The Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres, two teams with a rivalry that has only grown more intense in recent years, delivered another chapter in their storied competition on August 15, 2025, at Dodger Stadium. With the National League West division lead hanging in the balance, it was the Dodgers’ veteran left-hander Clayton Kershaw who stole the spotlight, pitching a vintage gem to help his team snap a four-game losing streak and reclaim a share of first place.
Heading into the Friday night showdown, the Dodgers found themselves in unfamiliar territory. Mired in what manager Dave Roberts described as “middling baseball,” Los Angeles had slipped out of first place for the first time since April 27, trailing the surging Padres by a single game. The stakes were clear: this wasn’t just another game in August—it was a pivotal clash that could set the tone for the final six weeks of the season.
“There’s just no one more intense or focused than Clayton,” Roberts said before the game, emphasizing why he saw Kershaw as the perfect choice to halt the Dodgers’ skid. “He has a way of elevating people’s focus and play. And so to have him tonight, first game of this series, he’s the perfect guy.”
Kershaw, now 37 and no longer the ace he once was, found himself in a familiar role as the stopper. He delivered in dominant fashion, holding the Padres to just one run and two hits over six innings. This marked his third consecutive start in August pitching six innings with one earned run or fewer allowed—a remarkable stretch that’s helped lower his season ERA to 3.01. “It’s just what you’re supposed to do. As a starter, you’re supposed to pitch well, and when it’s your turn, step up,” Kershaw said after the game. “And our rotation is getting healthier, and we got a lot of guys that can throw the ball really well, so I just want to do my part.”
The Dodgers’ 3-2 victory did more than just end a losing streak—it pulled them even with the Padres atop the NL West, resetting the race for the division crown. For San Diego, the loss snapped a five-game winning streak and marked the latest the Padres had led the division since September 2010. As Padres manager Mike Shildt put it before the game, “The only day in the standings that ultimately matters is the last day of the season, but we’ve played good baseball and we feel good where we’re at.”
There was no shortage of drama leading up to this series. The last time these teams clashed in June, the games were fiery, with ten batters hit—including Padres star Fernando Tatis Jr. three times—and tempers flaring enough to clear the benches and get both managers ejected. This time, though the intensity was palpable, the action on the field stayed mostly within the lines. Dodgers reliever Alex Vesia did hit two Padres batters in the eighth, but there was no retaliation, and both sides seemed intent on letting their play do the talking.
“It was a high intensity game but it was certainly kind of tempered as far as internally,” Roberts reflected after the win. “But I think that I could see it as far as on the field. I could feel it. Our focus was keen.”
Perhaps it was Kershaw’s poise that set the tone. Despite the pressure, he approached the outing with his trademark calm. “I mean, I think when you’ve done this as long as we have, it’s August now, you try and treat every day the same, and then hopefully the situation just helps magnify everything,” Kershaw explained. “So it’s a game in August, obviously, it’s not that huge a deal. But the way we were going, it felt like a big game for us and thankful we got a win tonight.”
Kershaw’s mastery over the Padres is nothing new. Over his 18-year career, he’s posted a 3.56 ERA against San Diego, holding their hitters to a paltry .195 average in 48 appearances. His ability to rise to the occasion against the Dodgers’ rivals has become a hallmark of his legacy. Even when the rivalry has gotten personal—like in May 2023, when the Padres’ video board operator flashed a meme of Kershaw crying after a tough outing—he’s responded with grace and humor. “He should’ve pitched better to avoid being meme’d in the first place,” Kershaw quipped at the time, brushing off the incident and keeping his focus on the game.
On this night, Kershaw even opted for a bit of old-school strategy, using classic finger signs to communicate with catcher Will Smith instead of the PitchCom system when the bases were empty. As the game progressed, the duo stuck with the finger signs, a subtle nod to baseball tradition and a sign of the trust between pitcher and catcher. The approach worked—Kershaw was in command all evening, and the Dodgers’ defense backed him up when it mattered most.
The stakes for this series—and the next several games—couldn’t be higher. With four more meetings between these two clubs over the next eight days and a total of six head-to-head matchups in a ten-day span, the battle for the NL West is set to reach a fever pitch. “It’s going to be a fun six weeks. The Padres are going to be right there. We’re going to be right there. We got a lot of games against them in the next 10 days,” Kershaw said, acknowledging the importance of the upcoming stretch. “Obviously the division isn’t won or lost in the next 10 days, but it will make an impact, and we know that. I don’t know how to say it and not sound cliche, but we just got to keep playing. There’s just nothing else to do. We can’t put any more on it, any less on it. Just keep playing the game and hopefully our talent and our team will take over, which we know it will.”
For the Dodgers, the win over San Diego was more than just a statistical boost—it was a much-needed shot of confidence. “It just takes one to get going,” Kershaw said. “Hopefully this was it for us.”
As the dust settles on this latest chapter of the Dodgers-Padres rivalry, both teams know the real drama is just beginning. With the division deadlocked and plenty of baseball left to play, every pitch, every at-bat, and every moment will carry extra weight as these two powerhouses fight for the right to call themselves NL West champions.
