struck back to do the same two years later.
The most recent—as well as the most memorable—moment in this modern matchup came last year, when a series of hit batsmen caused both benches to spill onto the field. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts and former Padres manager Mike Shildt both received suspensions for the incident.
What is your favorite Dodgers moment against the Padres?
3 Responses
Aww, Poor Adams and Musgrove. I guess the Pads stopped their juvenile blocking of ticket purchases for peeps outside San Diego.
If the Padres don’t like seeing Blue in their stadium, maybe their fans should buy some tickets and show up. Seems like a simple solution to me.
So tired of this being framed as a big rivalry. Unless and until the Padres actually win something, the rivalry is in their heads, not ours. Beating us in the 2022 NLCS was disappointing for LAD and the fans but does not a rivalry make. And they did nothing with it and have done nothing since. A team for 57 years with two WS appearances, in 1984 and 1998, both losses (combined record of 1 – 8). When was the last time they won the NL West? A total of 5 times, last one in 2006. They have a head-to-head losing record to every team currently in the NL West, worst is LAD at 44.7% and best is Colorado at 49.1%. Against LAD, it dips to 41.7% in the playoffs, albeit a small sample size (5-7). LAD beat them in 2020 and won the WS. LAD beat them in 2024 and won the WS.
Rivalry? What rivalry?